Schiit Valhalla Tube Rolling thread.

[Lvivske]

Was the headphone explosion intentional???

Yeah, doing a very stressful repaint

I think I'm in the same boat re: tubes & adapters. I see the tubes are making their way through the British mail system. The adapters, on the other hand, seem to be stuck in New Deli customs per FedEx.

Right now my daily trackers are a race between the adapters & some cables from China and the 6N6P-IRs from Ukraine. It's a nail-biter.

 

[GumbyDammit223]

Good luck on both the repaint and the international shipping wars!

 

[Lvivske]

Good luck on both the repaint and the international shipping wars!

I just botched the paint again.

edit: emergency re-clear-coat session round 5 today, at this rate I'll never listen to music again

 

[GumbyDammit223]

I just botched the paint again.

edit: emergency re-clear-coat session round 5 today, at this rate I'll never listen to music again

Relax. Have a refreshing beverage (or several). Wake up in the morning with a fresh start and try again. Remember - we're all crazy and results will be different if you do it over and over!

 

[Lvivske]

results will be different if you do it over and over!

I believe that's the definition of insanity (already there)

 

[regaet]

After adding the Wywires cable and a pair of the Brimar CV455 Footscray tubes I am done for a while. I don't think I could improve my system without upgrading components which I'm not prepared to do at this time. I've got about 50 hrs on the tubes and they sound amazing and I am very pleased with the improvement the Wywires cable made (they really compliment each other). I think my wallet has taken as much abuse as it can take so I'm going to sit back enjoy my music and stop thinking about how I might improve it.

 

[Lvivske]

This actually brings up a good point since I'm veering into solid state by default

What's *better* than the Valhalla in the 500-1900 tube range? Audibly better, not boutique, paying for the wood finish or rarity or stuff like that. What's the chain upgrade from here?

 

[regaet]

This actually brings up a good point since I'm veering into solid state by default

What's *better* than the Valhalla in the 500-1900 tube range? Audibly better, not boutique, paying for the wood finish or rarity or stuff like that. What's the chain upgrade from here?

Feliks Audio, Woo Audio, Auris Audio, Cayin, off the top of my head and there are more. For me, I would probably upgrade my headphones first. Which DAC are you saving for?

 

[exchez]

This actually brings up a good point since I'm veering into solid state by default

What's *better* than the Valhalla in the 500-1900 tube range? Audibly better, not boutique, paying for the wood finish or rarity or stuff like that. What's the chain upgrade from here?

I had the Valhalla 2 and started listening to the WA2. It completely changed everything I knew about tube amps; a sort of realization moment.

 

[Lvivske]

Feliks Audio, Woo Audio, Auris Audio, Cayin, off the top of my head and there are more. For me, I would probably upgrade my headphones first. Which DAC are you saving for?

Already have a Bifrost 2 & HD800s so the Valhalla 1 is technically the least expensive key piece in my chain

I had the Valhalla 2 and started listening to the WA2. It completely changed everything I knew about tube amps; a sort of realization moment.

How so?

 

[jonathan c]

I had the Valhalla 2 and started listening to the WA2. It completely changed everything I knew about tube amps; a sort of realization moment.

One of the biggest differences between the V2 and the WA2 is the tube rectification in the WA2…you may be hearing that…

 

[Guidostrunk]

One of the biggest differences between the V2 and the WA2 is the tube rectification in the WA2…you may be hearing that…

And also the power supply.

 

[jonathan c]

I am still smitten with the combination of Valhalla II (NEVZ 6N6Ps + CV455 KB/FBs) and Kennerton Gjallarhorn JM Edition…

Contrary to expectations based on its low price, the Valhalla II scales up dramatically with a high/ultra-high quality DAC before it. This was obvious when switching between a NOS R2R EVO Mystique DAC and an ESS 9018 chip sigma/delta DAC.

 

[Lvivske]

I am still smitten with the combination of Valhalla II (NEVZ 6N6Ps + CV455 KB/FBs) and Kennerton Gjallarhorn JM Edition…

Contrary to expectations based on its low price, the Valhalla II scales up dramatically with a high/ultra-high quality DAC before it. This was obvious when switching between a NOS R2R EVO Mystique DAC and an ESS 9018 chip sigma/delta DAC.

yeah, with the Bifrost 2 & 455s I'm more than excited to hear how this scales up once its all installed based on the reviews from you guys who have done all the experimenting already ><

Still, curious what else is "next" in pure performance (and not boutique prestige tax, just actual improvements) otherwise I'm going to mostly look at adding in the vintage/solid state area next year

 

[jonathan c]

yeah, with the Bifrost 2 & 455s I'm more than excited to hear how this scales up once its all installed based on the reviews from you guys who have done all the experimenting already ><

Still, curious what else is "next" in pure performance (and not boutique prestige tax, just actual improvements) otherwise I'm going to mostly look at adding in the vintage/solid state area next year

The next level of performance versus the V2-BF2-CV455 combination is likely to cost multiples of what you have thus spent. Diminishing incremental returns…but still improvements…bank/wallet be damned?…