What is it? A tube hybrid amp with 100V rails and that works with 6N3P tubes, allowing you to tube roll 5670, 2C51, ECC42, CV4013 and even the WE396A.
For $149 in black, $159 in silver, its an inexpensive way to start playing with tubes.
It also sounds amazing with a $25 GE5670W tube in it. I’ve found that it’s a great match for Focal Elex and Hifiman Arya Stealth. And it sounds amazing with the HE6SEV2. I’m surprised it drives them, but it’s a really good match.
The real icing on the cake is that it has real punch in the bass, whilst keeping sweet mids and detailed treble.
How “tubey” is the sound from the Vali 3? I know it’s not a pure OTL tube amp, but does it at least impart some of that gooey thickness to high-impedance cans like the 6X0 family and ZMFs?
I’d say that, with it’s low output impedance, this is better suited to low impedance headphones. I found that my HD6XX still sounds better on the Valhalla 2.
Just got the Vali 3 today, and some General Electric GE 5670W Tubes are on the way next week. So far with the stock tube it’s ok, but not as impressive as the Monoprice Monolith hybrid which sounded more resolving and smoother. Still, it’s the stock tube for mass appeal, so waiting on the others before reporting on it too much. Hopefully the 5670W will give it a little more personality. Have a bunch more headphones to try it with when the new tubes arrive. At least with the hybrid it’s not limited by high output impedance for headphone selection.
The GE5670W is a step up. I can also recommend the 6N3P-DR, you get 4 for something like $20 on eBay. You do need to let the tube warm up and they usually need a few hours on them before they sound their best.
I’ll get some of the 6N3P-DR also to try out. Been through a few different headphones so far and just running through them for a few hours each with familiar tracks to see if there’s any standout differences. I am so happy Schiit moved the headphone jack to the left side. If my original Magni Heresy years ago had the plug there I’d still be using it today It runs a lot cooler than I expected, and the small form factor is nice compared to the full sized stuff (SMSL H400, Topping A70Pro, etc.) I’m used to running. The DX5 makes a neat DAC. So far the Hifiman Deva Pro Wired, Thieaudio Ghost, and now on the original gen1 Beyerdynamic MMX300 and then I’ll move on to the heavy hitters.
