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valhalla

A totally tubular headphone amplifier

Headphones can sound only as good as the amplifier they're plugged into. The difference in sound quality between the built-in headphone amp in a typical receiver or computer and a high-end amp can be surprisingly huge. True, the very best headphone amps can get expensive, but Schiit Audio's made-in-the-U.S. amps' prices start at $249.

I was blown away by the sound of Schiit's solid-state Asgard amp ($249) a few months ago, and now it's happening again with the new Schiit vacuum tube Valhalla amp ($349). Which one sounds better, the solid-state or the tube design? Read on.

The Valhalla's chassis is a near twin to the Asgard, except for the four tubes peeking out of the top panel. The brushed, all-metal chassis' fit and finish are excellent; the Valhalla looks like an expensive high-end component. The rear panel houses stereo RCA inputs, an on/off switch, and a power connector. The chassis measures 9 by 6.75 by 3.25 inches, and it weighs 7 pounds.

Technically speaking, the Valhalla is a Class A, single-ended triode headphone amplifier with no overall feedback. The amp's innards are stuffed with individual resistors, capacitors, etc,; just like a no-holds barred high-end design, and it delivers classic tube sound. The chassis, circuit board, and power transformer are all sourced from American suppliers, and the amp is hand-built in Newhall, CA; though the vacuum tubes are made in Russia. Like most high-end designs, the Valhalla is built to last a long time; it should have a useful working life of 10 or more years.

The tubes probably won't make it to the 10-year mark; they're rated for 3,000 to 5,000 hours of use, so if you listen to your headphones for 10 hours a week, you won't have to replace the tubes for at least 6 years. The tubes are guaranteed for 90 days, and Schiit sells replacement tube sets for $40.

I spent some time comparing the solid-state Schiit Asgard with the Valhalla, with my Grado RS-1 and Sennheiser HD-580 full-size headphones, and the brand-new Ultimate Ears UE Reference Monitor in-ear headphones.

The Valhalla warmed up the Grado's sound; the Asgard was leaner-sounding, but more transparent. The Valhalla's soundstage depth on the Walkmen's excellent new "Lisbon" CD was more spacious than the Asgard's, but don't get the wrong idea; the tubes didn't soften detail, and the band's guitars had plenty of bite. The Valhalla/Grado sound is fuller-bodied and organic; the Asgard/Grado combo offers greater clarity. … Read more

How to make good headphones sound great

High-end audio can be a rather expensive hobby, but every now and then I stumble across something really amazing that's priced for the real world. The Schiit Audio Asgard headphone amplifier looks and sounds like an overpriced high-end audio component, but it sells for $249!

How good is it? Much better sounding than run-of-the-mill headphone amplifiers, the sort designed around inexpensive integrated circuits found in home theater and stereo receivers. The Asgard is a no-holds-barred Class A, single-ended, zero-feedback design. Pardon the audiophile jargon; let's just say the Asgard is built like a serious piece of high-end gear.

Look inside and you see individual resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc, configured in a proprietary design by Schiit Audio's founders, Jason Stoddard, formerly of Sumo, and Mike Moffat, formerly of Theta Digital (two pioneering American high-end audio companies). The Asgard's chassis, circuitboard, and power transformer are all sourced from American suppliers, and the amp is built in Newhall, Calif. Oh, and Stoddard, his wife, or Moffat actually listens to each and every Asgard before it leaves the premises.

The Asgard's clean lines and elegant proportions strike me as distinctive, I love the look. The brushed, all-metal chassis' fit and finish are excellent, easily on par with high-end electronics that sell for four times the Asgard's price. That's no exaggeration, it's really nicely put together. I mostly listened to the Asgard with my Ayre C-5xe SACD/DVD-Audio player, but you could hook it up to any stereo analog connection.

The amp is fairly compact, and can be placed horizontally or vertically. The chassis measures 9 by 6.75 by 2.25 inches, and it weighs 4 pounds. Accessories include a 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm headphone plug adapter, and a high-quality 3.5mm to male RCA cable adapter.

The amp's high-current design makes it suitable for use with all sorts of headphones, rated from 8 to 600 ohms, and it worked perfectly with my favorite Grado, Hifiman, Phiaton, and Sennheiser headphones. A lot of companies toss around phrases like "high-current design," but judging by the amount of heat the Asgard generates, I believe the claim.

It runs very warm to the touch, and even so, Jason Stoddard told me the Asgard was built to have a 20-year lifespan, or at least 5 years if left on continuously. How many $249 consumer electronics products can you buy with that sort of life expectancy?… Read more

Xbox 360 Slim coming?

Update: Microsoft announced an updated version of the Xbox 360 on June 14, 2010. The new model has a smaller chassis, 250GB hard drive, and built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi, but no Blu-ray. See the Xbox 360 Slim product page for additional information.

A recent post on the A9VG forums has led many to believe that what you see above is the new "Valhalla" motherboard for the Xbox 360 console. Underneath that fan heatsink is supposedly a CPU/GPU combo chip that will allow for the overall size reduction of the board.

Sony was able to breathe new life … Read more