Schiit Valhalla Tube Rolling thread.

[carbonF1]

Hi everyone, new to Head-Fi but have been following this thread pretty extensively. I've had my Valhalla 2 for a little under a year now, and enjoying it immensely. After seeing all the rave reviews for Brimar CV-4033's, I thought I'd give them a try. Ordered from Pulse Tube Store on the 2nd, and they are already here! Only for a few hours, but still here, and in my amp!

I'm not sure what I should be more shocked with, how these '57 triple-mica Footscray tubes sound, or that Fedex delivered when they said they would, and exactly on time! It hasn't been long enough to say anything definitive, but so far I am really, really liking what I hear. Thank you Sanjiv/Pulse Tubes for shipping these so well and for making these available direct! Everything came in a nice case and I am a happy customer

(no, you are not seeing double, there is also a matched pair of '60 Rochester Brimar CV-4033's in the smaller white boxes, but we aren't going to talk about those. let's just call it a happy accident/accidentally buying these instead of impulse buying Gold Lion 6922's from amazon )

 

[regaet]

They will improve as they burn in!

 

[carbonF1]

They will improve as they burn in!

I should have taken the @Wes S approach and requested a few days off work to get acclimated

 

[jonathan c]

I should have taken the @Wes S approach and requested a few days off work to get acclimated

@Wes S knows all the intricacies of the FTLA: Family Tube Leave Act. He is especially expert in “rolling” FTLA days into the next year……

 

[Wes S]

@Wes S knows all the intricacies of the FTLA: Family Tube Leave Act. He is especially expert in “rolling” FTLA days into the next year……

LOL! Really funny ya'll should mention it! I am on another FTLA right now, as I am typing this. I have a very understanding boss, and I told him how enamored I am right now with a certain pair of headphones and amp (Atticus & Pendant SE), and he let me go home early from work to get back to pure audio bliss. I hope none of my other coworkers are reading this. . .the perks of seniority.

 

[jonathan c]

LOL! Really funny ya'll should mention it! I am on another FTLA right now, as I am typing this. I have a very understanding boss, and I told him how enamored I am right now with a certain pair of headphones and amp (Atticus & Pendant SE), and he let me go home early from work to get back to pure audio bliss. I hope none of my other coworkers are reading this. . .the perks of seniority.

In rank or age?…

 

[Wes S]

In rank or age?…

Rank and age.

 

[Lvivske]

Would you guys consider adding a Lokius EQ to my Valhalla 2/Modius setup to be......blasphemy? lol

I know you want to "hear" the tubes, but is anyone using an eq with this amp? I'm craving more schiit

I'm the big EQ addict here, so yes

Bifrost is a DAC, no? I have a Modius satisfying those needs. It's not multibit, but it gets the job done better than my last one.

I found the Bifrost made less of a difference over my budget DAC than upgrading tubes did, so if you dont hear differences in tubes you should avoid the DAC rabbithole

But if you're not picking up tone or impact changes, maybe focus on upgrading your cans first

 

[regaet]

I found the Bifrost made less of a difference over my budget DAC than upgrading tubes did, so if you dont hear differences in tubes you should avoid the DAC rabbithole

But if you're not picking up tone or impact changes, maybe focus on upgrading your cans first

Have you tried putting your old DAC back in to see if you notice more of a difference now? I'm not disagreeing that the tubes make a big difference. Just curious.

 

[Lvivske]

Have you tried putting your old DAC back in to see if you notice more of a difference now? I'm not disagreeing that the tubes make a big difference. Just curious.

I did a lot of A/B testing and could tell the differences for sure, but the upgrade wasn't as impactful as the tube upgrade.

and going in i was way more confident in the dac investment and way more skeptical of the hipster tubes, so no confirmation bias or anything like that

 

[tjdub]

I've been reading back and I see a lot of you prefer the ECC81 to pair with the valhalla would these be a good example of them? https://pulsetubestore.com/products...play-ready-to-use?_pos=1&_sid=d6d6d5efd&_ss=r

 

[JollyGreen]

I'm the big EQ addict here, so yes



I found the Bifrost made less of a difference over my budget DAC than upgrading tubes did, so if you dont hear differences in tubes you should avoid the DAC rabbithole

But if you're not picking up tone or impact changes, maybe focus on upgrading your cans first

I'm using the Sennheiser 6XX which came highly recommended from some friends and other hi-fi forums. I've enjoyed them so far, but I'm a poor IT guy. I don't have funds to make huge upgrades. My turntable is a Fluance, I use a Schiit mani phono preamp, some $300 powered shelf speakers, and then this headphone setup referenced earlier. That's about all I can afford.

I'm kinda stuck at this level of listening for a while (it's not bad). I have 24/192 capabilities on my headphone setup on my PC and my vinyl sounds.... Fine. For a $1000 setup total my vinyl sounds fine. I'm sure it could sound better for me than double the cost but that's just not something I'll ever know and I'm trying real hard not to let the "but there's always something better" drive me to be disappointed with what I already have. That's not a happy way to live IMO.

 

[Lvivske]

Yeah in that case I dont think a DAC upgrade will help with the vinyl much

 

[JollyGreen]

Yeah in that case I dont think a DAC upgrade will help with the vinyl much

Yeah in that case I dont think a DAC upgrade will help with the vinyl much

I'm not actually sure how we got on DACS? I'm happy with my DAC and DACs have nothing to do with vinyl. I was referencing the use of a Lokius EQ in my headphone stereo chain with me Valhalla 2 and Modius, I was just listing my vinyl setup as a point of reference to how little I can afford lol. A grand for top to bottom vinyl listening setup is not very much

 

[Lvivske]

was referencing the use of a Lokius EQ in my headphone stereo chain with me Valhalla 2 and Modius

I think analog EQ is a great way to achieve the sound you want and I couldn't live with my Valhalla without the Lokius (but I have very bright headphones that need tuning)