Schiit Valhalla 2
 

In yet another chapter of my Schiit adventures and discoveries, a line of products I am becoming quite a fan of, today marked the arrival of Schiit Valhalla 2, Triode OTL headphone amp/tube gain stage preamp. :banana:

In keeping up with what is becoming a tradition in my mini reviews, let's define "Valhalla"

Valhalla is once again from Norse Mythology and is the hall where the god Odin houses the dead warriors whom he deems worthy of dwelling with him. The dead who reside in Valhalla and are guided there by the Valkyries, live a life that would have been the envy of any Viking warrior. All day long, they fight one another, doing countless valorous deeds along the way. But every evening, all their wounds are healed, and they are restored to full health as well as dining on exceptionally fine food and wine and are waited on by the beautiful Valkyries.


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Let's get on with the initial impressions. :thumbsup:

Once again, the Valhalla was well packaged and protected and arrived to me without any incidents. Tubes are packaged in a separate foam lined box.

Carefully installing the 6N1P dual triode input and 6N6P dual triode output, 1 each per channel tubes, of which the 6N1Ps roll-able to 6DJ8, E88CC, 6922, 6BZ7, and similar types took a minute.

The Valhalla 2 was then installed atop of my rack and plumbed with it's stock power cord and the Bluejeans RCA interconnects. Schiit Gungnir aka "Gumby" DAC was feeding the Valhalla 2 with converted to analog bits of musical content.

I allowed the Valhalla 2 a few hours of warm up and stabilization time with music playing through my HD600 headphones. When I came back to give it a first listen, it was actually odd that the first thing I though to myself was, "OMG" this would probably make a FANTASTIC preamp for a smaller system or perhaps even for someone who wanted to try a tube gain preamp stage in their system for a first time! :yes:

Of course in my case, the Valhalla 2 mission is not a preamp in a 2 channel system but as a preamp/headphone amp. But the function of a tube gain preamp stage needs to be explored some time in the future! :scratch2:

The beauty of an Output Transformer Less (OTL) Triode amplifier is typically the incredible midrange but alas very often due to various impedance and difficult loads, all too often they can and do sound glorious in the midrange but lack the attack and drive down low and can lack some sparkle up top.

I was blown away that this OTL Triode headphone amp suffered from no such deficiencies! I have fond memories of my Brocksieper EARMAX and EARMAX PRO headphone amps that I used to use with HD600. Let's just get this out the way right now, the Valhalla ABSOLUTELY CRUSHES the EARMAX with the similar topology in dynamic contrast and sheer slam.

OK, so the first surprise was the sheer grip and control over the 4 different pairs of headphones I have on hand. The dynamic contrast and excursions into the bass regions is no sweat with this Triode OTL amp. What a surprise! The dynamic contrast only seemed to be variable by the headphone itself as I already have a good understanding what each pair is capable of.

The upper mids all the way up to the dog hearing region of the upper treble was just as extended as any of my Class A solid state amps such as the Bryston and the Asgard. This is not a rolled off sounding tube amp at all.

This left me with the all important midrange. Can this Valhalla Triode amp seduce me? Can it dance me to the end of love?? Will the beautiful Valkyries attend to me as they do to the warriors at Valhalla? :D

In one word, YES!

While the EARMAX is still burnished into my memories as the most romantic and euphonic headphone amp to date, the Valhalla opened up a new opportunity for me, forcing me to discover a different approach to euphony and "romanticism" one would typically expect or is at least hoping for in tubes.

Valhalla 2 is a very musical and engaging amplifier/preamplifier but it is not a one trick pony. The midrange is simply glorious by any definition but you get the incredible dynamic drive and control down low in the bass regions and the highs are rather nicely extended, airy and shimmer with the typical good tube design upper frequency "glow" and "delicacy".

