CanJam at RMAF 2012: Schiit Audio Valhalla Single-Ended OTL Headphone Amp

Tyll Hertsens's picture

Schiit Audio Valhalla Single-Ended Triod OTL Headphone Amp ($349)
Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat are long time audio industry professionals, and to my eyes and ears these guys have done Schiit right. The name is fun to play with, but the real value of their work is in producing very nicely designed products, inside and out, right here in the USA...at terrific prices.

Stoddard featured the Valhalla for me, a Class A, single-ended triode headphone amplifier with no overall feedback and noninverting circuit topology. It uses a pair of 6N1P tubes in the input stage, and a pair of 6N6P tubes in the output. Folks with headphones of about 100 Ohm impedance and above would be well served to give this little amp a listen. Those with low impedance headphones would be better served by the hybrid Lyr, the fully solid-state Asgard, or the balanced output Mjolnir.

You can find out more on the Valhalla product page at the Schiit website, and in the Head-Fi reviews, product thread, tube-rolling thread, and Schiit owners thread.

Share | |
Comments
Dinny FitzPatrick's picture
Cool Company

By far one of the best booths at the event.  These guys have seen it all, so there was a kind of laid back vibe that made for a really inviting listening experience.  They're also very funny.  I wasn't big on the Schiit name at first.  But take a look at their copy and promotional materials.  Very clever.

Much more importantly, while I find it hard to judge electronics at a meet/show, it was easy to tell that this is quality gear putting out good sound with a bunch of different phones.  And the prices are reasonable.  Not "relatively" reasonable, but actually reasonable.  Sometimes people ask me what setup I'd recommend because they just want something reasonably priced that sounds good, but they don't want to wade through some of the nonsense to figure out what to get.  Well, now, I can tell them to just go buy some Schiit.  (Sorry.)

For the quality seeking, budget conscious headphone enthusiast, these guys are worth checking out.

Tyll Hertsens's picture
So, your advice is Schiit?

Yeah, sorry. It's just too tempting to resist, isn't it?