Orchard Audio Valencia Power Headphone Amplifier Review – World’s First Balanced Headphone AMP And Power AMP For Speakers
Orchard Audio Valencia is a $1999 USD desktop stereo power amplifier and headphone amplifier with a . Today we will review the Valencia and also compare it with both headphone and speaker amplifiers, including HIFIMAN GA-10 (1599 USD), HIFIMAN Goldenwave Prelude (2499 USD) and Keces S300+ (3499 USD).
Introduction
Today we review our first product from Orchard Audio and Valencia is a very interesting headphone amplifier, as it inherits both traits from desktop stereo and headphone amplifiers. Orchard audio is a boutique company from North America, aiming to create the best sound based on objective measurements and evidence. The aim of the company is to create a sound that is as natural, transparent and uncolored as possible, with no particular voicing. Orchard Audio products can be purchased directly from the Orchard Audio website, but I saw them available on other outlets as well, at least the Valencia amplifier, within shops like apos.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://orchardaudio.com/shop/valencia-headphone-amplifer/
Build Quality – Design
At its core, Valencia was designed with three clear purposes. Orchard audio made it so that it would be the first dedicated balanced headphone power amplifier (no pre), one of the world’s cleanest measuring headphone amplifiers and be one of the most powerful headphone amplifiers available today.
To achieve those purposes, Valencia is powered by massively parallel high-current class AB buffers, and should deliver any and all headphones with impedances between 16 OHMs and 600 OHMs. Valencia is special as it has an independent linear regulator for each channel, each having a 1000uF rail capacitor. This should deliver unparalleled slew rate and dynamic range. The signal remains fully balanced from end to end, input to output with ultra low noise and ultra clean amplification.
Now, to get a bit more technical, Valencia has a 17 Watt power for a 32 OHM impedance, and a 3.24 Watt power for a 150 OHM impedance. It can also drive 7 watts for a 8OHM impedance, and will drive sensitive loudspeakers with ease. With an output impedance of 0.02 OHMs, and a 1.2A peak current, it will handle even the most demanding headphones out there, and will be consistent, allowing each headphone to have its own tuning. Because the signal is fully balanced, Valencia uses a full XLR input and output, and it is strictly a power amplifier with no pre, so you will need to either have a pre stage at the DAC level or provide volume control via other means.
Subjective Usage
As with most pure power amplifiers, the usage is very simple. You need to provide it with signal via the XLR inputs, and use either the XLR output at the front to power headphones, use an adapter to 4.4mm to power balanced headphones that are more modern, or use the speaker outputs at the back for a pair of speakers.
The whole amplifier has two buttons, one on / off switch at the front for turning it on and off, and one power switch at the back, above the power plug input. With a chassis made of aluminium, Valencia feels refined and powerful, it has the beautiful company logo at the top, and it does not get one bit warm during usage. It is practically one of the coolest running amplifiers I have tested, be it headphone or speaker amplifier.
You get a nice LED light around and in the power button, and that is about it, as the device itself is meant to amplify and all of the magic happens on the inside. On account of the Valencia running so cool, you don’t have to worry about internal temperature or other aspects, and as it is Class AB, it can be left running for long periods of time without burning too much power. As far as I can tell, you cannot select the current output, and Valencia will always output to both the speaker output and headphone output, and to just hear the headphone AMP you have to physically unplug the speakers and vice versa. Another interesting thing is that I believe that electrically, it stresses the circuit to have both plugged in at the same time, but audibly I cannot tell the difference, so inner electrical design is top notch.
Sound Quality
Pairings – Orchard Audio Valencia is both a speaker and a headphone amplifier with a balanced output, so I have used a selection of DACs to power it and have used it to drive multiple speakers and headphones. The speaker list includes Pylon Jasper Monitor 18, Elipson Heritage XLS7 Speakers, Pylon Diamond 30 MKII Stereo Speakers, Amphion Argon3s, and Pylon Audio Jasper 23 Speakers.
I have also used Valencia to drive headphones and IEMs, including Faith Audio E1000, Grell OAE2, Lily Audio Genesis One, Palma DHS-1, KBEar Cepheus, Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced, Erzetich Thalia, TinHIFI T7, NFAudio NE4, Sivga Peng, Crosszone CZ-8a Enhanced, Soundz Flame, YanYin Canon PRO, Dunu Vulkan 2, Moritz Aura, HarmonicDyne Romantic, Hiby Digital Yume, HIFIMAN Audivina LE, HIFIMAN Ananda Unveiled, Westone Mach 80, BQEYZ Winter II, Fosi Audio IM4, Aune AC55.
