[jonathan c]

I need a DAC to go with it. My next option would be my Hiby RS6, Chord Mojo 2 or Apple Dongle. I can try each and see what happens.

 

[michael2v]

I am looking forward to running Vali 3 through the gauntlet with a number of headphones

Strong , but now expectations are high!

 

[freeryder05]

I think that the ESS DAC card in Pietus is a sonic constraint. I am looking forward to running Vali 3 through the gauntlet with a number of headphones :

I think if I have to worry about sonic constraint on a budget amp; it's already doomed.

I could just go back to a better tube amp if Schiit's own DAC card is my bottle neck. I'm still going to try with more DACs, just I'm not really sure what I should be doing? A Modi would be either multibit or ESS from schiit and I assume that would be one of the most common pairing with the budget amp.

 

[Turcoyan]

... if you don't like it, there is always resale on 'canuckaudiomart.com'.

Yes i know, thank you for your concern, but it’s also a waist of time and money…

 

[Turcoyan]

I bought this amp about 2 weeks ago and I finally got it in the door and on my desk last night. I have no idea why shipping took so long, but that's neither here nor there.

I hooked it up to my Pietus using Pietus as a preamp / DAC. So my chain was iTunes Local FLAC > Pietus with ESS Card > Vali 3 > HD650.

Overall, I can't tell if I am disappointed, disatified or grumpy. At the end of the day, I might be asking too much from an amp that costs $179, but this thing was just not very good. My initial impressions were a severe W shape. The bass/lower mids were muddy and slow and then it was sucked mids to a shrill and unenjoyable treble roll off into some insane peaks.

I have heard my fair share of good tube amps and also have owned some good ones as well. I didn't get much of the etheral tube harmonic distortion that is typical and the tonality was just unenjoyable. My biggest problem with the amp was really how everything felt smooshed. The bass was blobby and one note without any weight or impact and the stage was extremely narrow, even for a HD650. I switched back to my Pietus and the bass impact and timbre improvements were immediately noticeable.

I think as a tube amp this product is pretty bad. I don't really think it has any of the postives of tubes, but it also has all of the negatives. I think as a budget tube amp, I guess it succeeds, but I'm not sure who's going to buy a more expensive tube amp if this is the only one you've heard.

As the old saying goes, different strokes for different folks and I definitely need a different stroke.

I don’t think it’s the Dac in the Pietus the problem. It’s the amp of the Pietus. Those kind of amp , like the Vali’s have not great measurements, so they are tunes by ears as well ( on purpose ) for musicality flavor , So the two amp add both they’re own distorsion to the table « . You cannot simply combine them together, there is not very any chance that their own distorsion can fit together. It’s not like you pass a Heretic thru a Topping preamp/dac that have nearly perfect measurements without distortion. So your review of the Vali 3 is not vailable. Sorry , im not judging you, ar least you try. You should try the Vali 3 with only a DAC. to see if you like it or not. Hope it helps. Best regards

 

[freeryder05]

I don’t think it’s the Dac in the Pietus the problem. It’s the amp of the Pietus. Those kind of amp , like the Vali’s have not great measurement, so they are tunes by ears as well ( on purpose ) , So the two amp add both they’re own distorsion to the table « . you cannot combine them together. It’s not like you pass a Heretic thru a Topping preamp/dac that have nearly perfect measurements without distortion. So your review of the Vali 3 is not vailable. Sorry , im not judging you, ar least you try. You should try the Vali 3 with only a DAC. to see if you like it or not. Hope it helps. Best regards

The Pietus has a preamp stage for this purpose exactly. It's right on the back and is defined as

"A preamplifier, also known as a preamp, is an electronic amplifier that converts a weak electrical signal into an output signal strong enough to be noise-tolerant and strong enough for further processing, or for sending to a power amplifier and a loudspeaker. Without this, the final signal would be noisy or distorted."

It is passing along a signal via RCA into the amp, that's all the preampstage does.