While I am quite familiar with the Russian tubes deployed in the Valhalla, I don't remember them quite like this. :scratch2: Of course one is free to tube roll to one's taste and preference but I am honestly in NO HURRY to do so. Valhalla sounds fantastic with the stock tubes. :music:

The Valhalla 2 has no right to sound this good at this price range. It simply does not disappoint anywhere in the frequency range or drive capability.

I briefly compared the Valhalla 2 to Bryston BHA-1 and Asgard 2 Class A MOSFET amps this evening and I was seriously impressed that Valhalla refused to fall behind in any one category or parameter of performance. To my ears and preference it boiled down to the following:

1. Valhalla and HD600. romantic, relaxed, sweet, musical, engaging. Get your favorite violin or relaxing piano music out, dim the lights and let that combo lull you to sleep. You'll be sleeping with the Valkyries by your side.

2. Valhalla and HD650. a bit less romantic and heading a bit closer towards neutrality where any good recording will capture your attention and hold it there for hours on end with no fatigue and nothing but enjoyment. Not such a great recording? Like classic Rock? It is forgiving enough to smooth over the dynamic range compression and distortion that can irritate the ears and fatigue them otherwise. Valkyries are telling you to wake up and smell the coffee here.

3. Valhalla and Focal Elear. Dig out your better Rock, Jazz, Blues, Classical or just about any genre music. This combo will seriously impress but is less tolerant of the crappy or heavy handed remastered and butchered music that seems to be prevalent these days. Don't blame the amp or the headphones, find a better recording of the same if possible and all is right in the world again. Odin is angry with the butchered music. The Valkyries are beating the war drums.

4. Valhalla and Focal Utopia. My, My, what do we have here? The biggest surprise of the evening. Least expected outcome was this combo. Get your good to great or your personal reference recordings out and prepare to fall out of your chair. Can you say goose-bump city??? You have just fought the most epic battle among the Viking Warriors and you absolutely crushed your opponents. You are welcomed by Valkyries from the battlefield and dragged straight into bed where you are rewarded for your heroism and fighting skills with most passionate love that only Odin's Valkyries are capable of.

In all seriousness, what Valhalla and Focal Utopia create together is nothing short of amazement and goose bumps. You know the kind where it is even hard to breathe for a moment???

You are dumb founded by the sheer dynamic range and contrast, the absolute resolution where you can hear so deep into the recording that the subtle echoes bouncing off the studio or live hall walls become so evident that you wonder why you have never heard that before.

Unfortunately, only the Utopia was able to recreate the sheer beauty of the most important trait of the Valhalla's beauty and that is the complex harmonic structure buried in all the musical instruments on a good recording.

Imagine being legally blind and suddenly being able to see? Imagine being color blind and suddenly seeing all the beautiful colors?

The Valhalla and Utopia opened a window, no a portal into another dimension where the harmonic content of a recording is laid bare in front of you. The Gordon's knot becomes unraveled before your eyes string by string of harmonics. The fingers gliding over and picking at the strings of stringed instruments, the subtle to forceful strikes of the piano keys and every note that follows the action opens up and blooms into others that were not appreciated before but are suddenly there unraveled for your ears to discover. The strikes of the kick drums not only energizing the acoustic space but telling you about the tightness of the drum head and resonating with all the colors of that drum's body. The cymbals are not just splashy, the brass resonates from the initial strike and the resulting harmonic structure unravels into shades and overtones of the complex action that seems simple at first. You are treated to a whole other world of the more subtle, often buried somewhere instrumental sounds here.

The harmonic palette the Valhalla opens up as it paints the sonic picture is indeed a breath of fresh air and a glimpse into the unseen beauty. That my friends is what tubes can do given the chance. :yes: As good as the Bryston and Asgard 2 is, the brush strokes on the sonic canvas are broader, less defined and colorful when it comes to harmonic structure and open, airy presentation with Utopia headphones. Tubes is the clear choice for me when it comes to Utopia. Valhalla and Utopia are indeed in the hall of the Gods and warriors when it comes to the completely unexpected synergy. As I put the Utopias on and listened to the Valhalla, I felt as I am completely restored after my daily battles, victories and losses in the Midgard (mortal human) realm. :thumbsup:

Incredible... :drool:

Some of the music that was used for initial impressions.

