Very nice!
 
Is that a pair of identical Oppo players I see there? What's the story?

zhgutov said:

How this headphones sound?)

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Auralic Vega > V281 > LCD3C sounds sublime. Brang a smile to my face all afternoon.

nzheadcase said:

Indeed it is. Does this mean your Oppo HA-1 has gone bye-bye?

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That was the plan. Unfortunately the V281 started faulting after a few hours use. So I will need to get it looked at. I was going to sell the Oppo however I will hold off on that for a while.

When the V281 got warm after a few hours use the Head and XLR LED would flash and the music would stop. After flashing it will go back to normal. Like the unit was rebooting. Once it starts doing that it would carry on doing it intermittently. It's like a power spike and the unit reboots.
Has anyone else had this?

project86 said:

Very nice!

Is that a pair of identical Oppo players I see there? What's the story?

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Yes. Two identical Oppo BDP103D's. Darbee versions both zone changeable.
Blu-rays zoning is harder to crack than DVD. You can only set it to one particular zone at a time. Although I can change the zone to both of my player by hitting a sequence of buttons I find that too much work. So I prefer two players. One set to Zone A the other to Zone B. Then I just open and use whatever player the disc is labeled up. Easy.

It comes in handy for audio as well. The top unit is setup for multichannel SACD, DVDAudio and blu-audio. The bottom one is set to do those formats in 2 channel for headphone listening.

Full story here:

http://www.blu-ray.com/community/gallery.php?member=Badas

badas said:

Auralic Vega > V281 > LCD3C sounds sublime. Brang a smile to my face all afternoon.

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Unfortunately the V281 started faulting after a few hours use. When the V281 got warm after a few hours use the Head and XLR LED would flash and the music would stop. After flashing it will go back to normal. Like the unit was rebooting. Once it starts doing that it would carry on doing it intermittently. It's like a power spike and the unit reboots.
Has anyone else had this?

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My question was about headphones from your photo. Is it AudioQuest Nighthawk?
Hmm.. Why your LCD-3 is "C"? =)
 
The behaviour you described for V281 is strange. Looks like the fault. My instance never behave this way.

zhgutov said:

My question was about headphones from your photo. Is it AudioQuest Nighthawk?
Hmm.. Why your LCD-3 is "C"? =)

The behaviour you described for V281 is strange. Looks like the fault. My instance never behave this way.

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Yes. Those are the AudioQuest NightHawks. I really like them. However they are very polarising. Either love or hate. They treat treble very differently than most HP's. That's what I like most about them. On the flip side some members find the treble veiled. It depends on your poison. I don't mind and actually prefer that the treble doesn't go so high.

My LCD-3's are the older version. Before they added the fazor. So they are commonly referred to as a LCD-3C. C for classic version.

Today I measured V281 again and realized what I was completely wrong.
The ground-lift jumpers inside both V800 and V281 were set to GND (general and XLR).
That was a mistake in my case. The manual tells the following about this jumpers:
 
"Unfortunately there is no general recommendation how to solve hum and jitter problems - or even minimize them.
The best way to succeed is to check different options"
 
So, I changed the jumper settings (both general and XLR) inside both units to LIFT.
I also disconnected the shield of the cable (pin 1) from the case of the connector, according to manual.
 
This changed the whole picture. This is the old graph:
 

 
This is the new one:
 

 
Pregain for both graphs is set to -12 dB in V281.
Pregain still affects the noise floor.
 
Now I think it is possible to minimise or eliminate the noise spuria measured by innerfidelity, at least for balanced connection.
Original post with the old measurements: http://www.head-fi.org/t/705318/violectric-hpa-v281-vorsprung-durch-balanced/2250#post_12836128

Guys, how would you describe the difference between the sonic signatures of Violectric and Simaudio Moon. I've noticed some people here saying they prefer V281/220 to 430HAD, so I was wondering if someone can point out the divergences in their respective sound characteristics. Is Mood overly warm and smooth compared to Vio, and not as neutral and transparent? I haven't heard any Vio amp/dac yet, but I did recently audition the 230HAD (as well as 430HAD briefly before), and I do find it very smooth and full-sounding (rich mids and lots of bass). Are V200, V220 and V281 generally less warm than the Moon amps?

petarcv said:

  Guys, how would you describe the difference between the sonic signatures of Violectric and Simaudio Moon. I've noticed some people here saying they prefer V281/220 to 430HAD, so I was wondering if someone can point out the divergences in their respective sound characteristics. Is Mood overly warm and smooth compared to Vio, and not as neutral and transparent? I haven't heard any Vio amp/dac yet, but I did recently audition the 230HAD (as well as 430HAD briefly before), and I do find it very smooth and full-sounding (rich mids and lots of bass). Are V200, V220 and V281 generally less warm than the Moon amps?

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I really liked them both, and if they were the same price (without DAC), then I would really struggle to decide which one.
 
I ended up buying the V281 because it felt more like a good all-round revealing headphone amp that responds well to the choice of source component and headphones you are using. In that regard, I thought the V281 is powerful but characterless, in a good way.
 
This worked well for me, because I prefer my amp to be as invisible as possible, and rather play around with the sonic colour by using a different DAC (or different headphones, obviously). I wanted to avoid the situation where the amp colours the sound too much, which is usually a sign of inadequacy.
 
I personally really like the Moon as an all-in-one unit with the DAC module. It felt like a good complete package with a certain sense of character. I thoroughly enjoyed it in both S/PDIF and USB input. It's also been very solid and glitch-free even for DSD256 or PCM352.8kHz, which means they must have got the design right (a lot of DACs fail this despite what they claim).
 
