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Author Topic: Schiit Vali Impressions Index  (Read 10223 times)

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The Alchemist

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Re: Schiit Vali Impressions Index
« Reply #50 on: February 27, 2014, 07:02:29 AM »
Got my Vali back about a week ago, and I am not sure what they did to repair it but the Vali sounds better than ever. Schiit didn't say what they did to fix it, but here is a rundown of the issues I was having with my Vali and the results after I sent it to Schiit for repair.

The issues I was having was extremely loud microphonics at start up, I read this was normal and lasted for about 10-15 seconds, which it did, then went away. But after about 20-30 minutes I would start getting loud ringing in both channels and the only solution I found was to turn the unit off, and back on again. The after another 20-30 minutes the loud ringing would occur again and I had to repeat the turning off/back on again. Also, even lightly touching the Vali produced a loud tinging/ringing sound for 10-15 seconds as well as every time I adjusted the volume.

I talked to Nick at Schiit and explained the issue, he gave me an RA to return it for repair as he said that didn't seem like normal operation.

When I got my Vali back from repair, it was like a whole new Vali. Now there is hardly any microphonics or "tinging" even when turning the unit off or on, and there is no microphonics or tinging at all when adjusting the volume. I can even touch or move the unit without having any tinging or ringing issues.

Schiit didn't tell me what they did to fix it, but I have a couple of theories as to what they did. It could have been a case where I just had bad tubes. I also noticed by looking through the holes on the top of the unit that the adhesive is different. My original unit had white, thin adhesive and now the repaired one has thick black adhesive pads. I know they didn't exchange my unit for another one as my production number on the back of the unit is the same, so my guess is either I had bad tubes, or they used a better adhesive. Either way the Vali is 100 times better and I am really enjoying it and not having to worry about all of the problems I had with it before. Thank you Schiit for doing an amazing repair job!
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Re: Schiit Vali Impressions Index
« Reply #51 on: February 27, 2014, 07:41:15 AM »
Quote from: TheGame on February 27, 2014, 07:02:29 AM
When I got my Vali back from repair, it was like a whole new Vali. Now there is hardly any microphonics or "tinging" even when turning the unit off or on, and there is no microphonics or tinging at all when adjusting the volume. I can even touch or move the unit without having any tinging or ringing issues.

Damn. I am regretting opening mine up to push the tubes down now. One of the screws was stuck, so I did some ugly surgery to pry it apart. There goes my warranty. Mine too can start ringing after a while for no good reason, and it's very sensitive to touch.
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The Alchemist

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Re: Schiit Vali Impressions Index
« Reply #52 on: February 27, 2014, 07:57:00 AM »
Before I sent it in for repair, I opened mine up as well as Jason gave permission to do so without voiding the warranty to make sure the tubes were pushed down. Also, my top left screw was stuck as well but I managed to loosen it a bit with a phillips screwdriver, then use a small flathead screwdriver to get the screw out.

Quote from Jason form "another" Headphone site

"We push the tubes down, hard, by hand, during production. Regarding the tube foam--actually, heat won't hurt it--it's rated to 65 degrees C continuous.

I suspect what's happening with the loose tubes is cold weather. During shipping, if it gets cold, the adhesive gets less effective, and might come unstuck. I've talked to the board house already and all production is now shipped with bent, strain-relieved tube leads to help eliminate the problem.

 And--if you choose to re-stick them, don't worry about touching the tubes. They run at room temperature. The only parts that get hot are the large transistors for the Class AB output stage. We push the tubes down, hard, by hand, during production."


Quote:
Originally Posted by (Username withheld)

This won't affect the warranty right?
_________________________________

Quote #2 from Jason

"Nope, won't affect the warranty at all. I wouldn't have suggested it if it would. Sorry for the trouble!"


If you have any doubts, you can contact Schiit directly, but I was told by Nick T at Schiit if Jason said it wouldn't void the warranty to try to re-stick the tubes then it shouldn't - but you can always contact Schiit to double-check. It was totally worth sending it in, the Vali performs wonderfully now after they repaired it.
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Re: Schiit Vali Impressions Index
« Reply #53 on: February 27, 2014, 08:18:41 AM »
One corner of my case is noticeably bent and scratched (it was at a 90 degree angle, the corner, after I pried it off...did my best to make it look nice after), and I decimated that screw trying to get it out. It is long gone.
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The Alchemist

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Re: Schiit Vali Impressions Index
« Reply #54 on: February 27, 2014, 08:56:53 AM »
Still, it wouldn't hurt to contact Schiit and ask them about it since it is just the case. I had trouble with a screw as well. I would talk to them, they may be willing to repair it for you, it's worth a shot.
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Re: Schiit Vali Impressions Index
« Reply #55 on: February 27, 2014, 05:02:09 PM »
I just talked to Nick at Schiit about the problems I was having with my Vali before I sent it in for repair... (you can read my post above to see what the problems were).

Nick told me what they did to fix the issue. My hunch was right about the adhesive and tubes:

Here is his response:

The tubes were bad and were replaced. Also, yes, we added the new sorbothane foam under the tubes.

So the reason i was having all of those problems were because I had a bad set of tubes, and it was a nice addition to get the new sorbothane foam under the tubes.

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