[WNBC]

I'm a late-comber to the V200 party (Dec 2011).  For now I am going with the notion of having one tube amp and one SS amp.  The V200 will stay in my rig for a long time to come.  Probably the Lyr as well.  For consolidation purposes, if a kick-arse statement Schiit hybrid tube amp comes along I may end up parting with the Lyr and V200 but until then it's a nice combo for me.  I've never listened to the Bryston BHA-1 but for me the V200 has that hint of warmth that appeals to me. 
 
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I have pretty much decided that my next head amp will be either the Violectric V200 or the upcoming Bryston BHA-1. My phones are LCD-2s with Moon Audio Silver Dragon V3 cabling. No offense to any contributors to this thread, but it seems to me after doing a fairly thorough search on this Board that while there are a lot of posts about the virtues of the V200, they are all from less than a handful of authors/contributors. So my question is; just how many members of this Board have actually tried the V200 and decided to keep it as their main or among their main headphone amps?

 

 

[rawrster]

 
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I'm a late-comber to the V200 party (Dec 2011).  For now I am going with the notion of having one tube amp and one SS amp.  The V200 will stay in my rig for a long time to come.  Probably the Lyr as well.  For consolidation purposes, if a kick-arse statement Schiit hybrid tube amp comes along I may end up parting with the Lyr and V200 but until then it's a nice combo for me.  I've never listened to the Bryston BHA-1 but for me the V200 has that hint of warmth that appeals to me. 

I'm in a similar boat. I have the V200 as the SS and I'm going to pick up my CTH Rev A next week to act as my tube amp. However I do have my PPAv2 as my backup amp in case anything ever happens or just as part of my budget rig. I once had my one and only dac die on me and that isn't going to happen again so good to have a competent backup just in case
 

 

[project86]

I just don't think there is enough info out there about the Bryston unit to say much else about it. It is Bryston, so I'm sure it will sound pretty good and be well built. Beyond that I don't know, except for the general $2,000+ price speculation. It could be the best thing ever, or could be pretty good but somewhat overpriced, or anywhere in between. 
 
The V200 isn't super popular. But it has a decent amount of users, and most of us have lots of experience with other expensive amps. In my opinion, a small group of satisfied experienced users means more than a large group of satisfied inexperienced listeners. 
 
Honestly though, most competing amps in the ~$1,000 price range should sound pretty darn good. It's not like we are saying "everything but Violectric is crap!" I liked the Burson HA-160, the Musical Fidelity M1HPA, the SPL Auditor, the Grace M902.... all are great sounding in their own way. I just like the V200 even more.

 

[InnerSpace]

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So my question is; just how many members of this Board have actually tried the V200 and decided to keep it as their main or among their main headphone amps?

I have the V200 (actually, two* of them) among many, many fine amps, and I keep it as a kind of bench player.  It's fourth in line after three great tube amps (the cheapest of which is four times the V200's price.)  It gives me about 95% of the best in a reliable, relatively inexpensive package.  I think it's terrific and it's an easy recommendation.  In fact it's a real-world no brainer.
 
*My daughter borrowed my first one and won't give it back.  So I bought another - that's how much I think of it.

 

[rawrster]

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The V200 isn't super popular. But it has a decent amount of users, and most of us have lots of experience with other expensive amps. In my opinion, a small group of satisfied experienced users means more than a large group of satisfied inexperienced listeners.  

 
I do wonder why the V200 isn't more popular than it is. It does have a good amount of owners and a good amount of head-fi regulars have good things to say about the amp but it isn't as popular as some of the amps that cost in the same price range. It can drive just about every headphone to its potential out there except possibly the HE6.
 
Oh well. I'm still very happy with mine and it saved me from going with the buy and sell game with amps for a while

 

[Duckman]

I'm a V200 owner and think it's terrific. I use it exclusively for the LCD2R2.
 
Having said that, I have found it just okay for some cans, particularly Grados and an Audio-Technica ATH AD2000 (which sounded woeful through it).
 
HD800 was VERY good through it.
 
Horses for courses.

