I was listening with Linear Tube Audio's $4990 Z10e headphone and speaker amp (see GD #36) powering Focal's $2999 Stellia closed-backs when I realized: A sound system can reach a high-enough point that most "improvements" are just lateral moves, changing sound character, not quality. The Z10e and Stellia were functioning at that high level. Together, they separated every molecule of every tone and every singer; every instrument was perfectly, liquid clear. More clarity would have seemed forced, in an undesirable, hi-fi way. Less would have been lens blur.
Then I replaced the Z10e with the Vali 2+.
Still studying Messes de Barcelone, it was impossible to not notice how much solidity, punch, drive, and bite the Vali 2+ (on Low gain) had powering the 32 ohm, high-sensitivity (106dB/mW/1kHz) Focal Stellia closed-backs. The sound did not have the brilliance, atmospherics, or off-the-head three-dimensionality imbued by the LTA Z10e, but the Vali showed impressive force and clarity.
The more I raised the volume, though, the harder the sound got. That hardness made me curious to see how the less-sensitive (99dB/mW/1kHz), 300 ohm, ZMF Vérité closed-backs would sound playing that same Ensemble Gilles Binchois recording. As mentioned above, few Schiit Vali customers are likely to have either of these exotic headsets. That doesn't matter. This comparison is between two high-resolution closed-backs: the Focal's 32 ohm load vs the ZMF's at 300 ohms. The question is simple: Will the Vali 2+ treat them both the same?
The answer is no. The Vali 2+ drove the Vérité with more speed and fullness and more relaxed rhythm and tempo, and none of the hardness I heard with the Focal closed-backs. With the Schiit amp driving the Vérité (with Vérité ear pads), the spectrum of vocal tones dramatically expanded. With the Vali-Vérité combo, I observed genuine tube luminosity and atmospheric three-dimensionality, but nothing in excess.
The sound was softer with the ZMFs, but not too soft. I enjoyed how the ZMF + Vali 2+ combination reproduced recordings with ease, some sensuous beauty, and no distracting, cheap-audio annoyances.
Vali 2+ vs Jotunheim
The big question Schiit fans will ask is, "How close will the $149 Vali 2+ get me to the $399 Schiit Jotunheim 2?" I wondered that also, so I installed the "Jot" and connected the $1499, 55 ohm, 104dB/mW Focal Clears that I've been using since way back in Gramophone Dreams #22.
The daemon Ate spoke: "Free love presided over my birth and I ... am the daughter of pleasure."
I began my comparisons with an unusual Alia Vox recording wherein Dutch humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam's satirical 1509 essay, Éloge de la Folie (In Praise of Folly), is narrated by Emily Wallis (and others) in concert with a mashup of 16th-century compositions performed by La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hespèrion XXI, conducted by the founder of both groups, the divine Jordi Savall.
Diverse music and choral compositions set the mood as the Greek goddess Folly (Emily Wallis) praises self-deception, earthly pleasure, and madness (24/88.2 FLAC Alia Vox/Qobuz). The narrated parts are captivating, funny, and recorded in a dramatically reverberant space. The musicians are recorded separately in a variety of less reverberant, closer-miked environments.
The Jotunheim 2 driving the $1499 Focal Clear headphones recovered enough Herb-titillating reverberations, saturated tones, and sarcastic black humor to put a twisted, late-night smile on my face. The contents of this unique recording turned a spooky, difficult day (January 6) into a more benign "such is life" moment. The sound through the Jotunheim 2 was airy and relaxed, but not soft. Clean (but understated) transients let all of Folly's terse, ironic points come through with grace and poetic charm. The spirit of the Protestant Reformation and Erasmus's clever, dark ironies were enjoyably well-translated.
When I switched from the Jot 2 to the Vali 2+, I knew right away. This recording and the 55 ohm Focal Clear were creating my first "wow!" moment: The Vali 2+ really did sound like a tube amplifier. It let me hear clearly how the room reverb powered up and down as Emily Wallis's voice got louder and softer. A $149 amp is not supposed to do that.
But that is just one type of recorded music.
