Schiit Valhalla 2 Review

[spwath]

Well, I just wrote this review, then pressed the little trash can, deleting the whole thing. Lesson learned. Typing this in word first…

I hope I got everything I first had, it may be a bit shorter than it originally was.

 

First, a pretty pic:

 

Looks/Build Quality

Looks are pretty subjective, but here it is. I got the less common black finish. It is normally a brushed silver finish, but mine has a nice sandblasted black finish. It is a pretty simple two piece design, with a steel chassis, and an aluminum wrap around piece. Understated, and sturdy. Nothing crazy like some other tube amps. Well built, only part to watch out for is the exposed glass tubes. One thing to note, these things get hot. The top of the chassis gets too hot to hold your hand on for more than a few seconds, the tubes themselves are even hotter, don't touch them.

 

Features

Not too much to say here, but I’ll go over it anyway. Uses a standard PC power cord, as the power supply/transformers are contained within the chassis. RCA input, and variable RCA pre out, so you can hook up some powered monitors or other things. Nice sized volume knob on the front, much better than the knob on the magni/vali. It may not seem like a big deal, but it really is. The magni/vali knob is just too small to be precise with. 1/4" TRS out on front, standard for a higher end amp. No balanced or anything, but that is not usually found in a tube amp of this class, and is really not needed until you get deep into audiopheelia.

 

Sound

So I’m not the best at describing sound yet, but I’m much better than I was before. Still somewhat new to this audio thing, but not that new.

My audio chain is Geek Out 450 as a dac, feeding Valhalla 2, into modded HD650’s.

To start off, this thing has some punch. It really impacts. In songs like Ecstasy, by Rusted Root, the strong bass line and drums really impact. This is the first thing I noticed with this amp, compared to my Vali 1. The first thing I noticed with my Vali 1, was that it had much more punch compared to my Magni 2. So compared to the magni 2, I find the Valhalla hits much harder, with nice strong bass. Tight, fast, and hard hitting. Like a well made sealed 12” sub.

This also brings out more details. I’m not saying that I can hear new instruments that I didn’t before, but sorry, despite what amazon reviews say on random “good” headphones, that just doesn’t happen. However, it does bring out new details. Much more so than the Vali or Magni.

Now, like @SSL said in his review linked below, compared the Valhalla 2, the magni is just plain boring. The Valhalla is engaging, but not fatiguing.

So if the Magni is 5% better, and the Valhalla is 30% better, I would put the Vali at around 10-15% better. The Valhalla is just plain good.

 

Conclusion

The Valhalla is good. Much more engaging than the Vali 1, and even more so than the Magni 2. Brings out the details, has nice slam. Solid and understated build. Synergizes well with the HD650. Should go well with any high impedance headphone, as it is an OTL amp. I recommend it. Especially with the HD650.

 

 

@SSL's Review: 

 

[Guest]

Yep, Valhalla with HD 650 is just too good. These days it's a struggle to turn off the music and go to bed at night because I just want to keep listening.

[spwath]

9 minutes ago, SSL said:

Yep, Valhalla with HD 650 is just too good. These days it's a struggle to turn off the music and go to bed at night because I just want to keep listening.

Yeah. And Ill be getting a taste of multibit, seeing if that will make things even better. Aufmerksam is letting me try out his modi multibit and TH-X00 and buy if I like them.

I need a good closed back for college.

[spwath]

Update: Also very nice with Fostex TH-X00 (review on that coming later).

 

Tried out some other tubes I had, JJ E88CC.

Seems to me like this increases the soundstage a bit, and increases clarity. Maybe a little less bass, but more controlled. More impact/slam, but possibly less overall bass.

I like these tubes, overall is an improvement, but relatively small. 

 

 

Also note, I just took a measurement of the temp of the power tubes: 175 degrees F. they get hot.