Schiit Valhalla 2 OTL Pure Triode Tube Headphone Amp and Preamp

I have the Valhalla 2 connected to my MacBook using the Schitt DAC. The sound is amazing. Working from home I’m constantly in meetings and listening to music in between. I had a portable Mojo - which I love - but I was a bit tired of switching back and forth so I did some research for a reasonably priced Amp and the Valhalla kept coming up. Very pleased with the sound and ease of use.

Wow. First foray down the tube road. Could not be more satisfied. Build quality is exceptional, it's simple and straightforward and sounds, well, ridiculously good. Running it to an icepower class D amp module, to 8" alnico full range drivers in free air. Playing HD through Audioengine B1. Poor man's superfi. Just buy it already!

I have a lot of Schiit! Every thing they make is high quality and punches way higher than any product in its class. The Valhalla 2 with high impedance headphones such as Seinheisser HD 600 are the perfect match. I’m using mine with a Rega P6 and Schiit Mani 2 phono pre amp. There is just no better way to listen to music in my opinion. Made in USA! This is a steal at $349!

The sound is warm and generous without sounding soft. The details the Valhalla 2 highlights is kind of incredible, my vinyl has sprung to life! Highly recommended.

Terrific detail with a neutral tube warmth. It’s easily accessible to roll different tubes if you’d like. I use mine mainly as a preamp feeding a stereo power amp to my main stereo speakers, it it’s an excellent headset amp by itself. American made with a 5 year warranty. Solid build. This unit runs hot, as most Class A equipment will do, but I run a usb fan to draw out some of the heat while it’s operating.

This Valhalla 2 is the single greatest piece of equipment i have ever owned. Build quality is first rate, audio is phenomenal...

This is a tough review to write. On the one hand, this is an exceptionally well-made product that sounds amazing. If I had only ever heard this amp, I’d be in heaven. Even compared to other reasonably priced solid state amps, this wins hands down. Ultimately, however, I decided that is wasn’t what I wanted. I’ll try to explain why. Methodology I compared this amp with a few other amps: Beyerdynamic A20, Teac UD-301, and Audio GD NFB-1. I used these solely with Beyerdynamic T1 V2 (600 ohm) headphones on a variety of music, mostly 24-192 files ripped from SACD and played through Foobar2000. For those who don’t know, the T1 V2 can be a little sibilant, but it’s a tradeoff I make for their clarity and all-around sound. I gain-matched the amplifiers using white noise and an SPL phone app. All amps were fed through the DAC in the Teac UD-301. I also switched out the stock tubes in the Valhalla with some JJ tubes at one point. Results There is no competition between the Valhalla 2 and Teac or the Beyerdynamic A20. It beats those easily for sound quality. The real competition is between the Valhalla and the Audio GD NFB-1. The best way for me to describe the difference between the two is vinyl vs SACD, but minus the pops and cracks. The Valhalla simply cannot match the NFB-1 for clarity and detail. It’s not even close. I can hear details that I just can’t hear in the Valhalla. This was most noticeable with violins, cymbals, and triangles. The Valhalla makes up for this with a very slight improvement in smoothness. It never sounds muddy, just very slightly veiled in a good way. The Valhalla makes good power, but with 600 ohm cans, I did need to crank it on softer passages. The NFB-1 has no trouble in that department. Summary This is the hardest part to write. If I had never heard the NFB-1, I would be ecstatic to have the Valhalla 2. No doubt Schiit’s higher end amps can compete with the Audio GD, but I cannot afford $1k+ for one of those. If I had unlimited funds, I would keep all my amps and use them for different music, but my goal was to find the one best amp for my needs. While the Valhalla does offer smoothness, the NFB-1 never sounded objectionable or harsh. Given that it never sounded worse than the Valhalla, its superior clarity, detail, and power made my choice an easy one. I decided to part with the Valhalla. Epilogue You should strongly consider the Vahalla 2, especially if you value smoothness. It still packs as much detail as many solid-state amps, just not enough to compete with the best solid-state amps. If you have an average DAC or no DAC at all, the Valhalla would probably be the best choice for you. It’s well made, gorgeous, and comes with a good warranty. For these reasons, I have no trouble giving it 5 stars.

Own a few solid state amps and dac's, combos and separate units. This is my first tube amp and I absolutely love it. So many options for tube rolling, planning on adding some color with amph golds . I find the stock tubes be be very neutral tonally, bring out the highs and highlights female vocals and instrumentals. Mid range is smooth not too forward and bring my planar's to life (Audeze LCD 3's) in a way any of my solid states can. Bass is also smooth but does not lack the range to produce punchy deep beats on faster tracks. Overall extremely versatile unit which I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. I have been through a lot of trial and error with hifi, did a lot of research and it paid off.