Schiit audio Vali 3 is a headphone amplifier and a line-level preamplifier at the same time that is put into that small-form-factor case that the American company has got us used to for a quite some time. It’s small, cute and it’s also perfect for a desktop use, or for any other situation where the small footprint would come really handy. You can even stack it with other Schiit devices like the very good and reviewed some time ago Modi 2 Multibit. What’s also interesting and should be noted just right in the beginning of this review is that the Schiit Vali 3 is actually a hybrid thing. Which means that while you can see the tube on top of it, it doesn’t actually rely on the tube alone, since after that tube, which acts as a voltage amplification stage (VAS), there’s also a BJT (bipolar junction transistor) stage that works together with that miniscule dual-triode (where one half of the triode is directly responsible for voltage-amplifying the signal for single channel of audio). This is actually a very clever way to do this, since the tube in such a configuration works the best where it’s supposed to and the modern bipolar transistors are directly responsible for providing the so needed current for most of your headphones. Not to mention the fact that we also have that line-level output that is also variable, which means that the Vali 3 can be seen quite possibly as a centre of a desktop audio stack. For example, you can pair it, as I mentioned previously, with the Modi 2 Multibit and with the Rekkr or any other small power amp from Schiit (or any other company for that purpose) and have a really clever solution that would take care both of listening on the phones and could also serve as a really good speaker amplifier with, for example, a Gjallarhorn (unfortunately Rekkr is not out of production, maybe they will do another run in the future).
There’s also another interesting thing with that small amp from Schiit. And it’s the price point that this cute thing retails for. It’s currently 149 USD, which makes it really affordable. But then there’s also a very interesting flip-side to this, which I would like to mention. We all know the Schiit’s prowess for making really affordable gear that is also done right from an engineering perspective. But what I would like to emphasize here is really, really important. You see, they used the tube not as an input buffer, it’s not there just for the sake of being there. It actually amplifies the signal, so its purpose is not to add some colour to the sound, but rather as to act as a really active device. And even more, this all happens together with that solid-state stage. What I mean by that is something that we should really notice from the beginning. This is a thoroughly and at the same time well though-out piece of an audio gear where the technology was used in certain parts of it with the intention of making the most of it. So, the price tag here may actually be a somehow misleading and we should actually see the Vali 3 as a quite ambitious effort that just happens to be affordable.