Review: Violectric HPA V200 amp - Page 2

Yes i agree Fried has been very helpful and timely with his responses.

About driving HE-6:
 

Yes, there are some reports that HE-6 needs lots of power.
As far as I know there are 2 different versions of HE-6 existing, the newer one consuming less power but not as effective as LCD-2.
In german forums, namely the open-end forum, there are some users decribing their experiences with HE-6, V181 and V200.
Most times the result is "perfect match" ;-) Nobody claimed a lacking of power from the amps.
In deed I cannot imagine that a voice coil from a headphone can withstand a rated power of more than 1 W RMS
for a longer period without getting seriously damaged.  

Greetz

Fried

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero 

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdg 

About driving HE-6:
 

Yes, there are some reports that HE-6 needs lots of power.
As far as I know there are 2 different versions of HE-6 existing, the newer one consuming less power but not as effective as LCD-2.
In german forums, namely the open-end forum, there are some users decribing their experiences with HE-6, V181 and V200.
Most times the result is "perfect match" ;-) Nobody claimed a lacking of power from the amps.
In deed I cannot imagine that a voice coil from a headphone can withstand a rated power of more than 1 W RMS
for a longer period without getting seriously damaged.  

Greetz

 

Fried

The higher efficiency HE-6 will be released as the HE-6p. They do not sound the same from what I've heard with the HE-6 still being the Hifiman flagship.

3W into 50 ohms by the V200 should be good. I can confirm (and I guess the updated 6moons review) that the Lyr with 4W into 50 ohms is plenty of power.

The v200 is very good amp indeed. At that price I cant see anything better. It got sort of warm sound that makes me feel my zd se sounds more like solid state. It drives hd650/hd 800/D7000 at ease; 1/3 of the volume will do.

Only one version for he6-so called golden coil version. He6ps are different story, it is much easier to drive, maybe as easy as lcd2. Head direct renamed he6es as HE500s. According to fang, He6s are still better, on the other hand he500s are much easier to drive.

Sitting here and listen to the HD800 on the V200. The V200 make Leonard Cohen´s voice justice (Ten New Songs album) on the HD800. The V200 isn´t a lot of bling, but the sound / synergy with HD800; it´s just so good it´s a keeper. 

DAC used is Hegel HD10 (XLR to V200).

Received my V200 this afternoon, coincidentally.

Excellent review!

And is Mr. Duckman happy / satisfied with how the V200 portrays the music? A little bit more context would be highly appreciated. :)
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duckman 

Received my V200 this afternoon, coincidentally.

 

Excellent review!

@ "Beautiful picture, as usual.": Thanks. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by project86 


So you've got an Eddie Current Zana Deux as well as a Violectric V200? Because that's one interesting thing I've noticed: Many people who own and love the Violectric stuff seem to also have at least one other high end amp already. I think that speaks strongly for Violectric, since it isn't just new people who say something like "I love this amp! Best amp I've ever heard! Prior to this I've only owned a Cmoy though."

 

 

Yes, I have both of them. I listened to zdse most of time before the arrival of v200. Now i am gonna stick with v200 for a while. Again, very nice sounding amp. Regardless what amp people own this one is gonna amaze them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdhfdy 

 

Yes, I have both of them. I listened to zdse most of time before the arrival of v200. Now i am gonna stick with v200 for a while. Again, very nice sounding amp. Regardless what amp people own this one is gonna amaze them.

No lol.

Thanks for this great review! 

I'm currently on the market for a solid state amp that can effectively power both my HD800's and the LCD-2's, with my source being the Stello DA100 (slightly on warmer side of neutral from what I hear). Would you say V200 is likely the best SS amp choice inside my $1500 budget to amp both of those headphones? Any other competitors that I should be looking at (again, SS preferably, as I already have a tube amp).

Ha!

Have only listened for a few hours, but yes, so far I'm very happy with it. Works excellently with the LCD2.

Difficult to compare to previous amps (B22SE, Leben CS300XS and Lyr), because my audio memory is useless, and I haven't had them side by side. But at this early stage and with my upstream equipment (Metric Halo ULN2), I think the V200 is probably the most suitable LCD2 amp I've had (to my ears, naturally :-). There would be tradeoffs of course, some amps being better in certain areas.

I'm getting a new DAC soon (Anedio D1), so hopefully that will take things to the next level.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loevhagen 

And is Mr. Duckman happy / satisfied with how the V200 portrays the music? A little bit more context would be highly appreciated. :)

 

Thanks for two great reviews, I read them both back-to-back. I've always been interested in the Violectric amps since they were launched, but initially information about them was scarce. I'm not sure why this was; on paper they look like great performers and as you point out, they have the German pedigree. I see they've been getting a bit more attention recently, but I think your excellent reviews will really help to get the ball rolling.

I remember reading your Matrix M-Stage review too. You have a nice style with a good balance - I like your inclusion of some of the more technical details fundamental to amp performance, but you don't go overboard with it.

I would love to try the V200 some day, I bet it's a premium choice well suited to demanding headphones.