Valhalla 2 review coming soon!

[jerick70]

I'm looking forward to hearing what your thoughts on the Telefunken's are.

 

[MustelaNivalis]

  Hey Everyone,
 
I just pulled the trigger on a Valhalla 2.  What is the consensus on the best tubes to roll for this amp?  
 
Also, has anyone been using Hifiman HE-400s with this amp.  What are your impressions?
 
-J 

I think it is too early for a consensus, not enough people are rolling the Valhalla 2 because it is too new.
 
From a pure theoretical point of view: The low-gain mode you need to drive the HE-400 has more feedback than the high-gain mode. You could expect less audible effect from tube rolling since the feedback loop eliminates some tube characteristics that have to do with non-linearity. On the other hand, tubes that cause only a small delay between their in and output might sound noticeably better than slower ones when you apply feedback. The 6N1P is then slightly better than 6299, ECC88 and 6DJ8. The 6N6P is better than a 6N30 in this respect. So from this point of view: stick to the original ones.
 
BTW, I replaced the original tubes by cryo-treated ones from the same type and have a hard time hearing the difference. Hopefully they last longer...

 

[grrorr76]

  I'm looking forward to hearing what your thoughts on the Telefunken's are.

I Should have them in the next couple of days .

 

[amigastar]

After being interested in the Schiit Vali but i found out that it may be not enough current for the HE-500 i'm actually leaning towards the Valhalla 2.
 
Would it make a difference to the matrix m-stage. i would assume so since i'm a believer of "You get what you pay" (mostly, there are of course products who can't deliver what they promise)
 
A working friend of mine says that tube amps are the most enjoyable (it's his opinion at least).

 

[grrorr76]

In my opinion I would say they sound more musical and less clinical.

 

[MustelaNivalis]

  After being interested in the Schiit Vali but i found out that it may be not enough current for the HE-500 i'm actually leaning towards the Valhalla 2.
 
Would it make a difference to the matrix m-stage. i would assume so since i'm a believer of "You get what you pay" (mostly, there are of course products who can't deliver what they promise)
 
A working friend of mine says that tube amps are the most enjoyable (it's his opinion at least).

If I read schiit.com correctly, they say the Valhalla 2 can drive "high-efficiency planars like LCD-X, LCD-XC, Oppo PM-1 and HE-400". The HE 500 you mention is not high-efficiency:
 
HE 500
Impedance: 38 Ohm <= requires low-gain mode
Sensitivity: 89 dB <= low-efficiency
 
HE 400
Impedance: 35 Ohm <= requires low-gain mode
Sensitivity: 92.5 dB <= rather medium than high-efficiency
 
From this you could conclude that the Valhalla 2 is not ideal to drive the HE 500. The next option would be Asgard 2 or Lyr 2. You indeed get what you pay for (mine got delivered without any issues , but in this case you pay for some real high value schiit.
 
In general tube-amps sound more musical because tubes are still more linear than transistors and field-transistors. A good amplifier topology can exploit that fact, without introducing new problems.

 

[amigastar]

Hey MustelaNivalis,
thanks for the info.
 
Tough choice considering the Valhalla 2 is not ideal for the HE-500.
I guess i have to inform myself more about tube amps alternatives for the Hifiman. And lookup the specs of the Lyr 2 because i haven't bothered with it as yet.

 

[grrorr76]

I am now rolling some mullards through the input section of my Valhalla 2 and I have to say I love them. The highs have a pronounced roll of and a more linear less harsh feel to them. This is especially nice on albums which have an overt digital sound to them. It gives them a more musical sound. 

 

[grrorr76]

I got my telefunkan tubes yesterday and put them into my Valhalla 2. Wow underplays how lovely these sound. The highs have an ultra milky smooth tone now. Sound stage feels deeper and more 3d bass feels tighter to and tonally richer.
Music that sounded digital sounds so linear and warm. I am thrilled. Good thing to as I ordered 2 pairs.

 

[Otheronek]

I got my telefunkan tubes yesterday and put them into my Valhalla 2. Wow underplays how lovely these sound. The highs have an ultra milky smooth tone now. Sound stage feels deeper and more 3d bass feels tighter to and tonally richer.
Music that sounded digital sounds so linear and warm. I am thrilled. Good thing to as I ordered 2 pairs.

Were these NOS tubes or the new production tubes being released by Telefunkin USA?

 

[Syan25]

Just paid for mine...wonder when I'll get it....

 

[grrorr76]

Were these NOS tubes or the new production tubes being released by Telefunkin USA?

nos ones made in ulm germany late 60's diamond bottoms

 

[Syan25]

Holy - it shipped super fast! I m excited

 

[philiphotog]

I've had the Bifrost and Valhalla 2 for a few weeks now, and all I can say is 'wow'. Just a beautiful luscious sound. I do have  a question. I have the Bifrost hooked up via optical to my Mac Pro Desktop. I can get 24/96 but no higher and after some research, that's the highest available for mac. So now I'm wondering, am I missing out on 24/176 or 24/192? Should I upgrade and get the USB option installed by Schiit? I generally only listen to CD's imported as Apple Lossless, so I'm not sure if there would be an improvement or not. Can someone help?

 

[MustelaNivalis]

  I've had the Bifrost and Valhalla 2 for a few weeks now, and all I can say is 'wow'. Just a beautiful luscious sound. I do have  a question. I have the Bifrost hooked up via optical to my Mac Pro Desktop. I can get 24/96 but no higher and after some research, that's the highest available for mac. So now I'm wondering, am I missing out on 24/176 or 24/192? Should I upgrade and get the USB option installed by Schiit? I generally only listen to CD's imported as Apple Lossless, so I'm not sure if there would be an improvement or not. Can someone help?

I heard the biggest jump in audio quality between 44.1/16 (CD) and 44.1/24 (Studio Master). Above that, most material I have come across is remastered analogue and an occasional more recent HD recording. You could still play such material if you down-sample it on a Mac or PC. To my ears, recordings that really benefit from over 96/24 are very rare, they must contain real instruments, top vocalists or interesting room acoustics. On top of that, the recording requires special care and extra effort, very rare these days.
 
There is no point in using HD audio formats to playback electronic instruments of lesser definition. You can however buy such recordings for a premium, if you insist... I am not eager to buy a DAC that goes over 96/24 at home myself. More sound quality below that sample rate is more appealing to me.
 
The S/PDIF going over your fiber has a disadvantage compared to asynchronous USB when if comes to clock jitter. But from the Bifrost, I expect good clock recovery. Here is a link that explains that S/PDIF can never be completely decoupled from the source and the cable characteristics: http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=S/PDIF
 
Anyway, please give Schiit some more sales, they will give us new products in return.