It has a ton of driving power, a bit too much for IEMs, so it is best used with headphones and hard to drive headphones are its best match. In general, with IEMS you may get too loud too quickly and it is not generally made for In-Ear listening. Valencia has more than enough power for very hard to drive headphones like HIFIMAN Susvara, Lily Audio Genesis One and Audeze LCD-5, with which it makes a really good pair. It inherits some character from the DAC and allows the headphones to show their own character, but by itself it is fairly transparent. The thing with IEMs is that while with some DACs I did hear quite a bit of a background floor, using Valencia with a better DAC like Luxsin X9 and using the XLR balanced line from the DAC I cannot hear any kind of background noise even with Campfire Ara. This means that Valencia is absolutely free of noise, but it will amplify any noise coming from the DAC or the PRE, so you need high-end components in the entire chain.
Overall Signature – The signature Valencia has is similar between the headphone amplifier part and the speaker amplifier part, but the driving power for headphones is insanely high while for speakers, it is best suited for sensitive speakers. With all of this being said, it can most certainly push over 105 dB even with speakers like Jasper 23 from Pylon Audio, creating a warmth, smooth and laid back signature with them. The tuning with the speaker output tends to focus on vocals and treble resolution, but produces a mellow and gentle bass.
For headphones, the tuning is slightly different and we will explore more of the headphone. AMP tuning is still fairly gentle, fluid, but has more impact, and as for headphones the headroom is insanely high you need to use a good preamp that adds no noise to the sound. On the headphone output the dynamic range is extreme, as Valencia has superb contrast, can play classical music and it is technically capable without sounding dry. It tends to add a bit of extra bass and depth for all headphones, and it gives a fully body even to needy planars like OG Susvara.
Bass – Starting from the low-end, Valencia has a controlled, but slightly big bass, with a lot of energy in the sub-lows, a full body and although fluid and gentle, capable of delivering thunderous blows bass. It will not color the sound and will not add bass where it isn’t present in the recording, but when it is present, the huge power and headroom allows it to really kick and punch. Bass presentation is linear, has no tilt or coloration, except for sounding a bit smooth and gentle, free of dryness.
Midrange – Valencia has a sweet, ecstatic vocal range, with a slightly gentle, slightly soft presentation that feels fluid and despite a high resolution, it is super musical and juicy. There seems to be a slight emphasis on the upper midrange and female voices, but it still is balanced enough to keep the body of the male voices true to life and for low pitched instruments to fill in the stage. Overall, Valencia tends to add emotion and express a lighter, airier tone although it is very close to pure neutral / natural sound.
Treble – Top end is also slightly gentle in texture, sounding a bit laid-back and relaxed, but it has an exceptional resolution and airiness without having too much bite. It feels like Valencia is designed for musicality and a slight softness instead of an analytical approach, so you will hear all the details, but they sound nice, and Valencia will make offensive albums sound a bit more pleasing, aggressive music a bit smoother, and it will downsize the harshness even in some of the brashest cymbal crashes. This is not done by having a limited extension, but rather by having a reasonable texture with a perfect 20 kHz extension.
Dynamics And Textures – Valencia is very dynamic and seems to widen the dynamic range of each song, allows music to happen in a 3D space with top contrast and actually sounds wider than most amplifiers for headphones that I reviewed to date. You will hear a higher difference between the quiet and loud parts of each song than with other setups. Textures are generally detailed but softer, gentler, as Valencia has the resolution and rendering power to reveal all micro details in music, but the gentleness in the texture makes it musical, juicy and relaxed. It will basically not reveal harshness or aggressiveness in music and it is less of a studio piece and more of an audiophile masterpiece.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – As Valencia has such a high headroom and can power such hungry headphones, it is basically the most powerful headphone amplifier that I tested to date. This being said, it is quiet, and you shouldn’t hear any background noise if your DAC is quiet, this includes IEMs and more sensitive headphones. It has the same sound at all volumes, and well, it does not have volume control, so the loudness saturation gradient is always maximum, dynamic range, resolution and clarity are all always maximum.
Soundstage – Staging is natural – wide, it extends beautifully in both depth and width, especially with power hungry headphones, where Valencia is far wider and deeper than most amplifiers as it can power Sundara and other very power hungry headphones in ways that other amplifiers simply cannot. It is interesting to note that it has a brilliant imaging and stereo separation, but it does not feel too edgy, it is not surgical but natural, each layer has clean bounds, but they are defined musically, each instrument has the right body and presence rather than being forced to stop at pre-defined bounds.
