Violectric HPA V200 Why not sufficiently appreciated?? - Page 3

...says the guy who has a DAC full of soldered OPA2134, you made my week/month/year.

Guys and gals lets keep it civil, just because you hear differently it does not mean you have to be aggressive. BTW, I certainly hope we are all making comments based on what we have heard not what we have read.

well I believe you heard the OPA2134 in that HLLY DMK-IV? Skylab found the HP out worthless, and they've ditched it for a LM4562MA since then...which is slightly better but still not quite world class.

yes, I've heard all the opamps mentioned to great extend, even someone said that the V200 would be better than the Burson HA-160....did he compare them in person? I would guess NOT. Very often on head-fi, ppl talk from hearsay.

anyway, if some ppl fancy OPA2134 based DAC's and NE5532's amps...be it, again! you're only 40 years old late after all

quick question, you heard the amp, the amp itself? not just the op-amp/chip? the dealer here actually has both burson ha-160 and v200, and some more. i did hear them side by side.

anything running a 5532 is not worth my time, and even the manufacturer will tell anyone who asks him that they put swappable opamps so ppl could swap them for better parts w/o paying a high markup on the opamps....because they are built by german workers, who pay for their rent, send their kids to private schools, yada yada ^^

he's trying to make us feel bad buying chinese gear...because we all know that "chinese gear=junk", at any price point

to answer your question, I really don't find their prices competitive enough...I'm not paying +$600 to listen to 5532's. It's great that you've found your favorite amp, I'm still in the market atm

Please note, I am a "Member of trade - Manufacturer"

Hey Maxime, when your quoting, please do it right.

This is what I sayed:

"Lake People and Violectric gear is hand-made in Germany.
The employees of the company earn sufficent money with their work
so that nobody of them is forced to have a second or third job after work.
They live in condos with a roof on top, they have enough to eat,
their children can go to quiet good schools for free and they can count
on a reliable public transportation system or own cars.

Beneath a 25 years experience with lots of (outstanding) products
which have to be developed, this is also what the customer pays for.

Everybody may feel free to buy his stuff in the far east
but nobody should cry afterwards when suddenly his job own job is obsolete."

You may think this is blabla - but I cant feel bad whilst developing and producing in Germany and offering jobs.

Nobody has more Headphone Amp sold to German Broadcasters, TV stations, studios, producers and others.
Now it may be that all these guys are stupid because they dont care for the right op-amps inside.
On the other hand, maybe these people listen first before judging ...

Uhm... you kind of blew your reputation and are bordering on flat-out discrimination.

Hi Fried, I was mostly referring to this post of yours: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/tes...ml#post6487821

I'm not german, I'm european though

I'm not made of money, and I don't care about creating jobs in Germany to be perfectly honest...neither am I a share holder or a shill for ANY manufacturer.

I go where I think the bang for bucks is high...I dearly apologize for this! I know I could buy hand made italian shoes for $1.5K, yet I like to buy shoes made in China for 10X cheaper..times are tough.

I have the utmost respect for german gear when it comes to pro audio! Waldorf, Oberheim, Access...man oh man, their products are just

I honestly didn't mean anything personal, and always feel dumb when a manufacturer calls me on my honest feelings

OTOH, when head-fi becomes "Alice in Wonderland"...something feels terribly wrong, as there simply can't be that many "best". No hard feelings was meant, and I don't agree with your idea of asian gear...OTOH, german gear lasts forever, it's a known fact!

the Pro Audio and the Audiophile markets have completely different expectations IMHO...one wants a flat uncolored sound, the other an euphonic sound that makes him feel gooood. Besides, it's hard to deny that the AD797/LT1028 "kill" the 40yo 5532 *for audiophile purposes*.

Hi


In the meantime I tried three additional amps. So far nothing sounds even close to HPA V100 .
The one that will do better with HD800 - I will put its exact model and producer in a post - in your thinking I will than become A SHILL for that producer - no problem.

Could you tell me the exact model and producer (the sponsor)?

I suspect it should be much cheaper than HPA V100, so no problem for me to buy it if I cannot borrow it, as long as it helps HD 800 ring out more bells and whistles than V100.

But if it does not, if I buy it, I will donate it to you - OK?

Personally myself and I believe most people come to head-fi to learn about
exact names of products and their characteristics and so far you did not help me a bit. Now is your chance !

