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Godmachine
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2003
- Messages
- 10,472
If you don't know Schiit then you are in for a treat because unlike MANY headphone amp and DAC manufacturers , they are based in the US and more importantly these products are MADE in the USA. Fully assembled here (with as little part out sourcing as humanly possible while keeping prices low) so you automatically get that this is not only improving your sound quality in those excellent headphones you own but that you are supporting national manufacturers here in the states and keeping jobs in the US.
Now as for Customer service , they are simply breaking the mold as far as this is concerned. You can virtually get a hold of them at any time during the week 7 day's a week with response times generally within 10-20 minutes based on my experience. Jason over at Schiit was able to response to my questions with very prompt and well explained answers that were easy to understand. I've never be able to get such good customer service (except maybe Amazon) and least of all from a dealer in this genre. The majority of amps and DAC's are made in China and that can lead to very long turn around times for repairs and expensive shipping fee's. I've heard of people having turn around times stretching into "Months" and costing over $100 for shipments. The piece of mind of knowing that you will not be experiencing that is worth it alone. Schiit also offers a 5 year warranty with all there products. Now I'm not trying to act like an ad for Schiit , I'm merely that impressed with there customer service which is bar none some of the best I've experienced.
As for the Amp its-self. I'll break it down with the following.
Pro's :
Build Quality - 10/10 : Solid metal chassis , very sturdy and a nice solid weight to the amp. Its power supply's are quite beefy and while the unit does get hot (this is a tube amp after all) it copes with it like a champ. Comes with 4 little pads to attach to the bottom of the unit to provide some air flow across the bottom of the unit. All in all very impressive.
Input's - 9/10 : While you are provided with what you need , a pre-amp output would have been nice however I would imagine that it was kept out to keep the cost low. You are provided with RCA input jacks and an switch to turn the unit on and off. Very simply interface and personally I love it. Makes it easy to deal with. Cheaper amps often crowd everything together to keep the cost low but Schiit still managed to keep everything intact while not mucking up the design quality and keeping cost in the realm of reality.
Sound Quality - 9/10 : I own HD650's , DT 880 600 Ohm edition cans and a few low impedance cans for portable use. This amp is NOT intended for low impedance cans , its made for high independence and it simply won't benefit some of the more popular low impedance cans (Denon AH series for instance) so if that's what you run then I would recommend the Schiit Asgard or Lyr as they will run virtually anything on the planet. Valhalla is strictly designed for high impedance headphones , it will run lower ones but its not recommended.
I find the Valhalla adds extra treble to the HD650 in a way that it doesn't "offend" your ears with extreme brightness. It makes the generally "Dark" nature of the HD650 much more involved and rich. I realize lots of people use these unhelpful phrases like "Rich" , "Full" and "Lush" but the only real way to describe it and not sound like its being cooked inside of a cake is simply .. it sounds more alive. The music sounds more real , you can pick out (with no extra effort) individual instruments very easily even with lower quality source material even. I describe an upgrade in sound quality as an effortless one , I have to be able to discern the difference with little to no effort and if I can and I enjoy it then its a true upgrade. I'm not personally into minor or "incremental" upgrades that often plague higher end amp's , dac's and headphone's alike.
Again , If you have high impedance headphones and they don't have overly excited treble than the Valhalla will simply make it even more pleasurable to listen to. Being a tube amp , it runs hotter than your standard solid state amp (except the Asgard , that thing will cook an egg!) but this is how Class A amps do there business. They run at full potential ALL the time versus only when the demands call for it , so you never run at half quality. This is the benefit of Class A amps as it allows current to remain constant regardless of the load placed at its output , which means the full sound ALL the time instead of variable current from lower end class amps. What does this mean to the average joe? Better sound quality and that's what matters.
If Tube amps aren't your thing then do NOT bother with the Valhalla , it will not suddenly change your perception of tube amps. If you are new to tube amps than this sucker is a great entry level one and perfectly for find that sonic harmony we all wish to achieve.
Cons :
Will NOT power Planar Magnetic headphones well at all. This kind of headphone needs a lot more current to be properly powered. The Valhalla is not the kind of amp that was designed for Planar Magnetic headphones , for that I would point you towards the Asgard or the Lyr from Schiit as both will power that kind of headphone just wonderfully. They are also a new balanced AMP that is suppose to be mind blowing during the Summer as well.
You can't "tube roll" or switch out for difference sets of tubes to fine tune the sound to your personal liking. You are *highly recommended* to use the supplied 6N1P and 6N6P tube sets. The Valhalla has been designed with these sets in mind and they are great so don't worry if you think you might be missing out. Tube rolling often only provides VERY subtle changes that many people would have a hard time noticing anyway.
I simply can not praise this amp for headphones enough. This amp however will bring out treble in a way that doesn't make you cringe during high notes while still providing the full experience of that sound as intended. Tube amps are often well known for taming painful highs , this amp is a little different in that regard so if you are worried it will "soften" or "warm" up your sound , don't be.