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1. Hugh Masekela "Hope" album. Track 12 "Stimela". Beautiful example of the wonderful dynamic range that can be captured on a recording if the recording engineer actually cares. The drum beats that go from soft to louder and louder still, building into an angry crescendo that should raise your pulse and last drum strike in that angry fury of drum beating should knock you out of your chair if the volume is initially set a bit too high. Be careful, this is a high dynamic range recording!

A great system should reproduce every beautifully captured crescendo of both the instruments and the powerful voice of Hugh Masekela which describes the feelings of suffering of the African men, young and old who are conscripted to work in the gold mines of Johannesburg for sixteen hours a day with almost no pay. Fantastic album all around. :yes:


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2. Ramsey Lewis Trio. "Time Flies" album. Track "Air from Suite #3" which beautifully captures the strings of a Cello played by Larry Gray. The Cello resonates with all it's beauty with a deep musical voice that can't be confused with any other instrument out there. Cello Baby! :music: The more your system is able to reproduce the nuances of the harmonic structure, the more you will enjoy the complex sound and emotionally powerful instrument that the Cello is. Beautiful piano follows and accompanies and compliments the Cello with softer keys strokes so as not to overpower the Cello. The subtle brushing of the drum cymbals and high hats joins in as does the finger work on the bass strings. Track "Hide and Seek" features fret-handed (fast) piano playing accompanied by bass and drums that lay the foundation and build a crescendo towards a break out drum solo towards the end. The recording beautifully captures the harmonics of bass strings, the piano and the rather well played drum crescendo at the end. Pay especial attention to the resolution of the bass strings and the harmonic content of the drum heads and cymbals towards the end. The fantastic dynamic range of the captured drum should serve as an example how recordings should be done. You can not only hear but feel the kick drum! Another great album all around. I believe Dan turned me on to this album some years ago. Thanks Dan! :thumbsup:

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3. Memories of a Geisha Soundtrack. Featuring John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman. Well recorded album. I like it a lot. Give it a try.



Female vocalists serenading me on my initial impression were Melody Gardot. Your Heart is as black as night, Don't Talk. Katie Melua Wonderful Life, If you were a Sailboat, Spider's Web. Diana Krall Temptation, California Dreaming.

Male vocalists were a few tracks of Leonard Cohen, B.B King, Albert King.

Rock and Symphonic Rock, Dire Straits, David Gilmour, Haggard, one track each.

That is all I was able to squeeze in tonight. :D

Oops, forgot the obligatory pictures.

Another fantastic review, Serge. You're hittin' em out of the park, one after the other.

I finally finished up work so I had time after dinner to sit and savor your review. I'm listening to Stimela on Hugh Masakela's "Hope" on Tidal right now with my HD600s and Valhalla 2 as I write this. Tidal is great because your friends can listen to the same content used for the review. Next up will be the Ramsay Lewis album.

I just remembered tonight that Gumby has two SE outputs, so I could run another set of interconnects (a pair of Soundsilver Sextet ICSs I bought on Audiogon back in 2013 for $136) from Gumby to Val 2 w/o disconnecting from the CT-5 preamp. Pretty nice and very convenient.

Whatever sins or the faults the HD600s have on this amp, they are likely more of omission than comission rather than the amp itself. Regardless, they sure has hell make music, though.

Valhalla 2 reminds me a lot of my Conrad-Johnson tube amplification gear; as C-J says, "It just sounds right." Tubes done right by folks who really know what they are doing. Like my C-J gear, the sound is not the classical tubby, overly warm, syrupy sound that so many still think that tubes sound like. Instead you have a very neutral, but equally very clean, musical and sweet, musical presentation. Music just sounds "right". Again, this reminds me a lot of my Dyns, especially now that they have the Esotar 2 tweeter.

