[mammal]

I have been on Head-Fi for years now, long before having my own business and my only reason is exchange with fellow audiophiles. That's it. I don't actually promote stuff, I just give my personal opinion. Like anyone else. Of course I learn a lot here about what people think and want or not want. I am also a user experience designer by trade and so any forum is valuable to me in that regard.

The last thing I want to see is you getting banned, I think you are a valuable member of this forum and deserve to be able to participate. This being said, your review a couple of pages back links to your blog, which is associated with your online store. I have not reviewed Head-Fi's terms and conditions, what I am merely suggesting is that you do, in case their rules are too restrictive for anyone who "sells headphones online".

 

[TomKorn]

The last thing I want to see is you getting banned, I think you are a valuable member of this forum and deserve to be able to participate. This being said, your review a couple of pages back links to your blog, which is associated with your online store. I have not reviewed Head-Fi's terms and conditions, what I am merely suggesting is that you do, in case their rules are too restrictive for anyone who "sells headphones online".

Thanks for pointing it out. You're right. I literally just copy/pasted the whole text that day. So the links were still in there. I will take them out as I really don't want trouble...
Done.

 

[paradoxper]

I have been on Head-Fi for years now, long before having my own business and my only reason is exchange with fellow audiophiles. That's it. I don't actually promote stuff, I just give my personal opinion. Like anyone else. Of course I learn a lot here about what people think and want or not want. I am also a user experience designer by trade and so any forum is valuable to me in that regard.

Sure. You being on Head-Fi for years is worse as you can't cry ignorance.

The bottom line is you are a dealer source (as it seems) which regardless of your intent needs to be disclosed.

Head-Fi likely should ban you under an assumptive promotion of sales of Spirit Torino products.

Also known as shilling.

 

[TomKorn]

Sure. You being on Head-Fi for years is worse as you can't cry ignorance.

The bottom line is you are a dealer source (as it seems) which regardless of your intent needs to be disclosed.

Head-Fi likely should ban you under an assumptive promotion of sales of Spirit Torino products.

Also known as shilling.

I did not intend to do so. And I gotta find out how to "disclose". Sorry if I made anyone angry. If you consider me a shill, I probably can't do anything to make you think otherwise.

 

[paradoxper]

I did not intend to do so. And I gotta find out how to "disclose". Sorry if I made anyone angry. If you consider me a shill, I probably can't do anything to make you think otherwise.

Your intent is not relevant, the fact is you are a dealer and a business. You aren't the first innocent mistake or intentional player.

I don't consider you a shill but I am also a willy-nilly spirit whom could care less who shills what or where, it influences me zero.

But it's nice to be in good faith however naive that is perceived.

 

[best56]

Sure. You being on Head-Fi for years is worse as you can't cry ignorance.

The bottom line is you are a dealer source (as it seems) which regardless of your intent needs to be disclosed.

Head-Fi likely should ban you under an assumptive promotion of sales of Spirit Torino products.

Also known as shilling.

All of them are inquisitors and this is not good at all. It didn't seem to me that he wanted to propose the sale of the Spirit Torino Valkyrie, which is a headphone made only on order and whose cost is 12,000 Euro ... so what are you talking about!!!

 

[TomKorn]

I wrote to head-fi staff and asked them to change my status. I don't have a problem doing that at all. If I was being ignorant of the fact that I need to do this, yeah, it's my responsibility. But thanks anyway for pointing it out.

What will change for me sadly is that I won't be able to give my honest opinion anymore about products that I now sell. And I am always being honest about products here and to my customers.

I tested demos over months to know what they can do and to be able to advise customers and head-fiers alike.

I stated issues that I have with products openly in this forum, towards the manufacturers (so they can improve) and now to customers as well.

Sorry. I had to get this off my chest as honesty to me is dear... If you believe it or not.

 

[up late]

ok. back on topic please.

 

[simorag]

This is one of my reference piano recordings, and of course a balsam for the ears, soul and mind on its own right.

No headphones I had in the house came even close to what the Valkyria can do here .

 

[TomKorn]

I had another listening/discussion session today with @mammal who kindly invited me again.

He added some tubes to the chain and we tested the headphones once more.

I'm sure @mammal will post an update soon on our conclusions.

 

[mammal]

I had another listening/discussion session today with @mammal who kindly invited me again.

He added some tubes to the chain and we tested the headphones once more.

I'm sure @mammal will post an update soon on our conclusions.

Thanks for coming over today, @TomKorn

Yeah, we tested Valkyria and AB-1266 out of Bartok DAC + Rossini Clock + Viva Egoista 845 SET tube amplifier. What surprised us both was how Viva made 1266 sound more cohesive, and Valkyria a bit darker. I think I would prefer Valkyria out of Bartok directly, where as with 1266 it would be out of Viva by a slight margin.

To conclude my findings relevant to this thread - Valkyria is an excellent headphone, the build feels premium when you hold it in your hands (pictures do not do it justice). The looks are over the top, which I did not like, but my wife did, so clearly matter of preference. The cable can be customised if you work with Spirit Torino, you can select sleeving or a different connector, as well as different headband. I was impressed by Valkyria's resolution, to me, it wasn't 1266 level, but easy Susvara's. Worked magic on unamplified acoustic music, like piano and strings. Vocals were a bit darker than Susvara, but still very forward compared to 1266.