Comparisons
Orchard Audio Valencia vs HIFIMAN Goldenwave Prelude (1999 USD vs 2499 USD) – Prelude is different as it is both a headphone amplifier, but also a preamplifier and can even be chained in the same system as Valencia. You buy each for a different reason, Prelude handles both IEMs and full-sized headphones, but it handles them well, it is class A so it gets much hotter, and also can output a lot of power, up to 10W into a 32 OHM load. Valencia has a higher overall maximum power and it is class AB, so it gets less hot, consumes less power but it is not quite as raw sounding as Prelude. Sonically, Prelude sounds much smoother, warmer, has a bigger bass, less treble, and although it is detailed, it is silky and a noticeable color in tuning. Valencia sounds more crisp, more analytical as it can extract more details in treble and upper midrange, but it has less bass emphasis and sounds more controlled. Out of the two, both are perfect for hard to drive headphones, Prelude cannot drive speakers, while Valencia works best with speakers and headphones but not IEMs. I would recommend valencia if you don’t want the AMP to color the sound and to get Prelude if you want its characteristic coloration.
Orchard Audio Valencia vs Keces S300+ (1999 USD vs 3499 USD) – S300+ is my favorite speaker amplifier, and it is only understandable when you learn about how much power and punch it can pack. S300+ cannot drive headphones, it can only drive speakers and it is also a pure amplifier with no PRE, so it feels similar to Valencia, but it has considerably more driving power. When listening to Pylon Jasper 23, both do a top job at controlling the speakers, both sound detailed and refined in the midrange and treble, but S300+ has considerably more bass and depth, while Valencia sounds lighter and more musical, a bit softer and a bit more gentle. Both are great for most music styles, but if driving speakers, I would recommend Valencia more for very sensitive speakers and S300+ would be better if your speakers have a low SPL or high impedance.
Orchard Audio Valencia vs HIFIMAN GA-10 (1999 USD vs 1599 USD) – HIFIMAN GA-10 is a tube headphone amplifier, but the tubes are hidden. This being said, it has two inputs, and only headphone outputs, but it has a fair amount of driving power. This being said, Valencia has far more driving power, and is a much better match for HIFIMAN’s hardest to drive headphones, while GA-10 is a much better option for easier to drive headphones, including those from HIFIMAN. Sonically, GA-10 sounds crystalline, but a bit bright, juicy in the midrange and a bit gentle, with a neutral-ish bass, while Valencia has a more powerful bass, with better depth, more kick and impact, and a more neutral, more transparent voicing that colors the sound less than GA-10. Both are excellent purchase options for an audiophile, but Valencia can also drive speakers and it would fit better if you expect no coloration to come from the AMP, while Ga-10 will color the sound a bit and has a lower driving power.
Value – Conclusion
Valencia has a rather high price tag, but for a flagship high-end headphone power amplifier and stereo amplifier, it is incredibly controlled, has a beautiful design, and the support of the mighty Orchard Audio, so in terms of value, it is top value for a flagship, but as it is part of the flagship class, it carries a bit of a premium boutique tag. At any rate, it is a personal favorite of mine and I love Valencia in general. I find it to be darn perfect.
Award – I had trouble finding a good headphone amplifier that I could just leave on my desk, and Valencia came with the perfect reason as it can also drive my Jasper 23 rather well, so I have been a happy user for a really long time now. It is only natural that Valencia becomes part of the family and takes a place in our Audiophile-Heaven Hall Of Fame for being one of the most amazing headphone amplifiers I’ve reviewed as well as speaker amplifiers.
If you want something that is crisp, perfectly transparent and revealing, if you’re looking for speed, a fast slew rate and great dynamics, and if you’re looking for an amplifier with a bit of personality in the design, a beautiful logo and which can drive both balanced headphones and speakers, Orchard Audio Valencia is a great choice, sleek and practical, and it will be happy to power both floorstanding and bookshelf speakers, as well as planar magnetic and dynamic headphones alike.
PROs
- Precise, clean and transparent sound
- Sleek and impactful design
- Temperature is always controlled, it never gets too hot and it never overheats
- Balanced headphone output, and it comes with an adapter from XLR to 4.4mm balanced
- It expects a standard 4V DAC signal so it will not clip with most sources
- Wide soundstage with impossibly high driving power
- Handles speakers really well, adds a bit of personality to the sound
- Price performance ratio is great for the flagship boutique class
- Strong package and very good EMI / RFI resistance
Cons
- It is a part of the design, but it has no volume control
Product Link
Amazon – https://orchardaudio.com/shop/valencia-headphone-amplifer/
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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