I've become convinced that Jason Stoddard of Schiit is nothing short of a brilliant audio engineer, on the level of Nelson Pass. And he has his sensibilities right, the gear always sounds musical and sweet, smooth, yet detailed but "mellifluous". The piccolo bass on "Stimela" has just the right palpable sonic overtones, and the brass trumpet has a warm glow, bright but bright in the smooth way that a real trumpet is right, not unmusically hot or glare-y. Hugh's rough and gravely voice is beautifully articulated on the Valhalla 2 with the HD600s, with the background singers lending the just the right vocal textures and spatial qualities; there is something really beautiful about African voices and harmonies.

Listening now to Air from Suite #3 from Ramsay Lewis and the cello has a resonant harmonic structure with the resinous texture of the bow on the strings providing beautiful overtones. The piano is very well-miked in this recording, present but not too overpowering, and now that the cymbals are coming in to the mix, you can almost see the brassy metallic harmony they provide as counterpoint to the piano.

Listening to Melody Gardot's Your Heart is as Black as Night, with Melody's smokey, husky voice providing a real film-noir-ish feeling to this steamy number. Ooh, la, la.

Serge, if you can find it on Tidal, try listening to Quizas, Quizas, Quizas by Laura Fygi on the album The Latin Touch.

Speaking of cello, you *have* listen to Asturias from Albeniz' Suite Espanola No.1, Op. 47 done by the Arcis Cello Quartett on Tidal. An entire symphonic piece played by four cellos. Amazing. More later as I delve into Tidal for more hidden treasure to play on Valhalla 2 and the Senns. :thumbsup:

Enjoy your new amp, I can only imagine what it is like with the Utopias.

Beauty. :thumbsup:

Listening again to Asturias, this time the full symphonic recording conducted by Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, recorded in Nov. 1967 in Kingsway Hall in London, and Valhalla 2 reproduces the opening symphonic crescendos, those amazing "WHAMS!" of brass, cymbals, and tympani with all the lightning speed, acceleration and force and vigor of my Conrad-Johnson CT-5 and LP70S and Dynaudios.

Which is really saying something, 'cause the C-J gear and Dyns can do "dynamic slam" like nobody's business.

Stephen, thanks, I was inspired once again. What a great little amp! I’ll be sure to listen to your suggested music as well!

The HD600 and Valhalla do nothing wrong, of course it’s only by comparison to the Focal Utopia which cost multiples, more than 10x over the HD600 that I can say the Focal Utopia is absolutely stunning but the HD600 are a very musical and enjoyable headphone. I’m not going to part with my Senn 600. No way! I find the Val 2 and HD600 ultra smooth, warm and musical combination which is mostly due to the sonic signature of the HD600 itself. It is by omission only, not through any glaring faults or flaws. If I had to spend the rest of my days with the 600 only, I’d say I’m in good company. :yes:

About Schiit founding fathers. Agreed that Jason is brilliant but Mike Moffat also has some impressive credentials. :D

“I won’t bore you with our full CVs (that’s fancy-speak for wut we dun), but you may have heard of Mike Moffat. He was the founder of Theta (the first one, the analog one), in the late 1970s. You can blame him, at least in part, for resurrecting tube audio. He was the first person to use 6DJ8s in audio. He installed Philip K. Dick’s stereo systems. He sold amps to L. Ron Hubbard (no, you can’t make this schiit up). Then, in the 1980s, he became the Father of the DAC with Theta Digital. His DSPre was the first standalone DAC on the market, and it was a showstopper—its own digital filter algorithms running on Motorola DSPs so powerful they couldn’t be exported into the Soviet Union, for a start. Theta mopped up in the DAC world for several years, then Mike founded Angstrom, the maker of the world’s first upgradable surround processor. From there, Mike moved into entertainment, creating complex systems for digital movie distribution. At least until I tempted him away with Schiit.”

