Short answer
Both are desktop amplifiers, $219 against $349.
The Schiit Midgard reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the Schiit Valhalla 2 on 561.
| Specification | Schiit Midgard | Schiit Valhalla 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 4.8 W | 115 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 1.2 W | 426 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 750 mW | 800 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 375 mW | 450 mW |
| Output impedance | 0.1 Ω | 14.0 Ω |
| Output noise | 1.59 µV | not published |
| Price | $219 | $349 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 567 | 561 |
Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.
| Balanced | Schiit Midgard | Schiit Valhalla 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Socket | XLR4 | no separate rating |
| Power into 32Ω | 4.8 W | — |
| Power into 300Ω | 750 mW | — |
| Output impedance | 2 Ω | — |
| Output noise | not published | — |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 567 | — |
Only the Schiit Midgard has a separate balanced rating from its maker; through it, it reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here. The Schiit Valhalla 2 may still have a balanced socket — its spec sheet simply gives no figure for one, so there is nothing to put beside it.
| Load | Schiit Midgard | Schiit Valhalla 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Derived |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Published | Published |
| 600 Ω | Published | Published |
Both makers publish a power rating. Schiit Midgard publishes at 32 Ω, at 300 Ω and at 600 Ω; Schiit Valhalla 2 at 300 Ω and at 600 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.
So the two columns are not equally firm row by row: at 32 Ω only the Schiit Midgard figure is the maker’s own. On those rows the derived number is the one to doubt first.
6 headphones reach 100 dB on the Schiit Midgard but not on the Schiit Valhalla 2 — Moondrop COSMO, Moondrop PARA, Symphonium Crimson, 3 more.
522 headphones are left alone by the Schiit Midgard under the one-eighth rule but coloured by the Schiit Valhalla 2 (64 Audio Aspire 1, 64 Audio Fourte, 64 Audio Nio, 519 more).
561 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.
Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.
The widest gap on the list is the Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020: Schiit Midgard has +29 dB of headroom there against +9 dB. 20 dB is about 95 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for Schiit Valhalla 2 because that maker publishes no output noise figure.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | Schiit Midgard headroom | Schiit Valhalla 2 headroom | Schiit Midgard hiss | Schiit Valhalla 2 hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +49 dB | +29 dB damping | 18 dB | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +29 dB | +9 dB damping | -2 dB | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +35 dB | +25 dB damping | -3 dB | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +31 dB | +30 dB | -8 dB | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +28 dB | +11 dB damping | -9 dB | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +25 dB | +25 dB | -15 dB | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +21 dB | +21 dB | -19 dB | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +17 dB | +6 dB damping | -21 dB | not published |
The Schiit Valhalla 2 costs $130 more than the Schiit Midgard, and on these three axes the money buys nothing: among the 567 models here there is not one that the Schiit Valhalla 2 handles and the Schiit Midgard does not — not on power, not on the one-eighth rule, not on hiss. The traffic runs the other way: the cheaper Schiit Midgard drives 6 models to 100 dB and leaves 522 alone under the one-eighth rule that the Schiit Valhalla 2 does not.
Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.
Each in full: Schiit Midgard and Schiit Valhalla 2.