Still listening with the Vali 2+ powering the Clear headphones, I set about looking for a groove. With PRaT in mind, I remembered how excited I get every time I listen to jazz organist Jimmy Smith's Root Down Live! (24/192 FLAC Verve/Qobuz), recorded on February 8, 1972, at L.A.'s Bombay Bicycle Club. This record is jazz-meets-blues-while-crashing-sideways-into-funk. Imagine greased-and-oiled Hammond B3 grooves enhanced by Arthur Adams on guitar, Steve Williams on harmonica, Wilton Felder on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums, and Buck Clarke on percussion. The first track, "Sagg Shootin' His Arrow," really pushes the groove, biting and scratching full-tilt on Paul Humphrey's forward-smacking beats. The Vali 2+ sorted Root Down completely out but felt distinctly soft driving the Clear. The leading edges of transients were rounded. The impact of sticks hitting skins was represented less-than-sharply. Bass was a bit billowy.
Let's stop for a moment and think about this: If a $149 headphone amplifier must veer from perfection, maybe it is best if it goes soft and colorful, as the Vali–Clear combo just did. Hard, gray, and glaring is more the norm in this price range.
Vali 2+ vs Asgard
The first stand-alone headphone amp I ever used was also the first one Schiit ever produced, the original Asgard, which at the time cost $249. The Asgard caused my Audeze LCD-2s (pre-Fazor) to sound more full-bodied and macrodynamic than I imagined possible. This marked my official beginning as a headphone believer. Ten years later, what I still admire about the Asgard is its extended and subtly gradated tonal palette. Now, driving the Sony MDR-Z1R closed-backs, it was so rich through the bottom six octaves that it delivered the Budapest Quartet's 1952 recording of Beethoven's String Quartet No.10 in E-Flat Major, Op.74 "Harp" (24/96 FLAC Sony Classical/ Qobuz) in the gray-scale equivalent of an Ansel Adams or Minor White photograph.
With the Vali 2+ driving the Sony Z1R headphones, perceived grain was finer than faerie hair—noticeably finer than with the Asgard. Compared to the ancient Asgard, the Vali 2+ seemed faster, more delicate, and lighter on its feet. It danced better than my Shoulder Imp.
I couldn't resist
Throughout my auditions, I thought the Vali 2+ performed extremely well. But it was perhaps a little buttoned down and inconsistent about flaunting its tube brilliance and luminosity. Remembering my GD #46 experience with the Decware 25th Anniversary Zen Triode amplifier, I swapped the Vali 2+'s NOS GE/CGE 6BQ7A tube for a NOS, made-in-Japan, Electric Industry Co. Ltd. 7DJ8, just to satisfy my curiosity. This tube had brought dazzling luminosity to the Zen Triode amp, and I wondered if it would do the same for the Vali. And dang me, Jason Stoddard, that is exactly what the Japanese tube did. With the Vali 2+, the side effects of this newfound "lit from the inside" luminosity were greater definition and voice intelligibility. I could better understand every word spoken by Emily Wallis's Folly voice. The Japanese tube enhanced you-are-there clarity and presence.
Best of all, on Jimmy Smith's Root Down Live!, the leading edges of transients were now less soft. Drum whacks had more snap. Bass billowing stopped almost completely. The spectrum of Smith's B3 harmonics increased dramatically. I was delighted.
The ritual of installing a mysterious new tube from a long ago, faraway place and then witnessing easily noticeable sonic changes was pure, tubeaholic fun.
I do not report these tube-rolling observations to criticize the Vali 2+'s performance as delivered and tested, nor to second-guess Stoddard's choice of tube. The new-old-stock GE/CGE 6BQ7A is a tube of the highest quality. The stock Vali 2+ is an excellent amp, which exceeded my highest expectations. I mention this little tube-rolling experiment to remind everybody that, just as Jason Stoddard suggested in this column's opening quote, experimenting with tubes is the Vali 2+'s raison d'être.
At the end of my auditions, the demon imp declared, "That tin can was a hellofanamp!"
I agree.