Hi Waterlogic, take your chance...I never said that the Violectric amps didn't sound good! I'm very much sure that they do when I see how well they're built, Lake people are not exactly newbies

There's rollable opamps in your V100, put them to good use...there's no point in buying a new amp when everything looks killer in your V100 except for the $0.2 5532's.

put some AD797B, some LT1028AC, some OPA627BP, some OPA-Earth/Sun V2, some Burson V2...and choose your favorite, these are some of the best opamps for audioholics..and I can fully understand that a manufacturer cannot use these high priced parts w/o asking for a high price tag in return(especially if they're not assembled in Asia).

the audiophile market is a niche, and when audioholics want tube stages or high-end audiophile opamps, the Pro audio market is fine w/ 5532/2068/4580...as they're not here to nod their head silly to every single song, they're here to monitor the audio signal.

compare a DT770(even a Manufaktur 600Ω) to any high end audiophile phone...the 770 will let you hear any defect/click/pop in the sound and not really play any music per se, where some other phones will hide those imperfections and astound you w/ a very musical sound(aka "PRaT")...different purposes for different targets.

and anyway, I'm only talking from my very own experience, my own thoughts/ears and what some other ppl I very much respect reported to have heard and thought...audio is not an exact science, and SQ cannot be measured in THD/SNR and IMD.

80 % of the time I listen to vinyl :

http://www.shrani.si/f/29/mF/3RjPVRLW/1/x3.jpg

so digital is my background music.

Nevertheless my experience with DACs is that no matter the price there are scarse differences between them - meaning there are many good cheap and expensive DACs, some are ridiculously expensive. Spent more than a month auditioning and bought Bel Canto Dac 3 and sold it after two weeks to buy Aqvox which is fine and much cheeper. Few weeks ago I got the Matrix Mini-i and discovered that it sounds maybe even better than Aqvox at 1/4 of Aqvox's price. So Aqvox will have to go.
Also the Matrix Mini-i headamp can drive HD 800 nicely , but not good enough, not even close as HPA V100. So for little money you get a very good DAC and acceptable HP amp.

What I can really recommend is M2tech Hiface - with this little converter the difference between DACs gets even smaller.

So, again I do not give a s*** what is inside as long as it is properly done, soldered so nothing can fall out, and it will not catch fire and finally it serves the purpose.

Since i see you are very knowledgable in all areas can you pls suggest a DAC product (producer model) that can make me even more happy than I am ?

Cheers

I have to say that you disappoint me. I still do not know the product you mentioned, and I am very eager to give it a shot.
You can PM me if you do not want to reveal the secret in the open.

Again I do not care what is inside any audio device or a car as long as it performs to my liking. Also if I want to chat about technicalities, designs, parts etc, head-fi would not be the right place to go, definitely not.

you very much should care...and I'm not here to break anyone's business.

see it as those ppl who buy regular cars, and put "momo" racing car wheels and modify the car completely to be a lot more nervous on the road. many ppl like those cars w/o all those modifications, it's not a crime!

someone on the forum said that talking about sound was like dancing about architecture...and there' a manufacturer that says that listening to cheapo opamps is like listening to an orchestra through a key hole.

what is coloring the sound the most is your V100 is -more than likely- the cheapo 5532's. do you find it normal that the sound of a $600 amp goes through $0.3 opamps? seriously?

You don't seem to have much experience in rolling opamps, and you can rest assured that you ARE (most exclusively) listening to the 5532's when you turn on your V100.

here's an attempt from Ray Samuels(another amp manufacturer), trying to explain what the LT1028 does to your sound(it's one of my three favorite opamps): REVIEW: Ray Samuels Emmeline HR-2 - SGHeadphones
that's what LT1028ACN8 does. really.

it's expensive, and I think it's still a hell of a bargain(and should have been priced 4X higher to be taken more seriously )...I'm sure the V100 would be eye popping w/ a bunch of these. try it, become a believer...don't be afraid...well, actually, be very afraid because the SQ will be a night and day and you won't quite be able to turn off your amp anymore

PS: about your DAC question, same answer: Heres some test results for the new ESI Juli@ card. [3] - RightMark Forums
the OPA2134 in your Matrix DAC are ruining the SQ completely

can you make a list of the amps you tried pls? and some opinions/comparisons would be nice
I am looking for a headphones amp and violectric v200 was on the top of my list. I am not such a technical person when it comes to audio stuff so i didn't know about 5532.

and another question... the opams in violectric can be replaced with something like this ? opamp

could be audio-gd that leeperry was referring to?

Hi

Due to the V100 and V200 characteristics (like gain control etc) these amps can drive low and high impedance headphones.
However I would like to point out again that I am exclusively looking for an amp that can drive HD800 (I had Tesla T1 for few hours on V100. Very good cans but personally I prefer HD800), meaning I am not testing the amp and several HPs, I am looking for a best match for HD 800.

I am not here to promote or to destroy anybody's business or opinion.
Therefore, as I said I will post the name of the product & producer gladly if I find one that can put more swing into HD 800 than V100. OK ?