OK, seriously. When I've been in a situation where the adapter stays after removing a tube, I use needle nose plyer with electrical tape wrapped around the ends of the plyer tips. Rock it back and forth til it loosens up and then lift it out.
BTW - I've found my Chinese adapters have a death grip on the tube and typically come out with the tube.
Thanks for the quick replies! I have the Pulse phenolic not-made-in-china adapters as well as the socket savers, so hopefully no death grip!
But, backing up, I have to say . . . Oh. My. God. Am I loving the Valhalla 2! Just with the stock tubes! I . . . don’t really have words . . . the music is so enjoyable and, yes, “holographic” and so NON-fatiguing! I can listen for hours! I’ll start a song just to see how it will sound and then I don’t want to stop!
I had always shied away from tube amps because I didn’t like the notion that they “colored” the sound, and also, that you had to spend so much money to get good tubes, and that they don’t last very long (compared to solid state anyway), but recently I’ve been trying to find some setup that would make me love music again—like really love it. Like I have in the past with other setups.
And I figured what the heck, I’ll give a full OTL tube amp a try.
And . . . wow. Just wow.
And I don’t think what I’m hearing is “colored”! It seems . . . REAL! It feels more like live music to me! And isn’t that a sign that it must somehow actually be more faithful in reproduction than a amp that measures better but lacks that?
I honestly don’t know but I do know that I look forward to listening to music every night now that I have my V2 and HD6xx’s (BF1 mulitbit source)
I don’t feel that way with my Asgard 2 and Audeze LCD2’s (as much as I do love them).
and so far, I don’t feel that way with my work rig, which is a Denafrips Ares II, Asgard 2, and LCD-XC 20201 carbons. But I’m giving that some time. We shall see.
Really glad I found this thread! V2 is so great!
Have some Brimar CV455’s here now (from Langrex) and some CV4033’s (from a forum member) on the way. Looking forward to trying those soon! But I wanted to know how hard it would be to go back if I needed / wanted to.
Thanks for the quick replies! I have the Pulse phenolic not-made-in-china adapters as well as the socket savers, so hopefully no death grip!
But, backing up, I have to say . . . Oh. My. God. Am I loving the Valhalla 2! Just with the stock tubes! I . . . don’t really have words . . . the music is so enjoyable and, yes, “holographic” and so NON-fatiguing! I can listen for hours! I’ll start a song just to see how it will sound and then I don’t want to stop!
I had always shied away from tube amps because I didn’t like the notion that they “colored” the sound, and also, that you had to spend so much money to get good tubes, and that they don’t last very long (compared to solid state anyway), but recently I’ve been trying to find some setup that would make me love music again—like really love it. Like I have in the past with other setups.
And I figured what the heck, I’ll give a full OTL tube amp a try.
And . . . wow. Just wow.
And I don’t think what I’m hearing is “colored”! It seems . . . REAL! It feels more like live music to me! And isn’t that a sign that it must somehow actually be more faithful in reproduction than a amp that measures better but lacks that?
I honestly don’t know but I do know that I look forward to listening to music every night now that I have my V2 and HD6xx’s (BF1 mulitbit source)
I don’t feel that way with my Asgard 2 and Audeze LCD2’s (as much as I do love them).
and so far, I don’t feel that way with my work rig, which is a Denafrips Ares II, Asgard 2, and LCD-XC 20201 carbons. But I’m giving that some time. We shall see.
Really glad I found this thread! V2 is so great!
Have some Brimar CV455’s here now (from Langrex) and some CV4033’s (from a forum member) on the way. Looking forward to trying those soon! But I wanted to know how hard it would be to go back if I needed / wanted to.
~ You will love the Brimar CV455 / CV4033 tubes. I rotate them in my Valhalla II and three other tube h/p/a. They are (among) the best in the 12AT7 category. You will find the Valhalla II even more musically convincing with them.
~ An outstanding attribute, among many, of the Valhalla II is its ability to drive various low impedance headphones: unlike a prototypical OTL h/p/a. I have enjoyed my Audeze LCD-X (at 20 ohms stated impedance) immensely with Valhalla II, for example. No impedance mismatch driven frequency response aberrations here!
~ If you become curious about headphones that happen to be ‘low-Z’, at least the door is not shut by Valhalla II.
Thanks for the quick replies! I have the Pulse phenolic not-made-in-china adapters as well as the socket savers, so hopefully no death grip!
But, backing up, I have to say . . . Oh. My. God. Am I loving the Valhalla 2! Just with the stock tubes! I . . . don’t really have words . . . the music is so enjoyable and, yes, “holographic” and so NON-fatiguing! I can listen for hours! I’ll start a song just to see how it will sound and then I don’t want to stop!
I had always shied away from tube amps because I didn’t like the notion that they “colored” the sound, and also, that you had to spend so much money to get good tubes, and that they don’t last very long (compared to solid state anyway), but recently I’ve been trying to find some setup that would make me love music again—like really love it. Like I have in the past with other setups.
