Best headphone amp for the sennheiser hd 600 and 650 video. I never held a soldering iron in my live ever and tbh im not really planning on doing so. The crack, with speedball, is an excellent sounding headphone amp for high impedance headphones think 300 ohm like sennheisers higher end cans and a great value for the price. The gain switch makes the amp work well with lower impedance cans vs the v1 of the vahalla 2. Confusing schiit lyr 2 and valhalla 2 hey guys, i have been reading up on both and while most opinions are on the original versions, i havent been able to find much info on the new ones. So ive been looking forward to stepping my game up, and after a month of research. I also have 2 stereo integrity hst11 subwoofer drivers. Why not build the bottlehead, listen to it for a while and compare it to your valhalla 2. The marvelously addictive bottlehead crack page 2 innerfidelity. Cannot comment on the valhalla, as ive not heard one.
The marvelously addictive bottlehead crack innerfidelity. X with extended foreplay, the stereomour 2a345 stereo amp, the paramount 300b2a3 monoblocs, the quickie batterypowered preamp and the eros and seduction phono preamp kits. Schiit modi 2 uber vs schiit bifrost mb or non mb hard. Too afraid to mess something up, to spend a lot on equipment tools id never use agin and so on and so forth.
Bottlehead crack seems to be the standard recommendation for hd650. Comes with two sets of stock tubes, first set works excellent. Little dot mkiii vs bottlehead crack otl jacknongai. Jan 23, 2019 if you dont mind building a kit for high impedance phones only you could try a bottlehead crack 1.
However im struggling with the selection of a tube amp to drive them before i order them. I built this amp about two years ago to run my audeze lcd2 headphones and ive been very impressed by the sound quality, especially. The bottlehead crack is an outstanding first project for the novice audio diyer. So i ve been looking forward to stepping my game up, and after a month of research. I have a bottlehead crack with speedball for a few years and has been my go to. On tuesday may 28th, 20, nordost premiered the valhalla 2 cable lineup at lyric hifi in new york city. It typically takes four weeks to get the parts made for your kit. The bottlehead crack is a lovely little puretube amp and it pairs.
I have heard good things about the bottlehead crack and hd650 combo. Mar 26, 2011 the schiit valhalla, left, the bottlehead crack, right steve guttenberg. I used to feel that my enhanced sexhammer dynamics speaker setup was a more involving listening experience, but now with the speedball upgrade the crack dt770600 ohm combo comes much closer to being in the listening room. Other diy kits in the bottlehead stable include the singleended experimenters headphone and speaker amp, the s. Richard rodriguez wants to donate to nest foundation causes. The otl or outputtransformerless valved valhallatheres the names tieinprefers high impedances. If you are going hd650 get a bottlehead crack amp schiit valhalla 2 vs bottlehead crack for sale. Unfollow schiit valhalla 2 to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. Budget tube amps tube hybrids general headphone discussion. I understand that schiit bifrost is more powerful but i believe better performance is not better sound, especially because it deals with analog signal. The bottlehead crack is a superb introduction into the world of diy audio.
Lyr 3, dragon inspire iha1, feliks elise, mcth, liquid platinum the original, vali 2, magni, asgard 2, valhalla 2, i had a schiit phase, some chinese agd crap, and so many more amps i cant recall half of their names off the top of my head. Arcam rhead headphone amp thoughts pink fish media. Personally, i really like the valhalla 2 with the amperex orange globes tubes. Provided as a loner by the good people at schiit, the valhalla. Delta wave i have road tested the schitt valhalla with a beyer dt 990 600 ohm and senn hd555. On top of that, building it yourself means you know whats going on inside and can easily add to it and improve it either on your own or using the addn speedball kit from bottlehead. Valhalla 2 is a complete reimagining of valhalla, with improved performance, higher output capability, lower distortion and output impedance save schiit valhalla 2 to get email alerts and updates on your ebay feed. Sep 18, 2012 the bottlehead crack is a superb introduction into the world of diy audio. The asgard is distinctly happier with low impedance loads. Get the latest info on special deals and new products.