Basically Moon feels powerful yet more velvet-ish and smooth, a little bit more mid-range tone focused than V281. I appreciate every note being smooth and well-rounded, without becoming edgy or honky, but the 3D projection and localisation of sources is not as precise as the V281. I wouldn't call Moon a high speed, analytical amp, but more like an established high-end setup that someone will buy simply because of how it sounds. Some people prefer a brighter, more edgier amp because it gives a perception of being "revealing", but that gets old after a while. Really good amps like V281 or Moon can have all the detail without sounding forward and bright.
 
I liked the V281 better as an analogue only amp. Moon using analogue line input (i.e. without the DAC) tended to add some character of the Moon amp itself, and masks out the differences in the source component (what DAC you are using upstream). It always sounded like I am using the Moon, which might end up becoming annoying after a while.
 
I think some people want the amp to be heavily coloured (something that makes their usual headphones become exceptional), while others prefer the amp to be as invisible as possible. I wouldn't call the Moon to be heavily coloured (certainly compared to the other amps I tried), but it is more in that direction while V281 is the latter.

I agree with the above. My review of the Moon will go live eventually (already submitted at Part Time Audiophile) but for now I'll just say it does seem more colored than the V281. I prefer the Violectric sound signature which is slightly warm and smooth while retaining a sense of clarity and excitement, and not losing significant details. The 430HA seems a little boring overall.... I do enjoy it plenty but not enough considering the price. Wonderful build quality though, with dynamite volume solution. And the optional DAC truly is exceptional, much better than the Violectric option (which is priced accordingly so I guess it makes sense).

project86 said:

  ...The 430HA seems a little boring overall.... I do enjoy it plenty but not enough considering the price. Wonderful build quality though, with dynamite volume solution. ...

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Sold mine after about 6 months. Got a V281 and been happy ever since.
 
430HA has fantastic build quality and great features - but that can't save it if the sound is so warmed over that the speed, slam and dynamics get castrated. I also think that detail suffers too, but many will disagree with me on that.
 
I like to think of the V281 as combining most of the best features of my 2 previous amps (Auralic Taurus Mk2 and 430HA) in one package:

1. Technical agility of the Taurus - speed, punch, detail, dynamics
2. Power of the 430HA - can make the HE6 dance
3. A splash of the 430HA warmth and musicality - but not overdone (as I think the 430HA is). The V281 is a neutral amp with a touch of warmth IMHO.

 
If only it looked more like the GS-X Mk2, and less like a shoe box with knobs stuck on it, it would probably have a much greater market share
 
A very under-rated piece of kit, I think.

Thanks for your very insightful replies, sandalaudio, project86, and TonyNewman. I definitely noticed the prominent sound signature of the Moon amps that you guys pointed out. The warm, smooth tonality of the Moon seems appealing to me, but I also wonder if I'd like it as much in the long run or whether I'd prefer the more subtly warm Violectric.

Just received my V281 yesterday with the 128 relay and remote… This was an upgrade from an Oppo HA-1 amp. I am using a set of Sennheiser HD 800 phones with the balanced out. The V281 definitely restores a lot of the fun and musicality that was missing from the Oppo (which now sounds way too aggressive and forward by comparison) and tames the treble issues with the HD 800. With the Oppo, I was always struggling a bit to get lost in the music, but the V281 is smooth and just laid back enough to get me where I want to be. With this combo, you can focus on the details of individual instruments or let it all wash over you. Sorry if I’m not able to present my impressions in more technical terms, but that’s what I am hearing. And I like it enough to claim I've found my endgame. 

hypersonic club said:

Just received my V281 yesterday with the 128 relay and remote… This was an upgrade from an Oppo HA-1 amp. I am using a set of Sennheiser HD 800 phones with the balanced out. The V281 definitely restores a lot of the fun and musicality that was missing from the Oppo (which now sounds way too aggressive and forward by comparison) and tames the treble issues with the HD 800. With the Oppo, I was always struggling a bit to get lost in the music, but the V281 is smooth and just laid back enough to get me where I want to be. With this combo, you can focus on the details of individual instruments or let it all wash over you. Sorry if I’m not able to present my impressions in more technical terms, but that’s what I am hearing. And I like it enough to claim I've found my endgame. 

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Half to see that you like it. Truly solid state end game for me.

Any reliable sq comparisons of the V281 and the Schiit Ragnarok that anyone can point me to?  I'm a proud owner of the V281 (and the Yggy), but I saw some offhand remarks comparing the two (v281 and Ragnarok) that I would like to verify via a more authoritative review. On the other hand, first hand comparative impressions, as well as any related helpful thoughts would also be appreciated.  Thanks.

hypersonic club said:

Just received my V281 yesterday with the 128 relay and remote… This was an upgrade from an Oppo HA-1 amp. I am using a set of Sennheiser HD 800 phones with the balanced out. The V281 definitely restores a lot of the fun and musicality that was missing from the Oppo (which now sounds way too aggressive and forward by comparison) and tames the treble issues with the HD 800. With the Oppo, I was always struggling a bit to get lost in the music, but the V281 is smooth and just laid back enough to get me where I want to be. With this combo, you can focus on the details of individual instruments or let it all wash over you. Sorry if I’m not able to present my impressions in more technical terms, but that’s what I am hearing. And I like it enough to claim I've found my endgame. 

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I've come to V281 from the Oppo HA-1 as well. No contest. V281 is a different level. I never did get comfy with the Oppo tho. It was just off.

Unfortunately my V281 is on its way back to Germany (Lake People). It has some kind of overloading fault. I should be back to the Violectric party in a few weeks.

Anyone paired these with the Focal Utopia? Your thoughts?