Schiit Vali 3

Also note, some of those WE396A tubes are super dark. Not my normal experience with them but a couple came with an amp I bought and they sounded nothing like the others I owned.

Surely different years of manufacturing and I don't remember which was which. Just further buyer beware. You might end up missing that decay, air and space that you're paying so much money to hear.

 

I've got SW51 sitting in the queue (err, desk drawer) for comparison, and plain Piety, too. It might be a week or two before I can rearrange the system to accommodate but will add comparisons when i can!

 

Brief technical measurement preview. Full suite will be performed when I have sufficient time and energy.

Vali3 GE JAN5670W tubes 1 KHz Distortion 0 dBu Hi Gain 300R load

1) AC mains noise is 20 dB below threshold of audibility for common headphone sensitivities. Even listening to S12 IEM on high gain I could not detect any hum, buzz, hiss or other noise.
2) Descending harmonic distortion consistent with the best SET amplifiers.
3) Very low crap factor.
Measurements indicate this amp has a lot in common with my favorite high technical performance amplifiers.

Vali3 GE JAN5670W tubes 1 KHz Distortion 0 dBu Lo Gain 300R load

Low gain reduces harmonic distortion, but I prefer listening with Hi gain mode.

Vali3 GE JAN5670W tubes 1 KHz Distortion 0 dBu Hi Gain 32R load

Low impedance loads increase the harmonic distortion produced by Vali3. However this was my favorite mode when using S12 IEMs.

Vali3 GE JAN5670W tubes 1 KHz Distortion 0 dBu Lo Gain 32R load

Low gain mode mitigates harmonic distortion levels.

Listening to Water's Gift, Canyon Dreams - Tangerine Dream while posting this. Almost too distracting to type coherent thoughts.

 

What a fun little amp!

I recently picked up a pair of ZMF Atticus headphones for the main purpose of having a closed-back pair to listen to when hanging out with my wife, which meant I needed a small-ish amp that's easy to move around wherever we're hanging in the house.

I've long been skeptical of the Schiit small-form amps since I got a Magni 3 years ago that I wasn't a fan of, but after @yotacowboy observed it plays well with high impedance cans, I thought it might just be the ticket. I'm not sure I hear the same midrange magic as others here, but the price is certainly magical enough for an impulse purchase.

And in retrospect, if you were to put the power supply into the same chassis, you'd end up with something Asgard/Jot/Lyr size. I've only heard the Asgard 3 (hated it, too placid and bucolic - the Vali 3 is far more lively), but would be curious to hear what others think compared to those amps, as they may be a better comparison than various Magnis.

I'm not sure I hear the same midrange magic as others here, but the price is certainly magical enough for an impulse purchase.

I did try this amp briefly with an Audeze LCD-2 Classic, which was pretty good, but almost all of my listening has been with the Atticus.

I think the standout on this amp for me has to be the bass. I'm a sucker for a good bass response that balances good quantity with good quality, and while I might wish the amp slammed a little bit more (and it's no slouch), the quality is there! Low register instruments have really good texture through the Vali 3, on par with my MP Liquid Platinum, and honestly, better than the Mjolnir 3.

I had one of those "I've never heard that before!" moments on a song I've heard hundreds of times before - this time, hearing a synth pad that doubled the bass on the outro.



In hindsight, it's mixed a bit hot like it's "hiding in plain sight", but the Vali 3's character really brought out that texture for me.

One weird thing, but, it feels like as I turn the amp up, the bass gets louder faster than everything else. Maybe it's just me hearing an equal loudness curve, but it feels more pronounced than on other amps for me.

Mid's seem a little on the warm side of neutral, and are very natural sounding. I've noticed more than once that the V3 presents music with a real "organic" nature that makes for an easy listen. There is a bit of a "glassy" glare right after powering it up, but after about 15-20 minutes of warm up, it sounds fantastic.

As for the highs, other than some initial harshness out of the box that went away after a day or two of use, can't say I notice much one way or another. Definitely nothing irritating for a long listening session.

If I have one complaint, the Vali doesn't cast the sharpest image. From left-to-right, elements seem to take up a wider amount of space than on the Mjolnir 3. Kind of a "three blobs" presentation (i.e., A good center image, and some stuff on the left, and some other stuff on the right). But, despite that, instruments still have good separation from one another, and good depth relative to one another. As the music gets busy, the Vali keeps it together and maintains that separation, even if all the elements have a bit of a "larger than life" feel.

I do wonder if rolling tubes might help with this. Reading some other threads around the 'net, it seems tube rolling's biggest change is to the sound stage, so it's possible this observation is just with the stock tube. For the record, I'm not much of a tube roller - I'll probably get a GE JAN5670W, per @atomicbob 's suggestion and call it a day.

