It's good to see that Steve is having fun, and that I'm not the only one who will never grow up. 😁

YES.

Who doesn't like a good reach-around??🤣🍻

🤦‍♀️😂😂😂🤩

i dont get it...

@@SchuylerBatdorf If not vali 2, what is better budget level amp?

​@@Andrew-cp7mc Power numbers on paper and real-life performance are different. My Tascam UH-7000 puts out a "puny" 45mW RMS per channel at 32 ohms. That is weak already, and I have no idea how much less it puts out at 300 ohms, but it makes my HD 6XX sound big and alive. It even moves my power-hungry HIFIMAN HE 5XX planars with plenty of authority. They don't sound underpowered nor ever clip or distort. I had the older Vali 2 and it moved the HD 6XX as good as my Asgard 2. They just sounded different, not one better than the other. The newer Vali 2+ in this video puts out much more than the Vali 2; 1500mW per channel at 32 ohms (400mW at 300 ohms). That's more than enough to rock the HD 650/6XX. If you do want more, the Magni 3+ is even more powerful at lower ohm loads, and 410mW at 300 ohms, and costs less

@@ANSWERTHECALLOFJESUSCHRIST Thanks. To my ears, it sounded great with 6XX. I also use the Vali 2+ stack to power my Focal Clear, which also sounds great. Trying a different tube next to see if I can widen soundstage a tad with the Clear.

Schiit sells replacements for $10 each should you ever need one. NOS equivalents start at about $15 and go way up for the rarities; newly made JJ and Electro-Harmonix sell for about $17-18.

Did you mod your 1990 pros to balanced?

Could you run them in to a high end switched power strip, then kill the power that way?

I hope you bought a Loki, once you have one in your Schiit stack... Nirvana.

beware.... sounds incredible but I've had costly issues with mine, Just saying.

Did you buy directly through schiit? How was the shipping costs? Cheers from a fellow kiwi

@@poomuncherful Directly through Schiit $218.98 USD total including shipping ($69.98USD Covid 19 I say would of doubled shipping costs) Sent December 3, December 11 Departed TOKYO delivered December 18 2020

Can you elaborate please on the 90db? Are you taking about when your solid state relay clicks during power up??

Im thinking about getting modi multibit dac and the Vale +2 amp. Are you saying that this is what you have and using together will give u a warmer sound than say just using the multibit,plus great for the headphones as well. Thanks Bo Davis

Would love to hear your impressions of the pairings with the other headphones as well, especially the Sundaras. Thanks for the great reviews!

Bump. Really want to hear how it sounded with the Sundaras.

Planar headphones usually don’t go very well with tube amps. I’m guessing the Sundara’s followed that trend and that’s why he didn’t mention it further.

I picked up a little Nobsound Ns-083 (?) and replaced the tubes with GE tubes. It sounds fantastic. 50 bucks.

So using the Vali2+ means you can no longer use a remote control to change VOLUME?

@@spiritualarchitect4276 yooo i see you need help with this question, EMAIL SCHIIT on their website. They respond very quickly.

I'm using it the same way. I like it even more as a preamp than as a headphone amp. The staging and reality of the sound is even more impressive as a preamp. Using Monolith planar headphone and JBL Studio 580 speaker. I'm still in my trial period and am having a hard time on deciding to keep it. It has just a terrible turn on pop - about 90db!

That's a cool idea. I was looking at cheap tube preamps to use with my turntable, but being able to use the same amp for my headphones and my TT would be awesome.

Very underated aspect

So using the Vali2+ means you can no longer use a remote control to change VOLUME?

@@spiritualarchitect4276 Not necessarily. Valli needs a source, so if your source has a remote you could leave the Vali on a set volume level and control input volume with your source remote.

@@svalbard01 So I could plug the Vali into the back of a stereo amp, set the volume high, plug my headphones into the Vali and still use the main amplifier volume/remote to change volume in my headphones?

@@spiritualarchitect4276 Exactly, **if** your stereo amp has a pre-out (variable). If it only has fixed or record out, it won't work. And I wouldn't necessarily set the Vali all the way high (if that's what you meant), what I would do is turn your source up all the way, then turn the Vali volume up as loud as you'd possibly want it. That way if source is accidently maxed out, you won't blow up your ears/headphones:)

@@svalbard01 Thanks for your comment, but I am still confused. I want to be able to control volume from my sitting position across the room from my equipment. It sounds like you ae saying that the Vali still controls the volume, and that you have to manually turn the Vali knob to work the volume. Meaning the remote control volume is no good?

High end integrated chips designed for high end audio is what I meant.

If you can you should review the tube amplifier from Dayton audio. There are a couple tube amps from them. There is the hta 100bt and the smaller version the hta50bt. I am curious if they are any good especially at the price which is around $160.

AC linear power supplies don't seem uncommon for headphone amplifiers. IIRC my old X-Can v3 has a similar power connector and my Project Headbox from the early noughts has an 18V AC wall wart

Another awesome shirt, Steve; thanks for the review! Someone like yourself who has several sets of great headphones, and who can easily hear the difference between the two headphone amps in this review should really sample the other end of the market too. The wacky Absolute tube headphone amp from Manley has a ton of unusual features intended to furnish a lot of the tonal shifts you're enjoying and comment about in your report. It can be configured to suit the music, the headphones and the listener's preferences of how it all plays together. Be advised that the sun may burn out before a given listener has a chance to audition all the possible control settings that are available! The opposite of 'one size fits all' philosophy.