 

[Turcoyan]

The Pietus has a preamp stage for this purpose exactly. It's right on the back and is defined as

"A preamplifier, also known as a preamp, is an electronic amplifier that converts a weak electrical signal into an output signal strong enough to be noise-tolerant and strong enough for further processing, or for sending to a power amplifier and a loudspeaker. Without this, the final signal would be noisy or distorted."

It is passing along a signal via RCA into the amp, that's all the preampstage does.

Yes it’s true an not, only if the power amp is a usual normal amp with good normal measurements that as no flavor of distorsion. So you bring some flavor of the Pietus into it, that’s fine . The Pietus as been build for pleasing distorsion earing. In the case of the Vali 3, there is too much distorsion in it to do so, So you are mixing a Not so good measurement amp ( Pietus ) into a worst one ( Vali ) So both distorsion are added. And there distorsions are not compatible. Normal consumer SS Amps are built with near perfect measurement , like the Heretic with transparence in mind. Vali is build in a différent way of thinking, His distorsion has been study before, like the Pietus. There is sonicly great distorsions for the ear , second harmonic and all , for only the pleasure. But there is few chance that, 2 amps build this way can fit together.

 

[dolande]

Long time lurker, I joined to buy a WE 396A from a member for my Vali 2++ a few months back.
From the comments here looks like people others than @Luckyleo are using the included brand new tube and concluding the Vali 3 sucks. From the little experience I have with my Vali 2++ you need to use (burn in?) your tube for few hours to start getting good sound.

I swapped the included made in CCCP tube by the WE without actually listening much to it. I used the WE for a couple of weeks and when back to the original and it was very harsh. I leaved it on the Vali anyway and continued using it for a few weeks. At that point I swapped again for the WE and the difference wasn't near as clear to the point that I'm not really sure the WE is that much better than the original tube.

 

[rocketron]

You know when you have gone too Headfi

Well here I am comparing the Vali 2++ against the Vali 3.

Mojo 2 as dac as two outputs.
Two Audioquest 3.5 adapters.
Two Kimber KCAG rca cables.
Only problem is can only find one WE396A valve.
In the Vali 2++ is a RCA.

Footnote (1) the Vali 3 has been used for 3-4 days as a preamp in my main system.
(2) I haven’t heard the stock valve.
It’s still in its box.

Volume matched best I can by ear.
Headphones used Sennheiser HD800S and a few pairs of diy Gradoish headphones.

First thing that struck me on the 3 was the lack of noise floor.
Its dead quiet.
This amp isn’t all slow and mushy like old valve amps.
It’s clean , clear open and detailed.
Lovely note decay .
Excellent sense of timing with a decent sound stage.
Stage depth and height are both good while bass not the deepest in the world never bleeds into the midrange.
Nothing ever sounds pushed or forced.

Vali 2++
Bigger bolder sound.
Has less separation and slightly smaller sound stage.
Bass has more over hang and a slower presentation.
More self generated noise.

I have swapped the tubes back and forth and pretty much come to the same conclusions.

Verdict.

Both are excellent especially the Vali 3 for 150 quid and 5 years warranty.
You can’t go wrong with either.

Well done Schiit.

 

[freeryder05]

Yes it’s true an not, only if the power amp is a usual normal amp with good normal measurements, So you bring some flavor of the Pietus into it, that’s fine. In the case of the Vali 3, there is too much distorsion in it to do so, So you are mixing a Not so good measurement amp ( Pietus ) into a worst one ( Vali ) So both distorsion are added. And there distorsions are not compatible. Normal consumer SS Amps are built with near perfect measurement , like the Heretic. Vali is build in a différent way of thinking, like the Pietus. There is sonicly great distorsions for the ear , second harmonic and all , for only the pleasure. But there is few chance that, 2 amps build this way can fit together.

