[briantrinh86]

may i know what's this do better than susvara and 1266 phi tc?

 

[Hiker816]

may i know what's this do better than susvara and 1266 phi tc?

Can't speak to the Susvara and "better" is a loaded word. But I would say that Valkyria has more realistic timbre than the 1266, has more tonal density and weight across the full FR, and is much richer though the midrange.

 

[ardbeg1975]

may i know what's this do better than susvara and 1266 phi tc?

I agree with the earlier statement about the TC. Compared to the Sus, the Valkyria also presents more note weight. Despite the Sus’s notable timbral excellence, the Valkyria is more realistic to me especially for drums and all mid-centric instruments and vocals. The Valkyria has smoother treble which is not as airy as the Sus. The Valkyria is easier to drive. The advantage of the Sus is it is more of an all-rounder. For specific genres (metal, jazz, live instruments, classical), the Valkyria is one of the best I’ve ever heard but it does falter on EDM and Hip Hop.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I agree with the earlier statement about the TC. Compared to the Sus, the Valkyria also presents more note weight. Despite the Sus’s notable timbral excellence, the Valkyria is more realistic to me especially for drums and all mid-centric instruments and vocals. The Valkyria has smoother treble which is not as airy as the Sus. The Valkyria is easier to drive. The advantage of the Sus is it is more of an all-rounder. For specific genres (metal, jazz, live instruments, classical), the Valkyria is one of the best I’ve ever heard but it does falter on EDM and Hip Hop.

Good summary here.

 

[simorag]

Just started revisiting the Valkyria after the arrival of the Horizon.

Or, rediscovering them again?

Their raw and visceral take, their forceful portrayal of the Masculine in music are now conveyed with a novel sense of continuous flow. Almost a touch of romance I have yet to decide whether I like or not.

I have to recalibrate my ears and brain after a full immersion into the Immanis presentation for the last few weeks, which is close to the polar opposite of the Valkyria's.

A reassuring starting point is that the V. are still my personal all-time favorite headphones for piano

Next step: rolling the G73-R tube back in the AIC-10 in place of the Mullard.

 

[DJJEZ]

Just started revisiting the Valkyria after the arrival of the Horizon.

Or, rediscovering them again?



Their raw and visceral take, their forceful portrayal of the Masculine in music are now conveyed with a novel sense of continuous flow. Almost a touch of romance I have yet to decide whether I like or not.

I have to recalibrate my ears and brain after a full immersion into the Immanis presentation for the last few weeks, which is close to the polar opposite of the Valkyria's.

A reassuring starting point is that the V. are still my personal all-time favorite headphones for piano

Next step: rolling the G73-R tube back in the AIC-10 in place of the Mullard.

Congrats on the horizon, looking forward to your impressions of it.

 

[simorag]

Congrats on the horizon, looking forward to your impressions of it.

Thank you! The Horizon has been the single piece of electronics with the most striking impact on the sound of my system along my audiophile journey to date. It went beyond what I expected - and my expectations were quite high.

The most apparent trait of this DAC is how full, organic and emotionally charged the midrange has become, in comparison to what I had before.

Like when I had the HE 1 at home, I am impressed by how this gear can convey a 'beautiful' sound (which of course we tend to associate with coloration) together with top echelon technicalities.

To avoid derailing this thread too much, here is a link to some rambling I penned out elsewhere.
https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/simones-tale-in-three-parts/

Page 4 is about the Valkyria, with which the synergy is very good after choosing the G73R on the AIC-10, although not as magical of what I have observed with the Immanis.

I am confident that with more experimentation on tube rolling I will learn new things about how to maximise the outcome of various pairings I may have at hand now and in the future (phones and loudspeakers).

 

[Exekuhtor]

*googles Horizon DAC*
*sees price*
Oh, ok.
Yeah, good for you! Enjoy!
Maybe (way) later down the line i'll look into tube DAC's, from the few things i've read they should be the next big step up from a good R2R. I am already obsessed with tubes anyway. They are making every headphone sound the best i've heard.
Are you using DSD?

 

[simorag]

*googles Horizon DAC*
*sees price*
Oh, ok.
Yeah, good for you! Enjoy!
Maybe (way) later down the line i'll look into tube DAC's, from the few things i've read they should be the next big step up from a good R2R. I am already obsessed with tubes anyway. They are making every headphone sound the best i've heard.
Are you using DSD?

Most of my collection is 16/44, and being an avid user of streaming services the majority of my listeing is with PCM material.

That said, I have several DSD albums as well, and I especially like HDDT remasters https://www.highdeftapetransfers.ca/.

This album below (HDTT DSD256) is one of the most striking examples I encountered of what a great recording can achieve in terms of spatialization and dynamics. With the Valkyria, the presence of the components of this small ensemble jumps at you with a physicality which is very hard to resist

 

[smodtactical]

Aries Cerat Genus 845

My recent "comeback" to head-fi has led me to a journey seeking the TOTL that suites my taste.
I took the plunge on many TOTL headphones from various topologies (Planar, Dynamic, Estat).
Eventually, in a moment of spontaneity, I ordered the Spirit Torino Pulsar.
I immediately fell in love with the Pulsar's sound and decided to reach for the Valkyria.
This led me to the end of my journey, leaving only the Valkyria and the Susvara (which I'm still debating whether to sell or not - but I still love it).

The additional piece in the puzzle was an headphones amp that can provide support for (almost) any headphone I will choose.
After owning the Viva 845 and listening to the Riviera, I've decided to replace the Viva with the Riviera, as it was a more complete headphones amp and provided the best sound and support for my headphones inventory.

I can say, without a doubt, that the Riviera and the Valkyria are a match made in heaven. They just sound sublime and you absolutely don't need to look further if that's your taste in sound.

As part of testing out amps for bi-amping my speakers system, I stumbled upon the Aries Cerat Genus.
I recalled it was briefly discussed in head-fi and read it has a great headphones output as well.
I thought that maybe I'll be able to get a 2-in-1 amp.
Not expecting much from the headphones output, as I already mentioned I found my destined combo (Riviera + Valkyria).
Also, being a 845-based SET amp, I expected similar issues like those I've experienced with the Viva.

Well, appearance and similar topologies can be misleading.
The Aries Cerat Genus turn out to be a completely different animal from the Viva.
It had all the Viva pros and not any of its cons.
The sound coming out from both the Valkyria and the Susvara was something I have never experienced in my headphones journey.
Just when you thought you reached your goal...
The sound is airy, dynamic, midrange to die for with excellent timbre and amazing tonality.
What you would expect a TOTL SET to sound like, but unfortunately, I have not heard a SET headphones amp that sounds like that until I've listening to the Genus.
No problem with bass (it has loads of it).

The Riviera is still sublime, but its color comes out as "too much" when listening to the Genus.
Adding to the above, the Genus also has great musicality - I found myself sitting for hours listening and forgetting about my day.
As the Riviera is priced similar to the Genus (Riviera has raised their price significantly over past 2 years) - I do think that anyone considering a TOTL headphones amp should not miss out on the Genus.

My listening menu is mostly classical and instrumental music, so anyone with a different musical "diet" should probably take my notes with a pinch of salt.

So of the 2 amps the aic10 is warmer, richer, tubier than the genus ?