If the headphone was 6k, I would have most likely purchased it. But for 12k, I had to give it more detailed thought. The purchase preferences for me would be Valkyria over Viva amplifier over Rossini Clock (which we both did not hear any difference on Bartok). This is not to say Viva amp is not a good purchase, just not if you already have Bartok, which is powerful enough for both Valkyria as well as 1266. This being said, I have decided to put my money towards Riviera AIC-10 amplifier, which in my personal opinion (Tom hasn't heard it yet) complements 1266 and Bartok just wonderfully and for my style of music works better than Valkyria. Because of that, I will pass on this chance to own a very unique and impressive headphone, Valkyria.

Thanks Tom, again for lending me your demo for a whole week, really appreciated it!

 

[Tarttett]

Thanks for coming over today, @TomKorn

Yeah, we tested Valkyria and AB-1266 out of Bartok DAC + Rossini Clock + Viva Egoista 845 SET tube amplifier. What surprised us both was how Viva made 1266 sound more cohesive, and Valkyria a bit darker. I think I would prefer Valkyria out of Bartok directly, where as with 1266 it would be out of Viva by a slight margin.

To conclude my findings relevant to this thread - Valkyria is an excellent headphone, the build feels premium when you hold it in your hands (pictures do not do it justice). The looks are over the top, which I did not like, but my wife did, so clearly matter of preference. The cable can be customised if you work with Spirit Torino, you can select sleeving or a different connector, as well as different headband. I was impressed by Valkyria's resolution, to me, it wasn't 1266 level, but easy Susvara's. Worked magic on unamplified acoustic music, like piano and strings. Vocals were a bit darker than Susvara, but still very forward compared to 1266.

If the headphone was 6k, I would have most likely purchased it. But for 12k, I had to give it more detailed thought. The purchase preferences for me would be Valkyria over Viva amplifier over Rossini Clock (which we both did not hear any difference on Bartok). This is not to say Viva amp is not a good purchase, just not if you already have Bartok, which is powerful enough for both Valkyria as well as 1266. This being said, I have decided to put my money towards Riviera AIC-10 amplifier, which in my personal opinion (Tom hasn't heard it yet) complements 1266 and Bartok just wonderfully and for my style of music works better than Valkyria. Because of that, I will pass on this chance to own a very unique and impressive headphone, Valkyria.

Thanks Tom, again for lending me your demo for a whole week, really appreciated it!

I would be interested to know of whether or not you possibly would consider those Kennerton Rognirs, together with merely utilising that Bartók, to be suitable for you, in comparison for those AB-1266 TCs, together with utilising that AIC-10, so that you would be able to utilise that "all-in-one solution", instead of utilising that additional amplifier.

Would you possibly be able to receive a set of those Kennerton Rognirs, from a dealer, for you to be able to listen to those?

 

[simorag]

Thanks for coming over today, @TomKorn

Yeah, we tested Valkyria and AB-1266 out of Bartok DAC + Rossini Clock + Viva Egoista 845 SET tube amplifier. What surprised us both was how Viva made 1266 sound more cohesive, and Valkyria a bit darker. I think I would prefer Valkyria out of Bartok directly, where as with 1266 it would be out of Viva by a slight margin.

To conclude my findings relevant to this thread - Valkyria is an excellent headphone, the build feels premium when you hold it in your hands (pictures do not do it justice). The looks are over the top, which I did not like, but my wife did, so clearly matter of preference. The cable can be customised if you work with Spirit Torino, you can select sleeving or a different connector, as well as different headband. I was impressed by Valkyria's resolution, to me, it wasn't 1266 level, but easy Susvara's. Worked magic on unamplified acoustic music, like piano and strings. Vocals were a bit darker than Susvara, but still very forward compared to 1266.

If the headphone was 6k, I would have most likely purchased it. But for 12k, I had to give it more detailed thought. The purchase preferences for me would be Valkyria over Viva amplifier over Rossini Clock (which we both did not hear any difference on Bartok). This is not to say Viva amp is not a good purchase, just not if you already have Bartok, which is powerful enough for both Valkyria as well as 1266. This being said, I have decided to put my money towards Riviera AIC-10 amplifier, which in my personal opinion (Tom hasn't heard it yet) complements 1266 and Bartok just wonderfully and for my style of music works better than Valkyria. Because of that, I will pass on this chance to own a very unique and impressive headphone, Valkyria.

Thanks Tom, again for lending me your demo for a whole week, really appreciated it!

Giving priority to maxing out the performance of your favorite heapdhones (and possibly the very best heapdhones available today for the genres you like the most) by pairing the AB-1266 with the best amp you can get seems a sensible approach to me.

Having the Bartok and an amp like the AIC-10, which is capable to drive every dynamic and planar out there, will allow plenty of choice for complementary heapdhones at due time (sooner than later my intuition tells me ... . ).

 

[mammal]

I would be interested to know of whether or not you possibly would consider those Kennerton Rognirs, together with merely utilising that Bartók, to be suitable for you, in comparison for those AB-1266 TCs, together with utilising that AIC-10, so that you would be able to utilise that "all-in-one solution", instead of utilising that additional amplifier.

Would you possibly be able to receive a set of those Kennerton Rognirs, from a dealer, for you to be able to listen to those?

I would be interested in testing Rognirs, but I don't think I know a dealer who has a demo unit.

 

[best56]

I would be interested to know of whether or not you possibly would consider those Kennerton Rognirs, together with merely utilising that Bartók, to be suitable for you, in comparison for those AB-1266 TCs, together with utilising that AIC-10, so that you would be able to utilise that "all-in-one solution", instead of utilising that additional amplifier.

Would you possibly be able to receive a set of those Kennerton Rognirs, from a dealer, for you to be able to listen to those?

Kennerton Rögnir play very good with Bartok Driver, with its 42 Ohm and 100 dB of Sensibility.