I simply can not recommend this amp enough for folks out there with high impedance headphones. If you do and are looking for a new amp and have the right kind of cans , BUY THIS ONE and you won't be disappointed.
Now as for Customer service , they are simply breaking the mold as far as this is concerned. You can virtually get a hold of them at any time during the week 7 day's a week with response times generally within 10-20 minutes based on my experience. Jason over at Schiit was able to response to my questions with very prompt and well explained answers that were easy to understand. I've never be able to get such good customer service (except maybe Amazon) and least of all from a dealer in this genre. The majority of amps and DAC's are made in China and that can lead to very long turn around times for repairs and expensive shipping fee's. I've heard of people having turn around times stretching into "Months" and costing over $100 for shipments. The piece of mind of knowing that you will not be experiencing that is worth it alone. Schiit also offers a 5 year warranty with all there products. Now I'm not trying to act like an ad for Schiit , I'm merely that impressed with there customer service which is bar none some of the best I've experienced.
As for the Amp its-self. I'll break it down with the following.
Pro's :
Build Quality - 10/10 : Solid metal chassis , very sturdy and a nice solid weight to the amp. Its power supply's are quite beefy and while the unit does get hot (this is a tube amp after all) it copes with it like a champ. Comes with 4 little pads to attach to the bottom of the unit to provide some air flow across the bottom of the unit. All in all very impressive.
Input's - 9/10 : While you are provided with what you need , a pre-amp output would have been nice however I would imagine that it was kept out to keep the cost low. You are provided with RCA input jacks and an switch to turn the unit on and off. Very simply interface and personally I love it. Makes it easy to deal with. Cheaper amps often crowd everything together to keep the cost low but Schiit still managed to keep everything intact while not mucking up the design quality and keeping cost in the realm of reality.
Sound Quality - 9/10 : I own HD650's , DT 880 600 Ohm edition cans and a few low impedance cans for portable use. This amp is NOT intended for low impedance cans , its made for high independence and it simply won't benefit some of the more popular low impedance cans (Denon AH series for instance) so if that's what you run then I would recommend the Schiit Asgard or Lyr as they will run virtually anything on the planet. Valhalla is strictly designed for high impedance headphones , it will run lower ones but its not recommended.
I find the Valhalla adds extra treble to the HD650 in a way that it doesn't "offend" your ears with extreme brightness. It makes the generally "Dark" nature of the HD650 much more involved and rich. I realize lots of people use these unhelpful phrases like "Rich" , "Full" and "Lush" but the only real way to describe it and not sound like its being cooked inside of a cake is simply .. it sounds more alive. The music sounds more real , you can pick out (with no extra effort) individual instruments very easily even with lower quality source material even. I describe an upgrade in sound quality as an effortless one , I have to be able to discern the difference with little to no effort and if I can and I enjoy it then its a true upgrade. I'm not personally into minor or "incremental" upgrades that often plague higher end amp's , dac's and headphone's alike.
Again , If you have high impedance headphones and they don't have overly excited treble than the Valhalla will simply make it even more pleasurable to listen to. Being a tube amp , it runs hotter than your standard solid state amp (except the Asgard , that thing will cook an egg!) but this is how Class A amps do there business. They run at full potential ALL the time versus only when the demands call for it , so you never run at half quality. This is the benefit of Class A amps as it allows current to remain constant regardless of the load placed at its output , which means the full sound ALL the time instead of variable current from lower end class amps. What does this mean to the average joe? Better sound quality and that's what matters.
If Tube amps aren't your thing then do NOT bother with the Valhalla , it will not suddenly change your perception of tube amps. If you are new to tube amps than this sucker is a great entry level one and perfectly for find that sonic harmony we all wish to achieve.
Cons :
Will NOT power Planar Magnetic headphones well at all. This kind of headphone needs a lot more current to be properly powered. The Valhalla is not the kind of amp that was designed for Planar Magnetic headphones , for that I would point you towards the Asgard or the Lyr from Schiit as both will power that kind of headphone just wonderfully. They are also a new balanced AMP that is suppose to be mind blowing during the Summer as well.
You can't "tube roll" or switch out for difference sets of tubes to fine tune the sound to your personal liking. You are *highly recommended* to use the supplied 6N1P and 6N6P tube sets. The Valhalla has been designed with these sets in mind and they are great so don't worry if you think you might be missing out. Tube rolling often only provides VERY subtle changes that many people would have a hard time noticing anyway.
I simply can not praise this amp for headphones enough. This amp however will bring out treble in a way that doesn't make you cringe during high notes while still providing the full experience of that sound as intended. Tube amps are often well known for taming painful highs , this amp is a little different in that regard so if you are worried it will "soften" or "warm" up your sound , don't be.
I simply can not recommend this amp enough for folks out there with high impedance headphones. If you do and are looking for a new amp and have the right kind of cans , BUY THIS ONE and you won't be disappointed.