Review and measurements of schiit valhalla 2 headphone amp. I have been using a schiit asgard with a meier audio corda stagedac to burn. I wanted to know how well valhall 2 performs with orthos. Asgard, valhalla, and lyr by now everyone knows what the schiit name is all about. Bottlehead chassis, wood bases and speaker cabinets, transformers, pc boards and even that nifty little bottlehead badge are all made to order in the usa.
Do things with valhalla 2 that youd never attempt with other otl tube amps. So ive been looking forward to stepping my game up, and after a month of research, i found that the 650s are exactly what i want. I currently am using a schiit valhalla 2 amp stock tubes with hd650s. Review and measurements of schiit jotunheim and ifi idsd. Valhalla could give more body to the sound vs a simple solid state preamp.
Bottleheads crack headphone amplifier delivers highend sound for a lowend. One of the drawbacks to writing this column is that ive killed off perfectly good songs through excruciatingly repetitive analysis on countless systems. So i am wondering there is any discernible difference between modi 2 uber and schiit bifrost. I recently heard another bottlehead kit amp at a headfi event in nyc. So ive been looking forward to stepping my game up, and after a month of research, i found that the 650s are. The crack uses 2 tubes in its design a small 12au7 model at the input and a larger 6080 model to provide the output power. I agree with hands, the valhalla 2 is a bit neutral with stock tubes, the orange globes add some warmth, still not as warm as the original valhalla 1, which was very warm by nature. Schiit valhalla 2 vs bottlehead crack amplifier 16sh4r. Woo audio wa6 vs bottlehead crack simplebmunchsimp. The sound has the same dark tonality, but with much more detail ill take it, a more. Very lively, dynamic, and more tubey and liquid to my ears. It is nowhere near the 18 rule for ideal damping though.
The parts quality is very good, the documentation is truly excellent, the bottlehead forums provide fantastic peertopeer assistance, and construction is very easy. The final step of this particular journey was to install the upgrade for the crack, called the speedball. Discover the best headphones and amps from the audiophile enthusiast community and get them for. Or look at the new schiit lyr 3 or the cavalli tube hybrid on massdrop right now ending in 9 hours. Sennheiser hd 700 with schiit valhalla 2 audiobot 9000. I hate the schiit freya tube preamp because its so good. Asgard vs mstage has been answered two times below if you try to look up. The valhalla 2 is probably the more incisive, faster amp and is more neutral. Now i have to make my decision and probably i will purchase either one.
But seriously the crack is a killer, even without having tried the speedball. Bottlehead crack coppermine edition im going to guess that the crack is bottleheads all time most popular kit. You could probably find both used on headfi classifieds. It can be a little bright with certain tube compliments in my humble opinion, so be sure to get a few to roll. From there we get to the schiit valhalla 2, another puretube otl design, but one.
But i found something about the valhalla 2 to be a bit dry sounding regardless of tubes, which wore on me. Sonically, its in a whole other league compared to the lyr and the valhala 2 aug 2015. Not a fan of silver gear, but this fits my needs perfectly, so im gonna make it work visually. Yes, as they have evolved almost overnight to be one of the hottest name in the industry, people have moved from making a fun of the name to talking about their gear in respect and enthusiasm. Schiit valhalla 2 valhalla 2 is a complete reimagining of. A great little tube headphone amplifier at a pricepoint nearly anyone can afford that sounds very good for the money, its really hard to go wrong here. The schiit valhalla, left, the bottlehead crack, right steve guttenberg.
I pair my 600s and 650s with bottlehead crack speedball. Crack, black widow 2, dsha3f, mjolnir 2, jotunheim currently owned. Mar 10, 2018 i have the valhalla 2 and a pair of hd650s, similar to the hd6xx, this is known to be a good combo, i dont know how your other phones will pair up. I run the valhalla 2 from a schiit saga preamp with some older audioquest silver extreme interconnects. I setup the bad boyz and plugged in the cans and boom amazing. This amp makes my hd600s sing, just looking for a more versatile setup. This was approximated from the source output at 50. If you like it great and if your hate it also great, either way youll have. Crack is our version of classic otl headphone amp designs of several years ago that. Valhalla 2 with hd650 where to from here super best. I will do some comparisons between it and my bottlehead crack,,seems like. Sennheiser hd 800 with schiit valhalla 2 audiobot 9000.