I think this is a really reductive way to think about pairing DAC/Amps together. Moreover, I think "disqualifying" my opinion because it doesn't meet your "standards" is belittling. This amp is $179 and used in a very normal way sounds sub par to my ears. I wanted to throw my opinion out there for those that were thinking of getting the Vali 3.
I can go home, try it with my RS6 lineout and find that the general characteristics will most likely be the same as from Pietus. Even if there are slight differences, I stick to my original statement that this amp does not sound good and money would be better spent on a different SS amp or higher quality All in One device.

 

[HWB3]

Yes it’s true an not, only if the power amp is a usual normal amp with good normal measurements that as no flavor of distorsion. So you bring some flavor of the Pietus into it, that’s fine . The Pietus as been build for pleasing distorsion earing. In the case of the Vali 3, there is too much distorsion in it to do so, So you are mixing a Not so good measurement amp ( Pietus ) into a worst one ( Vali ) So both distorsion are added. And there distorsions are not compatible. Normal consumer SS Amps are built with near perfect measurement , like the Heretic with transparence in mind. Vali is build in a différent way of thinking, His distorsion has been study before, like the Pietus. There is sonicly great distorsions for the ear , second harmonic and all , for only the pleasure. But there is few chance that, 2 amps build this way can fit together.

You make a good point but let me simplify it some. They don't play together well. My Vali 2++ sounds fine going through a Modi Multibit 2. I would think the same would hold true with the Vali 3.

 

[Turcoyan]

Long time lurker, I joined to buy a WE 396A from a member for my Vali 2++ a few months back.
From the comments here looks like people others than @Luckyleo are using the included brand new tube and concluding the Vali 3 sucks. From the little experience I have with my Vali 2++ you need to use (burn in?) your tube for few hours to start getting good sound.

I swapped the included made in CCCP tube by the WE without actually listening much to it. I used the WE for a couple of weeks and when back to the original and it was very harsh. I leaved it on the Vali anyway and continued using it for a few weeks. At that point I swapped again for the WE and the difference wasn't near as clear to the point that I'm not really sure the WE is that much better than the original tube.

Exactly , that’s why i keep asking comments on it, i don’t trust 24 hours review , it takes more time than that. and neither trusting the stock tubes

 

[Nick76]

I didn't like what I heard with it being on for multiple hours, with multiple different DACs, it is a hybrid after all, and a clean one at that. I wasn't gonna throw money on a bunch of tubes for an amp that I didn't like the stock sound of. But who knows maybe that $180 dollar WE 396A would improve the $149 dollar amp. Who knows, just happy to have gotten some of my money back with the return.


Edit: And don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Schiit and most of their products. I just didn't click with this one. I've owned pretty much their whole lineup at one point.

 

[Turcoyan]

I think this is a really reductive way to think about pairing DAC/Amps together. Moreover, I think "disqualifying" my opinion because it doesn't meet your "standards" is belittling. This amp is $179 and used in a very normal way sounds sub par to my ears. I wanted to throw my opinion out there for those that were thinking of getting the Vali 3.
I can go home, try it with my RS6 lineout and find that the general characteristics will most likely be the same as from Pietus. Even if there are slight differences, I stick to my original statement that this amp does not sound good and money would be better spent on a different SS amp or higher quality All in One device.

Sorry i did not mean to offend you at all. But i believe that adding two distorted amp together , can just give you a bias judgement, that’s all, but maybe you end up right and that after all it is not a good sounding amp , but for that it as to be tested with a transparent source , but the Pietus Amp is sure not , but tha Dac inside is probably is. Best regards really. But maybe your still right that

 

[Turcoyan]

I didn't like what I heard with it being on for multiple hours, with multiple different DACs, it is a hybrid after all, and a clean one at that. I wasn't gonna throw money on a bunch of tubes for an amp that I didn't like the stock sound of. But who knows maybe that $180 dollar WE 396A would improve the $149 dollar amp. Who knows, just happy to have gotten some of my money back with the return.

Thank you Nick for your review, Still even you did not let the Time of burn in and did not try another hi-grade tube , still it says a little something for the amp