And I figured what the heck, I’ll give a full OTL tube amp a try.
And . . . wow. Just wow.
And I don’t think what I’m hearing is “colored”! It seems . . . REAL! It feels more like live music to me! And isn’t that a sign that it must somehow actually be more faithful in reproduction than a amp that measures better but lacks that?
I honestly don’t know but I do know that I look forward to listening to music every night now that I have my V2 and HD6xx’s (BF1 mulitbit source)
I don’t feel that way with my Asgard 2 and Audeze LCD2’s (as much as I do love them).
and so far, I don’t feel that way with my work rig, which is a Denafrips Ares II, Asgard 2, and LCD-XC 20201 carbons. But I’m giving that some time. We shall see.
Really glad I found this thread! V2 is so great!
Have some Brimar CV455’s here now (from Langrex) and some CV4033’s (from a forum member) on the way. Looking forward to trying those soon! But I wanted to know how hard it would be to go back if I needed / wanted to.
VH2 is a great piece of gear. It punches well above its price-class and only gets better with the right tubes -- and you've gotten the right ones w/ the 4033s and CV455s.
Um, definitely turn this off before sticking pliers inside it! There are some seriously high voltages inside! And not just while it’s plugged in but for awhile afterwards, stored in the caps. Turn off, unplug, wait until white light goes away, and then and only then change tubes or adapters. This is what the manual says and everyone should listen!
~ You will love the Brimar CV455 / CV4033 tubes. I rotate them in my Valhalla II and three other tube h/p/a. They are (among) the best in the 12AT7 category. You will find the Valhalla II even more musically convincing with them.
~ An outstanding attribute, among many, of the Valhalla II is its ability to drive various low impedance headphones: unlike a prototypical OTL h/p/a. I have enjoyed my Audeze LCD-X (at 20 ohms stated impedance) immensely with Valhalla II, for example. No impedance mismatch driven frequency response aberrations here!
~ If you become curious about headphones that happen to be ‘low-Z’, at least the door is not shut by Valhalla II.
I tried the LCD-XC’s with it on low gain but didn’t love that pairing. I do like it on low gain with my Sony MDR-7506’s, though! And also my Ety ER-4S’s. Wish I still had my Grado RS-2e’s to try with the V2. But alas I do not.
Interested in the ZMF Atticus as I read that it has great synergy with the V2. I’m definitely a believer in synergy. Can’t explain it but I’ve experienced it many times.
Am I loving the Valhalla 2! Just with the stock tubes! I . . . don’t really have words . . . the music is so enjoyable and, yes, “holographic” and so NON-fatiguing! I can listen for hours! I’ll start a song just to see how it will sound and then I don’t want to stop!
Um, definitely turn this off before sticking pliers inside it! There are some seriously high voltages inside! And not just while it’s plugged in but for awhile afterwards, stored in the caps. Turn off, unplug, wait until white light goes away, and then and only then change tubes or adapters. This is what the manual says and everyone should listen!
The only knock I have against my VH2 is that it literally takes 40+ minutes for my power light to fully go out after powering off -- even with the AC cord unplugged.
The only knock I have against my VH2 is that it literally takes 40+ minutes for my power light to fully go out after powering off -- even with the AC cord unplugged.
Probably due to the capacitors draining. If @ksorota could perform the capacitor modifications on the Valhalla II (little room to work with), think of how long the white light would stay on after powering off……
The only knock I have against my VH2 is that it literally takes 40+ minutes for my power light to fully go out after powering off -- even with the AC cord unplugged.
The only knock I have against my VH2 is that it literally takes 40+ minutes for my power light to fully go out after powering off -- even with the AC cord unplugged.
Cranking the volume might work, not likely though. Like Jonathan said, capacitors have to drain...even if the volume knob worked it does not seem worth the effort and potentially forgetting to turn it down afterwards.
The MJ2 capacitors hold their charge for weeks...the light doesnt stay on, but those guys need to be manually drained prior to working on the board. On one I had opened that came from Schiit directly (1-week travel time) I measured 165 volts retained charge in the 250V capacitors. In this case, cranking the volume has nothing to do with them draining.
Cranking the volume might work, not likely though. Like Jonathan said, capacitors have to drain...even if the volume knob worked it does not seem worth the effort and potentially forgetting to turn it down afterwards.
The MJ2 capacitors hold their charge for weeks...the light doesnt stay on, but those guys need to be manually drained prior to working on the board. On one I had opened that came from Schiit directly (1-week travel time) I measured 165 volts retained charge in the 250V capacitors. In this case, cranking the volume has nothing to do with them draining.
Its an interesting topic of discussion. My WA2 plays music for a solid 10-15 seconds after powering off, but the light turns off immediately. The MJ2 is the same way.
I remember old power amps slowly fading off after powering down.
I am guessing it was a design choice and has more to do with keeping the circuit simple
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
…
stock!? happy!?