The more I raised the volume, though, the harder the sound got. That hardness made me curious to see how the less-sensitive (99dB/mW/1kHz), 300 ohm, ZMF Vérité closed-backs would sound playing that same Ensemble Gilles Binchois recording. As mentioned above, few Schiit Vali customers are likely to have either of these exotic headsets. That doesn't matter. This comparison is between two high-resolution closed-backs: the Focal's 32 ohm load vs the ZMF's at 300 ohms. The question is simple: Will the Vali 2+ treat them both the same?
The big question Schiit fans will ask is, "How close will the $149 Vali 2+ get me to the $399 Schiit Jotunheim 2?" I wondered that also, so I installed the "Jot" and connected the $1499, 55 ohm, 104dB/mW Focal Clears that I've been using since way back in Gramophone Dreams #22.
I began my comparisons with an unusual Alia Vox recording wherein Dutch humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam's satirical 1509 essay, Éloge de la Folie (In Praise of Folly), is narrated by Emily Wallis (and others) in concert with a mashup of 16th-century compositions performed by La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hespèrion XXI, conducted by the founder of both groups, the divine Jordi Savall.
Diverse music and choral compositions set the mood as the Greek goddess Folly (Emily Wallis) praises self-deception, earthly pleasure, and madness (24/88.2 FLAC Alia Vox/Qobuz). The narrated parts are captivating, funny, and recorded in a dramatically reverberant space. The musicians are recorded separately in a variety of less reverberant, closer-miked environments.
Still listening with the Vali 2+ powering the Clear headphones, I set about looking for a groove. With PRaT in mind, I remembered how excited I get every time I listen to jazz organist Jimmy Smith's Root Down Live! (24/192 FLAC Verve/Qobuz), recorded on February 8, 1972, at L.A.'s Bombay Bicycle Club. This record is jazz-meets-blues-while-crashing-sideways-into-funk. Imagine greased-and-oiled Hammond B3 grooves enhanced by Arthur Adams on guitar, Steve Williams on harmonica, Wilton Felder on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums, and Buck Clarke on percussion. The first track, "Sagg Shootin' His Arrow," really pushes the groove, biting and scratching full-tilt on Paul Humphrey's forward-smacking beats. The Vali 2+ sorted Root Down completely out but felt distinctly soft driving the Clear. The leading edges of transients were rounded. The impact of sticks hitting skins was represented less-than-sharply. Bass was a bit billowy.
The first stand-alone headphone amp I ever used was also the first one Schiit ever produced, the original Asgard, which at the time cost $249. The Asgard caused my Audeze LCD-2s (pre-Fazor) to sound more full-bodied and macrodynamic than I imagined possible. This marked my official beginning as a headphone believer. Ten years later, what I still admire about the Asgard is its extended and subtly gradated tonal palette. Now, driving the Sony MDR-Z1R closed-backs, it was so rich through the bottom six octaves that it delivered the Budapest Quartet's 1952 recording of Beethoven's String Quartet No.10 in E-Flat Major, Op.74 "Harp" (24/96 FLAC Sony Classical/ Qobuz) in the gray-scale equivalent of an Ansel Adams or Minor White photograph.
With the Vali 2+ driving the Sony Z1R headphones, perceived grain was finer than faerie hair—noticeably finer than with the Asgard. Compared to the ancient Asgard, the Vali 2+ seemed faster, more delicate, and lighter on its feet. It danced better than my Shoulder Imp.
I couldn't resistThroughout my auditions, I thought the Vali 2+ performed extremely well. But it was perhaps a little buttoned down and inconsistent about flaunting its tube brilliance and luminosity. Remembering my GD #46 experience with the Decware 25th Anniversary Zen Triode amplifier, I swapped the Vali 2+'s NOS GE/CGE 6BQ7A tube for a NOS, made-in-Japan, Electric Industry Co. Ltd. 7DJ8, just to satisfy my curiosity. This tube had brought dazzling luminosity to the Zen Triode amp, and I wondered if it would do the same for the Vali. And dang me, Jason Stoddard, that is exactly what the Japanese tube did. With the Vali 2+, the side effects of this newfound "lit from the inside" luminosity were greater definition and voice intelligibility. I could better understand every word spoken by Emily Wallis's Folly voice. The Japanese tube enhanced you-are-there clarity and presence.
