[Shaffer]

Thank you for chiming in, fdg. The pre-gain is a fantastic feature.

 

[vrln]

I´m thinking about getting back into desktop headphone gear and getting an amp would be the first step. I´m mostly into IEM´s these days so one requirement for amp candidates is that they play nice with balanced armature IEM´s. In other words the output impedance has to be very low, there has to be configurable gain and the volume pot needs to be high quality. So here I am As a side story I actually had a V200 for a while a very long time ago and always regretted letting it go.
 
Do any V200 owners here use it with very sensitive and low impedance balance armatures? Is the lowest pre-gain option enough? Is it safe for the IEM? I´m a bit concerned as the V200 swings tons of power around and I don´t want to break my expensive new toy. While I´m sure I´ll add a Sennheiser HD 650 or a planar to the mix someday, but in the beginning I´d be using it with the Shure SE846 and Sennheiser IE 800. The Shure especially isn´t an easy task for a desktop amp as they are generally made for very different headphones. I think it´s the ultimate test for judging an amp´s versatility. Extremely sensitive, 9 ohms and as such very prone to noise. Probably one of the nastiest tests for any desktop amp, just on the different side of the spectrum to the typical "does it have enough power for  [insert planar headphone X]?"

 

[leithen]

A bit late to the party, but thank you for a great review.

 

[ledpro]

Does anyone use the v200 with the hifiman he 400i and the hd650 and can describe the synergy or can make a comparison between this two combinations?
Thanks

 

[Ultrainferno]

That has been done multiple times in this thread already and I also did that in my reviews

 

[ledpro]

ultrainferno thank you for the answer !!! I alredy saw the relate descreptions for the hd650 behavior and for some ather headphones (hd800 , he500 , he400 , ... ). However i have not see anything about the he400i and v200 synergy ....

 

[Rockcoon]

I'm on a hunt for mid fi combo. The primary targets for now are violectric v200+matrix x sabre.
So here is the deal:
V200 has small soundstage. Matrix x sabre has big soundstage. If i combine these two, the soundstage should be average size? Or all of this things don't work such way?

I will be greatful if someone just describe his impressions with this pairing.

 

[Shaffer]

V200 has small soundstage.

It does?

 

[Rockcoon]

It does?

Most reviews, including this, says "yes".

 

[derbigpr]

Most reviews, including this, says "yes".

 
Most reviews on amps really greatly exaggerate the "sound stage size" of headphone amps. I would never say the V200 has a small sound stage, at least not when paired with the T1's, it just has a regular sound stage typical for all headphone amps in general. Small compared to what? Compared to a cheap amp? Nope. To a similarly priced SS amp? Maybe slightly "smaller" in comparison to brighter sounding amps. Small compared to tube amps? Maybe, but that's because of the specific colorations you get with tube amps. Small compared to listening to speakers? Yes. Whatever the case, even if you compare the amps with "biggest" and "smallest" sound stages, the difference would still be extremely small, because we're talking about headphones here. What you need to remember is that headphones in general, let alone headphone amplifiers, don't do sound stage well and you can't do much to fix that. It's just how it is, you can't go over the fact that the physical layout of headphones combined with neurophysiology of hearing does not allow the open feeling and the sound stage projection you hear in real life or that you get from even a very cheap pair of speakers, it just doesn't happen, and whoever claims otherwise is simply over-exaggerating. I've heard HD800's out of excellent balanced amplifiers, and have been listening to my T1's for a long time and am very used to their sound, but they still image worse and project a smaller sound stage than a properly placed pair of 30 dollar Logitech PC speakers, and these are both headphones that have a very good reputation when it comes to sound stage and imaging. It just doesn't work without some kind of cross feed or DSP. If you really care a lot about the sound stage in general when listening to headphones, then go for the SPL Phonitor Mini or a similar amplifier that has a built in crossfeed circuit, only that way can you really get a semi-good sensation of what could be considered sound stage.
 
I would say test it and see if you like how it sounds, don't bother thinking too much about what you read in various reviews, trust yourself only when it comes to audio gear, that way you'll be most satisfied.

 

[inseconds99]

Can someone tell me if this is the same amp made by a different company or not. This looks to be the exact some thing as this amp for half the price with a different name on the front. I am confused.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Nobsound%C2%AEHifi-Transistor-Headphone-Amplifier-Violectric/dp/B00WU1X0OU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433965007&sr=8-1&keywords=Violectric+V200

 

[Ultrainferno]

I'm not saying it is the same but I do know the V200 was copied by the chinese market. Vio was not amused.

 

[inseconds99]

  I'm not saying it is the same but I do know the V200 was copied by the chinese market. Vio was not amused.

Ok that makes sense now, I was about to order it on amazon for my HD800's and then I realized it had a different name. Can anyone recommend a USB Dac to use with this amp?
 
P.S. Looks like Vio doesn't sell on amazon which is a shame as I will not order online unless from amazon. 

 

[Ultrainferno]

It's perfectly safe to order drom Vio directly or via their US distributor. I like pairing my Vio gear with Resonessence Labs DACs

 

[Shaffer]

Can someone tell me if this is the same amp made by a different company or not. This looks to be the exact some thing as this amp for half the price with a different name on the front. I am confused.

http://www.amazon.com/Nobsound%C2%AEHifi-Transistor-Headphone-Amplifier-Violectric/dp/B00WU1X0OU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433965007&sr=8-1&keywords=Violectric+V200

It's a clone. Not a real Violectric. If you take your time and regularly look through the classifieds, you can get the real thing for not that much more.

On a personal note, having looked through the company's offerings, I can't believe the prices. The DAC is ~$740 (!). From an unknown Chinese clone manufacturer. If anything, the company has balls. I'd rather opt for brains.