I’d be curious if you could experiment with the Valhalla 2 used as a preamp in your full range system. Have you tried? :scratch2:

I’ll give Asturias a listen tomorrow afternoon. :yes:

Funny and interesting side note. I flipped the switch on Valhalla to off to put it to bed for the night. The front not panel led remains lit. So I wait.... still lit. I pull the power cord out thinking maybe the switch only turns off the tubes. Still lit. WTH? I come back 5 min later, still lit. Umm ok, now there is a robust power supply with serious capacitive reserve for a little headphone amp! :D Explains the crazy good slam this triode OTL is capable of.

Oh, yes, Mike has very impressive credentials as well. I was just referencing Jason as he designed Valhalla 2 as well as Asgard. I think he also did the analog output sections of Gumby while Mike did the digital section and closed-form filter development.

I'm putting your care package together tonight. I've decided I'm going to send Loki, Trickster God of DSD for you to evaluate as well. It's one of Mike's designs and it frickin' kicks ass as far as sound quality is concerned. Especially considering it sold for $149. :D

Oh fantastic! I’d love to try out the Loki tone control. I love classic rock but don’t have my vinyl and listening to what they call remastered albums on tidal can be less than satisfactory. Have you listened to remastered Nirvana Nevermind album? What an atrocity...

No, this is not the new Loki, the tone control, this the original Loki, their DSD-only DAC. It's easy to use as it only needs a USB cable to power it. You can use with it with the USB cables I'm sending you to play with. I'm sending some demo DSD tracks for you to listen to it with. It's rather amazing...

Got it! Thanks Stephen, it will be interesting to give it a try! :thumbsup:

:D

Fantastic! Thanks Stephen. Added to "Favorites" :music:

Did you like that version of Asturias? ;)

:yes: Very nice

Serge, absolutely fabulous!
Your review is not only a most interesting (must-)read for audiophiles (and not only for the ones on a tight budget), it is so well written - you most certainly have a way with words - that it borders real literature that can be enjoyed by even our wives. :D

Stephen and Serge, gentlemen, Schiit's on my wish list for next year. You guys are to blame.

Keep them coming, also the musical suggestions. :tresbon:

Thank you Bart. Why would I be so enthusiastic about these components from Schiit? Not just because they are affordable but because they are proving to be incredible bang for the buck. :yes: At these prices, they are within reach of many more audiophiles whether just starting out or looking to add a great headphone system or a great DAC! :thumbsup: Bart, at these prices, you can stuff all the Christmas stockings with Schiit for all your family and friends! :D

Ha! I am running my Valhalla 2 in low gain as a preamp in to my Conrad-Johnson LP70S power amp from Gungnir Multibit to my loudspeaker system and it sounds GREAT!

A $349 "preamp" (in this case) just has virtually NO right to sound this good.

Pics and a short video clip to follow...

Good grief!

Yes! I was interested in how the Valhalla would hold up as a tube gain stage in a full 2 channel system. That was one of my firsts thoughts when I got it! :thumbsup:

Well, I am still listening to it and really enjoying it. It sounds pretty darn great. It's very accurate, natural, and musical. Virtually no etch or glare; really nice.

Valhalla 2 in the rack running as a preamp...

Nice! The little tube Vally gets a chance to strut her stuff in your main system. That EAR phonostage looks familiar. :D

Valhalla 2 is definitely strutting it's stuff in my system. Sounds impressive; very clean yet musical.

Yes, the EAR is still there...still sounds fantastic.

Does the CT-5 sound more euphonic or warmer?

Valhalla 2 is continuing to amaze me with each passing day. Listening to Eagles Hell Freezes Over album, the very well recorded "Hotel California" track. Using the HD650 at the moment and Valhalla 2 is laying down some serious bass lines. I would have never thought a SET amp could be so dynamic and so musical. Not just your round and bloated bass either, the bass is incredibly tight and as deep as much as the HD650 can muster but it is very well resolved at the same time. Very impressive for a triode SET.
A pure joy to listen to with any of my headphones. :music:

I would say that the CT-5 is more neutral but no less musical. It's a lot like my Dynaudios. It's more transparent, airier, resolving, quieter, with a more expansive sound, greater presence and imaging, more "plankton", more nuanced, and has more drive (but not a lot more drive). There's a very slight "hardness" to the Valhalla's Soviet 6N6P output tubes that the Sovteks do not have. Still, you have you to bear in mind that the CT-5 originally sold for 20X as much as Valhalla 2 and it does not sound 20X better.

