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?

 

Why the Vali 3 isn’t sold like this is one of the great mysteries of the universe.

 

I've been using the Magni Unity for about six months and have really liked it. Main headphones are HD600 and Hemp. I've also been playing with the Pietus Maximus now for about a week. Though I really like it, on a practical level it's a big amp for my desk space. I quite like the form factor of the Magni over the Maximus.

With that said, I'm considering simplifying my setup to the Unity stacked with another Magni-sized amp for variety - either the Piety or Vali 3. I'd be curious if anyone has further Piety / Vali 3 comparisons / thoughts?

 

I did a direct comparison between the Piety and the Vali 3 with the Diana, and the Vali 3 was a significant improvement.

 

Anyone care to try their Vali 3 with a Grado 325x and could report back? Seems like a good shortcut to a great setup.

 

I got a box of 5670 tubes today and my Vali 3 is arriving tomorrow.

Kind of funny since I sold a few tube amps this year as I decided the tube sound wasn't for me.

What happens is you get sucked in by the phrase, "It's ONLY $149.00!!". That is a lie in the US and it's a bigger lie in Canada. My $149.00 amp is going to cost me about $288.00, landed in Canuck bucks. And I spent another $240.00 on a tube package.
So, I am looking at around $500.00, so far.

Here's hoping I like it!

 

I got my V3 and have been running it constantly ever since. When I move to watching movies after supper I have been leaving the V3 and the Grado GH2's still playing until I go to bed around 1:00AM.
Right off the bat I like the sound. I have been finding it a little sharp with sax music, but that is probably related to new amp, new tube (Stock) and Grado's (GH2's). By bedtime tonight the set-up will have about 44 hours on it.
Tomorrow I will start rolling tubes. I have eight and want to spend at Least an hour with each one. In the past I have not been great with noticing the very fine differences with tubes. I normally just go through all of them, pick one and I am done forever.

I will try to be more specific/detailed this time.

 

Cut and paste from Head-Fi.

Variety pack tube wrap up. My test was with lossless and lossy music in my test list on laptop. I cut the list down to 9 songs measuring 36.16 minutes. Laptop to Schiit Bifrost 2 to Schiit Vali 3 and coming out of Grado GH2's.

1) GE Five Stars. The sound is just about perfect to my ears, but is not at all tubey.

2) If you want tubey, the 6N3P I picked up is perfect. If you want Really tubey, you will like the stock tube.

3) GE JAN 5670W. Really nice open sound. Does everything well. Junior Five Star.

4) Westinghouse 2C51/396a. Very balanced and smooth. Nothing jumps out, but a solid tube.

5) and 6) are the Raytheon tubes. I preferred the JAN 5670's today, but it could be the JRP 5670's tomorrow. You can't go wrong with either one. Both have good bass and nice mids.

7) GE JG 5670. Nice all rounder. No flaws stood out. Good add.

8) Sylvania JAN 5670. This is the only tube, besides the stock tube, to disappoint me. It is not a bad tube but just has no outstanding qualities. Quite honestly I doubt I pull it out again.

Having said all that I am sure this list will slide around a bit. They were all supposed to be NOS tubes, so they should be brand new. And most only got about thirty minutes of use so far. You often hear that tubes will change a little bit after 50 to 100 hours.
I will probably run three to four different tubes through this amp regularly. And those differences should keep my wanderlust satisfied for quite a while.

I know that I am not nearly detailed anough for many people but changing tubes every 30ish minutes just allows for quick snapshots.

I am glad that I went with a "variety pack" of tubes. I suspect it will be several months before I move on to the 12AU7 family.

I would highly recommend this amp and several tubes for any listener out there. Be it a high roller or a beginner, this is pretty "affordable" fun.

 

Just curious on account of me actually forgetting that the new Lyr existed until recently, but how close does the Vali 3 get to the "Where Is Your God Now?" circuit Lyr (reference to the FAQ, made me giggle) in terms of technicalities and voicing? Feels like the current Vali's a properly standout product irrespective of price point, but other than the perfect volume matching and the possibility of running it as a SS amp when you don't want to burn tubes, wondering what sort of case may be made for the bigger brother amp.

Similar sort of stage thrown, similar presentation? How sharp are the transients, is it more of that classic lively Schiit sound? How moist (eww) are the mids between them by comparison?

 

The Lyr has a liquid ease about it(with the right tube) that the Vali 3 simply can't match. And yes, it is scary how close the Vali comes in stage size and bass definition, power and punch - but ultimately can't match its resolution and especially its calm liquidity. The Lyr+ most definitely is an upgrade.

Edit: With my modded 6XX

 

I’ve had my Vali 3 now for about 3 months now and find it incredible value for for the $149 + shipping and tax that I paid for it. On top of that the tube that comes with it is very good, and pretty tubey sounding but I tried the GE 5670 5 star and find it’s a great combo. The Sylvania, not so much…..kinda sparse sounding.

 

I'll concur. I've had the Vali 3 for almost two months now. Picked up a Modi Multibit 2 to pair it with. I also picked up a Piety as I wanted to try them both and stick with one.

After some time with Vali 3 and Piety, I'm not sure I'd say the Vali is "better" than the Piety. I actually like both a lot. The Vali is more mid-centric, whereas the Piety sounds a bit more V-shaped, as well as a bit more laid-back simply because the mids are a bit recessed in comparison to the Vali. I suspect this is why the Piety also has a greater sense of spaciousness compared to the Vali 3. The Vali's mid-centric focus and tube quality seems to bring a touch more body and impact to the midrange, and I consistently find myself more engaged listening to the Vali 3 than the Piety. But whenever I switch back to the Piety, I am not disappointed for long, as it's more of a different sound than better or worse, in my opinion.

I've been listening a lot to my desktop monitors with the Piety / Vali 3 as preamp, and they offer different experiences. Besides the sound signature, I find the spatial imaging of the Vali 3 to be more "centered", and the Piety to be more diffuse and kinda spread out - which is quite pleasing and spacious, but again, for me a touch less engaging and more conducive to passive listening.

The stock tube sounds good. The only other tube I have at the moment is a JAN-5670W, as suggested by several people in this thread. I agree that the 5670 is a great tube for this amp! It makes the stock tube sound a bit flabby, bloated, and muddy in direct comparison. The 5670W sounds more neutral, even, and more clear overall, with tighter bass and I think more extension in the highs.

Very happy with the Vali 3, especially for its price and small form factor!

 

An update on Vali 3 in a particular system setup from my perspective:
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...nergy-special-sound.11676/page-22#post-432857