The Schiit Valhalla 2 is a desktop amplifier at $349. It delivers 115 mW into 32Ω and 800 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 205 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.
Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 531 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here, enough but not generous on 26, only marginal on 4 and not enough power for 6. Output-transformerless valve amp. It comes alive into 300 and 600Ω and runs out of current well before it reaches low-impedance planars.
The shop listings these figures stand on quote 180 mW into 50Ω, 800 mW into 300Ω, 450 mW into 600Ω. The rest of the table is worked out from those.
Derived rows hold output voltage steady, as an amplifier does (method).
One caveat about the source. None of the addresses below is a Schiit document. The figures here stand on Audiophonics, a French retailer and Addicted To Audio, a retailer, which are transcriptions of the factory table rather than the table itself. A transcription is usually faithful and may well be exact here — but it can carry an old revision, and nothing on this site would notice if it did. Find these numbers on Schiit's own site and send the link; this paragraph comes off.
Source: audiophonics.fr, addictedtoaudio.com.au.
| Load | Power | Status | How it was arrived at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | 115 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
| 50 Ω | 180 mW | Quoted by a shop | a shop or distributor listing quotes this figure at this exact load; the maker publishes nothing this site could find |
| 150 Ω | 426 mW | Derived | worked out between two published loads, holding output voltage linear between them |
| 300 Ω | 800 mW | Quoted by a shop | a shop or distributor listing quotes this figure at this exact load; the maker publishes nothing this site could find |
| 600 Ω | 450 mW | Quoted by a shop | a shop or distributor listing quotes this figure at this exact load; the maker publishes nothing this site could find |
Easiest to hardest to drive, with headroom at a 100 dB SPL peak.
| Headphone | Impedance | Sensitivity | Needs | Headroom | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 114.0 dB/mW | 0.04 mW | +29 dB | Comfortable damping |
| 64 Audio U12t | 12.6 Ω | 108.0 dB/mW | 0.16 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Shure SE215 | 17 Ω | 107.0 dB/mW | 0.20 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Moondrop Aria | 32 Ω | 107.1 dB/mW | 0.19 mW | +28 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Audeze LCD-X 2021 | 20 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Truthear Hexa | 20.5 Ω | 103.1 dB/mW | 0.49 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Sennheiser IE 200 | 18 Ω | 101.6 dB/mW | 0.69 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Sony MDR-7506 | 63 Ω | 106.0 dB/mW | 0.25 mW | +29 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Meze 99 Classics | 32 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Focal Clear MG | 55 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +27 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Philips SHP9500 | 32 Ω | 101.0 dB | 0.79 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Focal Utopia | 80 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +28 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Meze Empyrean | 32 Ω | 100.0 dB | 1.0 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +9 dB | Enough damping |
| Etymotic ER2SE | 15 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable damping |
| AKG K371 | 32 Ω | 99.1 dB/mW | 1.2 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Audio-Technica ATH-M50X | 38 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X | 48 Ω | 100.0 dB/mW | 1.0 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 101.0 dB/mW | 0.79 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Grado SR80x | 38 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Sennheiser HD 560S | 120 Ω | 100.8 dB/mW | 0.83 mW | +26 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Edition XS | 18 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +10 dB | Comfortable damping |
| HiFiMAN Arya Stealth | 32 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +15 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed | 13 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +7 dB | Enough damping |
| Audeze LCD-5 | 14 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +7 dB | Enough damping |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 102.0 dB/mW | 0.63 mW | +30 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 91.0 dB | 7.9 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable damping |
| HiFiMAN Sundara | 32 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Dan Clark Audio Stealth | 23 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +9 dB | Enough damping |
| Fostex T50RP MK3 | 50 Ω | 92.0 dB/mW | 6.3 mW | +15 dB | Comfortable damping |
| AKG K702 | 62 Ω | 92.9 dB/mW | 5.1 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable damping |
| ZMF Verite Closed | 300 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +28 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 650 | 300 Ω | 97.8 dB/mW | 1.7 mW | +27 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 800S | 300 Ω | 96.8 dB/mW | 2.1 mW | +26 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 96.0 dB | 2.5 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable |
| ZMF Atrium | 300 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable |
| Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | 50 Ω | 88.0 dB/mW | 16 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 91.8 dB/mW | 6.6 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 83.0 dB | 50 mW | +6 dB | Enough damping |
The manufacturer does not publish an output noise figure for this source, so there is no hiss estimate here. If you have a measured figure, the hiss calculator takes it.
At 14Ω output impedance, the one-eighth rule says this source suits headphones of 112.0Ω and above. 522 of the 567 models here fall below that. That is most of the database, not a niche — 222 of them multi-driver in-ears, and the mismatch tilts the frequency response audibly rather than subtly.
| Source | Type | Price | Into 300 Ω | Output impedance | Output noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FiiO KA11 | USB dongle | $29 | 22 mW | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR13 | Bluetooth receiver | $59 | 10.0 mW | 0.6 Ω | 1.0 µV |
| FiiO KA3 | USB dongle | $79 | 14 mW | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 45 do everything the Schiit Valhalla 2 does as a headphone output: reach 100 dB on every headphone it reaches and stay inside the one-eighth rule wherever it does. The cheapest of them is the FiiO KA11 at $29, against this one’s $349 — $320 less, and a USB dongle rather than a desktop amplifier.
The cheaper one also publishes a noise figure, which the Schiit Valhalla 2 does not — so on the paperwork it is ahead, not merely level.
This counts the headphone output only; inputs, converters, the volume control and the build are outside it.
$350 · 1.0 W into 32Ω · 0.1 Ω out
Compare →$370 · 1.0 W into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$375 · 271 mW into 32Ω · 120.0 Ω out
Compare →$399 · 3.0 W into 32Ω · <0.1 Ω out
Compare →$399 · 2.0 W into 32Ω · 0.1 Ω out
Compare →$399 · 2.0 W into 32Ω · <0.1 Ω out
Compare →Compared with its closest rivals: vs Geshelli Archel 3S Pro · vs Lake People G103-S Mk II · vs Little Dot MK III SE · vs Schiit Asgard 3 · vs Schiit Jotunheim 2 · vs Schiit Lyr 5 · vs Schiit Lyr+ · vs Schiit Magni Heresy · vs Schiit Magni Piety · vs Schiit Magni Unity · vs Schiit Magni+ · vs Schiit Midgard · vs Schiit Mjolnir 3 · vs Schiit Ragnarok 2 · vs Schiit Valhalla 3 · vs Schiit Vali 2+ · vs Schiit Vali 3 · vs SMSL H200 · vs SMSL H300 · vs SMSL SH-9 · vs Topping A30 Pro · vs Topping L50.