New updates on the Schiit Audio Valhalla 3 tube headphone amplifier for under $500.
Headphone tube amplifiers under $500 aren’t impossible to find, but they are not the most prevalent audio product either. Especially when it comes to finding one with a brand are reputable as Schiit Audio has built over the years. Perhaps this is why the update to one of the longest running product lines from the Texas-based company has been eagerly anticipated for so long.
Well, the wait is over now. This week Schiit announced the Valhalla 3, just a squeak under $500. There are plenty of new updates under the hood, which you can find in the press release below. Some of the trickle down tech from the short-run, mega tube Folkvangr is in there, along with with another setting with no feedback – something that Schiit has been featuring on a few of their two channel products as well.
“VALHALLA 3: FULLY MODERN
Introducing the Fully Modern Tube Headphone Amp
May 1, San Antonio, Texas. Schiit Audio announced the immediate availability of Valhalla 3, a pure triode, OTL/OCL, Class A headphone amplifier and preamp with fully modern features that enhance its performance with hard-to-drive headphones, and provide advanced fault protection. Valhalla 3 is priced at $499.
“Valhalla 3 replaces Valhalla 2, the longest-running product in Schiit Audio’s history,” said Jason Stoddard, Schiit’s Co-Founder. “And, other than the tube complement, it’s a completely different product, taking advanced features from our limited-run, all-out Folkvangr headphone amp.”
Like Folkvangr, Valhalla 3 is an OTL/OCL, or Output Transformer-Less and Output Capacitor-Less design. This means the headphones are directly connected to the cathodes of the tubes, with no transformer or capacitor in the signal path. This extremely uncommon topology is usually reserved only for cost-no-object designs.
Also like Folkvangr, Valhalla 3 includes a switchable impedance multiplier, to help improve performance with low-impedance, hard-to-drive headphones. Using an impedance multiplier ensures the tubes are still connected to, and driving, the headphones, unlike a more typical high-current buffer.
“Valhalla 3 is essentially a mini-Folkvangr,” said Jason. “It’s the same idea, made much more desk-friendly.”
Valhalla 3 exceeds Folkvangr in one aspect: it has three gain levels, including a no-feedback setting. This allows greater compatibility with a wider range of headphones, with zero-feedback giving highest gain for high-impedance headphones.
Valhalla 3 also includes modern protection features, including delayed start-up, fast shut-down, and continuous analog-computer style DC sensing and disconnect. Combined with the convenience of a filtered preamp output, Valhalla 3 can serve as the centerpoint of an entire desktop system, including headphones and active speakers.
Finally, Valhalla 3 significantly enhances the style of Schiit’s mid-sized headphone amps, including a thermal tray design that both looks good and provides additional cooling. Like all Schiit products, Valhalla 3 is produced in the USA via precision stamping and forming, a more efficient and sustainable process than milling a solid block of aluminum.
Valhalla 3 is available now at schiit.com.”
More info: Schiit Audio Valhalla 3
If you would like to hear Schiit founder Jason Stoddard himself talk more about the Forkbeard and also what is new at Schiit Audio, check out his recent interview on the audiophile show The Occasional Podcast. The episode is available to listen direct from the embed below or by subscribing via the major podcast platforms including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio, etc.