I did initially pair the Vali 3 with a Modi Multibit (original - sorry, not sure which op amps are in it for those with inquiring minds), but had to stop as there was a fair amount of brightness in the top end from the Modi. Can't say I remember that before, but when I switched to another DAC, it went away. The Modi MB was also a bad fit with its mushy and bloomy lows. Paired with the "wide" presentation of elements of the Vali 3, it just was too much out of focus bass.

But, as soon as I plugged in my EAD DSP-7000, boy did the Vali sound sublime! What a good pairing, but it seems ridiculous plugging a 20lb DAC into this pint-sized amp. The Bifrost 2 OG has gotten the most use, mostly out of convenience, but it sounds good too.

I'll close out this impression post with a question: Does anyone have any good DAC recommendations that are roughly the same price and size as the Vali? I'm thinking something from iFi might be worth trying, and possibly a Modi MB 2 (I haven't heard one yet), but would love other suggestions.

 

I've got a Modi MB 1 with the upgraded EPROM that sounds pretty darn good with the Vali 3. Can't get any closer in size than that!

 

I like the Modi+ a lot in general, mainly for its even tonality and good performance, am using it instead of a MM2 right now with the Vali 3 (powering it with an iFi iPower 2 tho), would not recommend the BF2/64 either since like the MM2 it is to bright up top for my taste.

 

So I delayed these impressions just a bit since a Pietus Maximus popped up for sale here and I wanted to hear what all the fuss was about. Anyhow, here's some brief comparisons to Vali 3 using JAR650B/V2, fed by BF2 OG:

Vali 1

Slightly more euphonic, but less balanced overall than Vali 3. Both have a sense of immediacy while Vali 3 sounds more refined, especially in the treble. Vali 3 bass is slightly more present, and less mushy than Vali 1.

Vali 2+ not ++↑↑↓↓←→←→BA (...or whatever, it's the one with the 6922 tube)

Initially Vali 2+ sounds more resolving, but it quickly becomes more edgy, i.e. feels like fake strident detail, but with slightly bigger hazier headstage. Vali 3 has better blackground, and dynamics (both micro and macro) are more linear, as in, the dynamic contrast is more even. Vali 2+ dynamics are kind of like MJ1 where high dynamic contrast seems a little fake, however, Vali 2+ presents not nearly to the same extreme as MJ1. Tonally Vali 2+ is cooler than Vali 3.

SW51+

This shouldn't be any surprise, but SW51+ is still mightily impressive, and is still one of the best amps for the HD6xx family in my opinion. I believe when I first ordered from Ruslan it was ~$400 with shipping, so in terms of value for money at that price, SW51+ still stands as a bargain ~$1500 amp. Vali 3 does present a little more meat on the bone, a little more midbass weight without flab, but SW51+ presents bass and subbass with a bit more conviction, slightly less thuddy. SW51+ headstage is a little more closed in than Vali 3, but Vali 3 is a bit more 3-blobby. For my preferences, I still come back to SW51+ and wonder, with careful synergy/DAC pairing, could this be everything I need? In terms of that midrange-majiks-tube-liquid-righteousness, here both SW51+ and Vali 3 are very, very similar.

Piety

As surprising as the Piety is with its warm-ish and open sound (and being decidedly not solid state-sounding), it's most major fault (slightly grainy treble and somewhat simplified midrange detail) really becomes obvious when comparing directly with Val 3. Compared to Vali 3, Piety is slightly softer, less focused and stages more diffusely. Vali 3 midrange is clearer, more composed, but still maintains that "evenness" that is the highlight of Piety's tonal character.

Pietus Maximus

First off, I did spend some time A/B-ing the internal ESS DAC to BF2 OG and I think ultimately Pietus Maximus + BF2 OG isn't the best synergy (maybe a bit too ploddy; not incisive enough). But I also think the internal ESS Dac isn't a perfect match either. My cursory take is that Pietus has a level of resolve that tends to highlight DAC deficiencies (more so than anything I've experienced so far), so in my office setup I'm sort of left wanting to try Yggdrasil-level DACs with Pietus. I don't know how I feel about that, which brings me to this point: Vali 3 + BF2 OG DOES synergize better than Pietus Maximus + BF2 OG. But I don't believe that to be a fault of Pietus Maximus. So, I'm hesitant to go into much detail comparing Vali 3 and Pietus Maximus... but I'm also hesitant to turn an amp comparison into a shitshow of DACs just to get a better feel for what Pietus Maximus is capable of. Apologies if this is a bit anticlimactic. Honestly, I think comparing Pietus Maximus to MJ3 might make more sense. My repaired MJ3 should be back with me later this week. To put it another way, I think I need to spend some more time with Pietus...

 

Anybody had a chance to compare Vali3 to Cavalli Tube Hybrid and/or Monolith Liquid Platinum?