The most accurate analogy I can give is the Valhalla 2 sounds like my Dynaudio Contour 3.4s with their original Esotec tweeters, and the CT-5 sounds like my Dyns with the Esotar 2 tweeters. Both sound great, very musical, accurate and easy to listen to, but the Esotars just take things to another level.

The most remarkable thing is how well Valhalla 2 holds it own against a much more expensive preamp. It's absolutely ridiculous just how good Valhalla 2 sounds for the money. It's just stupid.

Well no, of course we can never expect multiples of better performance at multiples of price. That was never the case with audio unfortunately. :D But pretty amazing that the Valhalla 2 can even be put into the same system and taken seriously at $349 vs what was it, $7,500 or so CT-5?

Valhalla 2 is ridiculously dynamic and musical for an SET amp; its kinda ridiculous.

Funny you say that about the bass because I am listening to Ray Brown's bass on Cry Me A River on his Soular Energy album and the bass is taut, well-defined and beautifully articulated. See if you can find it on Tidal.

Also, listen to the bass on Diana Krall's My Love Is and let me know what you think.

Val 2's performance as a preamp has me seriously thinking of Schiit's dedicated Saga, or better yet, Freya preamp driving their 100 watt Vidar SS amplifier (which is a "dual-mono-ish" design) for a bedroom office system. I'll bet these would work beautifully with a pair of Dynaudio Special 40s; the smaller Dyns would benefit from a powerful SS amp that can provide the current they really need to fully open up.

Hmmm...:scratch2:

Yes, the CT-5 sold for $7500 originally and was formerly their very close to their SOTA preamp until the GAT came along. It is rather amazing. I'm listening to Val 2 right now (not to be confused with the $149 Vali 2) and it is thoroughly engaging and very enjoyable.

I'm using a $349 "preamp" to drive a $7500 power amp! :eek: :thumbsup:

Sounds like it will be a great system Stephen. I auditioned the Special 40's with a 100w McIntosh integrated (MA5200) and the combo was rather effortless and not dynamically constricted at all! I think the Vidar will drive them with no sweat. :thumbsup: I'd personally go with the Freya just because I like the 6SN7 tubes. I've had a few simplistic preamps, one of them being Dennis Had with those tubes and it was VERY musical.

The finger snaps at the beginning of "My Love Is" define the boundaries of the acoustic space where the recording took place. Vallhalla does not veil the sound and the resolution is superb. The Bass is very articulate indeed. I can hear the fingers snapping the strings and can tell the well gripped plucks from the sloppy ones with the Utopia headphones. Ridiculous resolution. :D

Tubes and Classical. What a treat. :music:

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Ohhh, yeah....it's like Fuji X-cams and black & white! :D

Yes. Yes, indeed.

I can appreciate that analogy somewhat. Not as much as you can. :D I get it though. :thumbsup:

I've been doing a bunch of black and white printing from the medium format Fuji GFX50S lately in preparation for the final part (Part III) of my review at The Online Photographer.

It's all about the print....or, in classical music, the cello! :D

Yo Yo Ma's primary performance instrument is the cello nicknamed "Petunia", built by Domenico Montagnana in 1733, and valued at US$2.5 million. It was named Petunia by a student who approached him after one of his classes in Salt Lake City asking if he had a nickname for his cello. He said, "No, but if I play for you, will you name it?" She chose Petunia and it stuck. :D

Have a listen.

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I am running the Freya with 2 Vidar's in mono block configuration (fully balanced from DAC to amps) and the sound is impeccable. The value is likely off-the-charts in the current audio world. I recommend Freya and Vidar without hesitation. :yes: