Eleven Audio XIAUDIO Formula S Headphone Amplifier
Mar 21, 2021 at 12:30 PM Post #16 of 664
Is it a significant step up from violectric v281? Is it worth the $2K spent? Thanks!


The V281 is a great amp. It's very powerful and can drive pretty much any headphone you can think of. The sound it produces is bold and far from neutral, certainly leaning toward the warm side. Certainly not analytical or rich in micro detail. It doesn't blow you away with the soundstage it produces.

On the contrary, the Formula S is, to my ear, almost the opposite of the V281, from pretty much any point of view (as such, I personally find difficult to determine if one is better than the other, or whether or not one is worth the difference in price, without knowing anything about the type of sound you like best).
While the Formula S is also a very capable amp which can drive pretty much anything, it is certainly more on the lean and neutral side. It very fast and has very impactful low frequencies, still producing beautiful and very reach highs. Which contribute to its more dry and analytical sound. Which is what I personally like best and prefer, these days, to the V281.

So, going back to your question: is it worth the 2K difference (I actually believe that, if you include the Powerman, the difference is significantly more substantial)? Yes, if you like the type of sound of the Formula S. Absolutely not, if you are after a warmer, less analytical type of sound. The Formula S might also not be worth it, if the rest of the chain is not particularly resolving (in that case, I believe that most of the difference that the Formula S is capable of producing, would go somehow "lost in transit"...). :)

ps: I own both the V281 and the Formula S, as well as a number of other amps so, feel free to ask, should you be interested in more comparisons
 
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Mar 21, 2021 at 12:39 PM Post #17 of 664
if you include the Powerman
What does Powerman add to Formula S if paired with Chord DACs (HMS > TT2/Dave) driving your Abyss AB-1266? Very interested in this, since I am planning to add Formula S myself and unsure if Powerman is necessary/required, or better the money would be spent towards putting HMS in the chain for example. Thanks!
 
Mar 21, 2021 at 1:03 PM Post #18 of 664
What does Powerman add to Formula S if paired with Chord DACs (HMS > TT2/Dave) driving your Abyss AB-1266? Very interested in this, since I am planning to add Formula S myself and unsure if Powerman is necessary/required, or better the money would be spent towards putting HMS in the chain for example. Thanks!

I'll be absolutely honest: I don't think I've ever auditioned my Formula S without the Powerman for more than 5 minutes, at the very beginning...hence I can't be very specific on the impact that the linear power supply makes on the final result. In principle, adding linear power supply should help lowering noise floor, increasing detail and producing a positive impact on soundstage and overall precision.

I am not sure I would recommend though using the TT2 as a DAC-only and pair it to the Formula S. I own also the TT2 and can confirm that it is a wonderful two-in-one which I suggest to use standalone. In my experience, even sonically, TT2 and the Formula S are not too dissimilar (TT2 might be a pinch warmer but I'm conflicted on that). And the TT2 certainly doesn't lack power to drive anything you want, including the 1266.

Different story if you plan to pair it to the DAVE, which I also own. It's known fact that the amp section of the DAVE is not particularly capable. Yet, if DAVE is the way you are planning to go DAC-wise, I would strongly advise to put on hold the purchase of an external amp and try to use the DAVE also as headphone amp first. Too many people, in my view, claim that the DAVE has a weak amp section "by definition". In my view, once again, that depends. It certainly depends on the type of music you listen to. For most classical music and or modern jazz, I personally find the DAVE perfectly capable of driving many headphones, including the 1266.

Adding a separate amp is something you can anyway do any time, at a later stage. And that amp could be a Formula S (expect a fairly dry and hyper analytical combo, in this case) or maybe something a touch rounder and warmer which might complement DAVE even better, if you are after a slightly less analytical sound.
 
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Mar 21, 2021 at 1:08 PM Post #19 of 664
Thank you very much for your detailed response. I am still learning as to what I like, so hard to say if warmth or analytical is better for me. However, what I can say is that Hugo 2 was not powerful for my Diana V2s, even though many has told me that it will. I think it has to do with the music I listen to (mainly EDM), never classical, so I don't think Dave would suffice from that perspective. For me, I would definitely start with upgrading DAC before AMP, as I have already V281 which I have heard compares to Formula S in terms of "can drive Abyss headphones". I was just curious as to what extra Powerman adds, as almost everyone suggests it!
 
Mar 21, 2021 at 1:32 PM Post #20 of 664
Let me just get this out of the way, and say that it upsets me to have to buy a separate power cable when buying any TOTL amp. Not sure if it was JPS or XI Audio who came up with it. Like a lot of things, it sounds driven by money.

I can't think of another amp manufacturer who has this practice. Please enlighten me if I am wrong.

That being said, what other power cables are people using aside from JPS stuff?
 
Mar 21, 2021 at 1:40 PM Post #21 of 664
I'll be absolutely honest: I don't think I've ever auditioned my Formula S without the Powerman for more than 5 minutes, at the very beginning...hence I can't be very specific on the impact that the linear power supply makes on the final result. In principle, adding linear power supply should help lowering noise floor, increasing detail and producing a positive impact on soundstage and overall precision.

I am not sure I would recommend though using the TT2 as a DAC-only and pair it to the Formula S. I own also the TT2 and can confirm that it is a wonderful two-in-one which I suggest to use standalone. In my experience, even sonically, TT2 and the Formula S are not too dissimilar (TT2 might be a pinch warmer but I'm conflicted on that). And the TT2 certainly doesn't lack power to drive anything you want, including the 1266.

Different story if you plan to pair it to the DAVE, which I also own. It's known fact that the amp section of the DAVE is not particularly capable. Yet, if DAVE is the way you are planning to go DAC-wise, I would strongly advise to put on hold the purchase of an external amp and try to use the DAVE also as headphone amp first. Too many people, in my view, claim that the DAVE has a weak amp section "by definition". In my view, once again, that depends. It certainly depends on the type of music you listen to. For most classical music and or modern jazz, I personally find the DAVE perfectly capable of driving many headphones, including the 1266.

Adding a separate amp is something you can anyway do any time, at a later stage. And that amp could be a Formula S (expect a fairly dry and hyper analytics combo, in this case) or maybe something a touch rounder and warmer which might complement DAVE even better, if you are after a slightly less analytical sound.
Thanks for your impressions. When using the TT2 as a DAC to the Formula S, what interconnect did you prefer, XLR3 or RCA? I wonder what path preserves the most clarity.

Maybe @Rob Watts can answer this.
 
Mar 21, 2021 at 2:00 PM Post #23 of 664
Let me just get this out of the way, and say that it upsets me to have to buy a separate power cable when buying any TOTL amp. Not sure if it was JPS or XI Audio who came up with it. Like a lot of things, it sounds driven by money.

I can't think of another amp manufacturer who has this practice. Please enlighten me if I am wrong.

That being said, what other power cables are people using aside from JPS stuff?

Check your PM.
 
Mar 21, 2021 at 2:02 PM Post #24 of 664
Let me just get this out of the way, and say that it upsets me to have to buy a separate power cable when buying any TOTL amp. Not sure if it was JPS or XI Audio who came up with it. Like a lot of things, it sounds driven by money.

I can't think of another amp manufacturer who has this practice. Please enlighten me if I am wrong.

That being said, what other power cables are people using aside from JPS stuff?

I have never really invested much time on cables to be honest. I do use mostly JPS (Kaptovator and PAC Lite) just because the dealers I mostly buy from do carry JPS and a few other brands so I was able to test before buying.
 
Mar 21, 2021 at 2:05 PM Post #25 of 664
Thanks for your impressions. When using the TT2 as a DAC to the Formula S, what interconnect did you prefer, XLR3 or RCA? I wonder what path preserves the most clarity.

Maybe @Rob Watts can answer this.

While I do own both the Formula and the TT2, I can't recall ever testing them in combo... My Formula S comes with RCA though so RCA would necessarily be the interconnect of choice...
 
Mar 21, 2021 at 2:38 PM Post #26 of 664
What does Powerman add to Formula S if paired with Chord DACs (HMS > TT2/Dave) driving your Abyss AB-1266? Very interested in this, since I am planning to add Formula S myself and unsure if Powerman is necessary/required, or better the money would be spent towards putting HMS in the chain for example. Thanks!

I had the Formula S / Powerman combo for over a year, and during that time I had a forced hiatus of about one month from the Powerman due to an RMA. I felt that without the Powerman the Formula S was not as rich, transparent and dynamic as with it. So much so that I went back to listening to the 1266 directly out of the DAVE most of the time. The deterioration of the magical traits of the DAVE (micro-dynamics, transparency, low-level detail, especially spatial) was just not worth the additional grunt from the external amp for me.

The Powerman brings the Formula S to a significantly higher overall refinement level. I would see it as a strongly recommended, while expensive, upgrade path.

As for the HMS, in my system, for my tastes and for the type of music I listen the most (acoustic and vocals) it provides a superior added value to the DAVE compared to most (any?) amplifiers I have tried, including the Formula S, with or without the Powerman.

If your next step is to upgrade your DAC to a higher end model in the Chord offering, I would proiritise auditioning the HMS compared to an external amp, of course this would be even more true if you went for a TT2.
 
Mar 21, 2021 at 3:43 PM Post #27 of 664
I had the Formula S / Powerman combo for over a year, and during that time I had a forced hiatus of about one month from the Powerman due to an RMA. I felt that without the Powerman the Formula S was not as rich, transparent and dynamic as with it. So much so that I went back to listening to the 1266 directly out of the DAVE most of the time. The deterioration of the magical traits of the DAVE (micro-dynamics, transparency, low-level detail, especially spatial) was just not worth the additional grunt from the external amp for me.

The Powerman brings the Formula S to a significantly higher overall refinement level. I would see it as a strongly recommended, while expensive, upgrade path.

As for the HMS, in my system, for my tastes and for the type of music I listen the most (acoustic and vocals) it provides a superior added value to the DAVE compared to most (any?) amplifiers I have tried, including the Formula S, with or without the Powerman.

If your next step is to upgrade your DAC to a higher end model in the Chord offering, I would proiritise auditioning the HMS compared to an external amp, of course this would be even more true if you went for a TT2.
It appears that upgrade to DAVE would be a good option for 1266 even without an amp. How does the DAVE compared to TT2, and do you feel 1266 lacks of "power" directly out of the DAVE?
 
Mar 21, 2021 at 3:55 PM Post #28 of 664
It appears that upgrade to DAVE would be a good option for 1266 even without an amp. How does the DAVE compared to TT2, and do you feel 1266 lacks of "power" directly out of the DAVE?

DAVE uniquely provides an utmost transparency and microdetail retrieval, with a liquidity of the midrange and treble (while slightly thinner than the TT2) which is truly special. Also, rythmic liveliness and imaging take a leap with respect to the TT2.

As for DAVE + Powerman / Formula S vs. DAVE alone, I reported some impressions here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-electronics-dave.766517/post-14394739 .

Long story short, for my tastes DAVE needs an amp with the 1266 if you want to squeeze every last bit of goodness from the Abyss, but for certain genres and in regards to certain aspects of music reproduction DAVE direct is really, really hard to beat.
 
Mar 21, 2021 at 4:12 PM Post #29 of 664
for anything other than the abyss, the susvara and perhaps the lcd-4 the dave alone is wonderful....with the hardest to drive HP's the pros outweigh the cons in terms of adding an amp IMHO
 
Mar 21, 2021 at 4:17 PM Post #30 of 664
DAVE uniquely provides an utmost transparency and microdetail retrieval, with a liquidity of the midrange and treble (while slightly thinner than the TT2) which is truly special. Also, rythmic liveliness and imaging take a leap with respect to the TT2.

As for DAVE + Powerman / Formula S vs. DAVE alone, I reported some impressions here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-electronics-dave.766517/post-14394739 .

Long story short, for my tastes DAVE needs an amp with the 1266 if you want to squeeze every last bit of goodness from the Abyss, but for certain genres and in regards to certain aspects of music reproduction DAVE direct is really, really hard to beat.
Thank you for the link, the detailed comparisons are very helpful.
 

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