[Sonic Defender]

I currently am waiting for a set of DT 880 600 ohm to arrive, but I thought I would post about my impressions from limited, but quality listening time with my HF2s and the Valhalla.
 
I e-mailed Jason from Schiit about using the low impedence HF2 with the Valhalla and he told me that despite the technical reasons why a 32 ohm can isn't ideal with a OTL amp, that he had several music engineers who swore by the Valhalla and Grado marriage. I really wanted to try a tube so I ordered the Valhalla. For me I have been listening to only solid state for over 30 years so tubes were a great unknown. I have a very nice Creek integrated that fed my HF2s directly from the main amp with a big resistor in between so I had a very good quality SS experience with the HF2. Love the HF2s by the way. I know there are better cans out there, but these are certainly excellent value for the money.
 
Anyway, I must say that after the tubes settled down I really, really like the Valhalla with the HF2. My brother who has a great ear for music and equipment spent some time with the pair and loved them also as did another friend of mine. I am not going to provide much of a review as I am pressed for time and don't feel experienced enough to do so yet, but for what it is worth:
 
The treble from the Valhalla was very surprising. It was quite articulate, rich and very well presented. I was expecting to lose some treble performance compared to my Creek, but I can't say I lost anything at all. I love the extra richness in the mids, very lovely. The Creek has great mids, but that nice tube presentation was just so darn pleasant.
 
The bass from the Valhalla and HF2 was also very nice. Certainly less controlled than from the Creek, which does a very good job controlling and providing quality bass in my opinion. So if the low impedence was such an issue I can't say I could hear where this sonic penalty was incurred. However, until I have heard the Valhalla with my DT 880s I can't reach any real personal conclusion. Even after the 880s arrive I guess I can't be sure that any difference isn't just from the new sound signature. It will be fun trying though! Cheers.

 

[Kevin Brown]

I have a "rotation" of headphones and amps/DACs I use at work:
 
RS2i & the HF2
 
y2 + CKKIII  &  V-DAC + Valhalla
 
I think your comments on the HF2 + the Valhalla are spot on.  One thing I'd add is that I thought the Valhalla was way too bright out of the box.  (If you search around here and with Google, this is not uncommon.)  But mine settled down quite nicely after about a week.
 
I'd be curious to hear how the Lyr would do with those Grados, but to be honest, with the price difference and the fact that I already have the Valhalla, I'm in no hurry to try. 

 

 

[SP Wild]

I have had a really positive experience with the HF2 and an ebay Earmax OTL clone.  This got me thinking about the Valhalla which is also OTL and best of all was tuned with the tubes supplied. 
 
With OTL power, I keep tossing between the D7000 and HF2, even though I feel the D7000 is technically more precise with the audio signal, I think I have to give the nod to the HF2 for its overall musicality, open phone nature and very engaging sound.
 
I too felt that solid state had very noticeable superiority in bass control, but the OTL sound is very clean and technical from the mids to the treble - very solid state like transients with the perfect balance of tube euphony.

 

[bumblingbooby]

Nice impressions Sonic Defender. I really like the HF2. It also has the most prominent bass that I've heard from a Grado, but achieves this at the expense of some definition compared to other Grado's that I've heard. This causes me to question whether an OTL amp like the Valhalla would be an ideal pairing with it. I suspect that it might accentuate its somewhat bloated bass presentation, when it could do with some tightening up in that area. 

 

[Sonic Defender]

Thanks to all who have participated so far, I appreciate your feedback. As a few have mentioned, bass control with the Valhalla/HF2 is certaily not fantastic, but it is good enough to provide an engaging listen. I agree that the HF2 has a perpensity to let the bass "wander" a little, but again it isn't such that it is a problem. I most notice this with the HF2 and the Valhalla when the music passages are very demanding and complex such as with powerful music like Tool or really produced pieces from artists like Peter Gabriel on his album Up.
 
That said, when I listen to jazz or less demanding music I actually find the bass from the Valhalla/HF2 to be very, very nice. Certainly loose around the edges at places, but the richness and musicality never seems to be lost and there is a nice liquid feel if that makes any sense. String instruments are also quite nice. I have just begun testing the combo out with electronica (Thievery Corporation - The Cosmic Game) and so far I like the pairing, but not nearly as much as through my solid state amp.
 
I guess to sum it up there is no doubt in my mind that the impedence mismatch does not seem to have dire consequences at all. I have listened intently to music that I know extremely well through my solid state/HF2 combo and I find the Valhalla is really up to the task. Truthfully, after initially ordering the Valhalla I began to think it wouldn't have much of a chance at performing like the Creek, but I haven't turned my Creek on since the Valhalla was hooked up!