I have the Vali 2 (not 2+), but personally I dislike the volume pot. I'd want something relay-stepped or a digital encoder. A Saga+ is definitely the way to go due to that alone.

Well they are based in California. 😉

He-he-he!

It's just polite to do a reach around.

Not to nitpick, but there's quite a few DACs out there that measure better. According to that ASR site anyway. But really they're basically all the same past a certain threshold. Most modern DACs have noise, and distortion, but it's so low. We're not able to hear it. Even the DACs that measure near the bottom of the pack included. And they don't all sound bad. I own a Sabaj D5 which is right up there with the Matrix measurement wise, and it's very smooth and musical. I'm listening to it right now. It's very good. In fact I've read, and seen many reviews about that Matrix DAC, and not one of them said it was lifeless. Thomas and Stereo just gave a rave review of it yesterday, and Sandu at Soundnews loved it. His reference DAC is the big dog Matrix actually. I'm quite sure that's what you heard, but I'm just not sure the DAC is really to blame. There's way too many variables in a HiFi setup to just blame the DAC with no actual proof. Especially one that do many other people have spoken so highly of. It could easily be a mismatch in your system. The room. Cables. Or many things. I think to definitively say it was the DACs cause, and that is truly lifeless. One would need to do some very, very thorough testing. To be 100% positive the DAC sounds bad itself. You would have to do like a reviewer does, and swap tons of gear. Plus have a definite reference setup for comparison. Plus take it to other people houses, and try it in their setups too really. To be fair I've even owned equipment I thought was horrible at first. Only to pull it out of the closet 5 months later, because I need it temporarily, until I get something else. And end up falling in love with it the 2nd time around. Never ended up buying anything else to replace it, and wondered WTF I was thinking the 1st time around??? One I can remember off the top of my head was the Holographic Audio Pre Twenty Five. Can't remember the different setups, but it stayed in the 2nd setup for a long while, until I got a Hypex amp, and felt it needed a tube preamp instead. But I still own it. Either way. I assure you from experience that how something measures won't tell you very much about how it sounds at all. And that for every anecdotal story that makes you think something is one way there's a bunch of others that will directly contradict it, and point to it being the opposite way. Of course none of these are facts. They're just stories of people's experiences. This is why I personally try not to talk bad about stuff that's still being sold. It's really not fair to the people that are trying to make a living, and feed their family from the profits of these devices. I prefer to let people find out on their own what they sound like in their system. And if they don't like it then. They can return it. Or sell it. Speaking of which. What are you going to do with that DAC? Because I'm interested in trying it myself. Unfortunately my job is closed down because of Covid for a while, but if you were selling and the price was right. I might just have to break into my savings. Honestly though. If you can't return it. I recommend holding onto it for a while if you can afford to, and try it again later. You might get a surprise. Anyway, sorry for the essay, and have a great day. ✌️

@@amb3cog Or, in the words of Justin Wilson: "I wanna tell you about four or three things. They're not actually *true,* they're just things that happened." 😆

@@HareDeLune The Cajun Cook? I miss that guy. He was truly a man for all seasonings.

Ronald. Just noticed you said you sold it. So forget that last paragraph I guess. But I also noticed something that makes me think. Were you using the optical out from the Node 2 to the Matrix? Because if so. That very well could have been the root of your problem right there. The digital out on the Node 2 is very limited. Even the new 2i is too. Very low bit/sampling rate, and no MQA either. Most people seem to have no issues with the digital out on them really, but I've had issues with optical cords myself, and coaxial too. That really put a blanket over the sound. I've also seen bad optical jacks also. The source is very, and I mean VERY important with digital. Just like analog, because it is really an analog signal. I couldn't believe the difference in sound my music server made, compared to my laptop. It was as if I bought a new $1000, or better tube preamp for my system! Just something to think on. ✌️

@@amb3cog Ha-ha! He was a great storyteller, too.

Buy one, I have the Schiit Freya, and OH MY GOD! It truly brings a new perspective on recordings, and music in general, like Steve stated, it puts you in the room. And, on edit, get a Loki for another $149, worth every penny, Steve reviewed it not long ago.

@@michaelwright1602 I'd love to find a used Freya Plus. I'm presently running a NAD 208 thx balanced amp and Emotiva XDA-2 balanced preamp/DAC. The nice thing about the Emotiva preamp is that I have the balanced outputs going to the power amp and the SE output going to the subwoofer, so I'd need the Freya to also have both outputs powered at the same time like the Emotiva's are.

If Schiit made 6’ tall, black, electrostatic speakers called the Bébé, my wife would let me put them in the living room!

This is the most clever comment that you've ever made in your life.

The could partner with Creek... Sorry... **should** partner with Creek

@@svalbard01 maybe they should add a remote called the Paddle...?

@@erikdam8850 Or to save money, you could just download a free app so that you could order the system without a paddle?

Ideally, you will hook it up to a preamp output on an integrated amp. Right, a record output would work as well

So using the Vali2+ means you can no longer use a remote control to change VOLUME?

I would like to know too

Same question 🙋‍♀️