 

[dallan]

I have owned the v200 for about a year and a half.  Originally got it for the LCD-2 but then i decided i didn't like the LCD-2 sound signature.  Didn't get the phones but had the amp.  Good news was that it worked so well for my lower impedance hp's that i kept it.  It also works well as a back up to my tube amp for when i am switching around(it's better for low impedance than the OLT tube amp) or don't want to heat up the tubes on a short listen.  It is a solid step down from my tube amp with high impedance phones, but at less than half the cost, it's a steal.  It works very well with them but the Zana Deux is a hard one to get close to in that high impedance realm.

 

[project86]

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I do wonder why the V200 isn't more popular than it is. It does have a good amount of owners and a good amount of head-fi regulars have good things to say about the amp but it isn't as popular as some of the amps that cost in the same price range. It can drive just about every headphone to its potential out there except possibly the HE6.
 

I suspect marketing, or lack of it, is a factor. I hate to single out specific brands.... but think of the hype there would be if Schiit announced a $1k amp being released tomorrow. Woo Audio kind of has a similar vibe going - when you start getting coverage at Engadget and places like that, there is clearly some heavy marketing going on. Doesn't mean they don't make good stuff.... but it's a different feel compared to Violectric.
 
It also doesn't help that the Violectric gear is smaller, less imposing, less flashy, than most other gear in the same price range. 

 

[qawsedrf]

Have already set my mind straight to be getting the V200, thanks to project86 and WarriorAnt (still hope you'll get better over time...) Still funding, but hopefully it won't be long before I get it!

 

[WarriorAnt]

 
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I suspect marketing, or lack of it, is a factor. I hate to single out specific brands.... but think of the hype there would be if Schiit announced a $1k amp being released tomorrow. Woo Audio kind of has a similar vibe going - when you start getting coverage at Engadget and places like that, there is clearly some heavy marketing going on. Doesn't mean they don't make good stuff.... but it's a different feel compared to Violectric.
 
It also doesn't help that the Violectric gear is smaller, less imposing, less flashy, than most other gear in the same price range. 

I think the lack of marketing may be a large contributing factor.  Violectric has a professional confidence in their products and rightly so and they seem to rely on that and not the hype of marketing.  I don't know why they do not market more but like I said theirs seems to be the path of quiet confidence.  Their product do speak for themselves but in the consumer game often the squeakiest wheel gets the grease.   The build, design, and engineering of the V200 is absolutely first rate.  The sonics are very pleasing and it is so effortless in its deliverance and gets out of the way so easily that one might sometimes forget what is being accomplished in terms of sonic employment.
 

Have already set my mind straight to be getting the V200, thanks to project86 and WarriorAnt (still hope you'll get better over time...) Still funding, but hopefully it won't be long before I get it!

Save your coins.  In the end you'll get one excellent amp for the money and you'll have saved yourself all the lost money that eventually goes down the upgrade path to something you always wanted but gave in to soon to something else before you go to your destination.  Thanks for your kind wishes.
 
 

 

[rawrster]

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I suspect marketing, or lack of it, is a factor. I hate to single out specific brands.... but think of the hype there would be if Schiit announced a $1k amp being released tomorrow. Woo Audio kind of has a similar vibe going - when you start getting coverage at Engadget and places like that, there is clearly some heavy marketing going on. Doesn't mean they don't make good stuff.... but it's a different feel compared to Violectric.
 
It also doesn't help that the Violectric gear is smaller, less imposing, less flashy, than most other gear in the same price range. 

That's a good point. If Schiit had an 1k amp released there would be a lot of buzz like when they revealed the Lyr. That isn't to say that their amps are bad and in fact I did like the Lyr when I auditioned it. However they do have a good amount of buzz when something is released which is not something I can say about Violectric. Actually it took well over a year to have any real recognition for the V200 amp at least here on head-fi.
 
As long as Violectric continues to have quality products for a reasonable price I have no complaints. I just need to save up and get the V800 one of these days. I suspect that would be a good stack
 

 

[WarriorAnt]

Schiit also had a designer and pioneer in the audio world in Mike Moffit, already legendary and well known among audiophiles.  I think that helped.

 

[Loevhagen]

Happy V200 owner her up North as well. I ordered a Lake People G100 just to calm my curiosity; Violectric vs. Lake People house sound...

 

[WarriorAnt]

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Happy V200 owner her up North as well. I ordered a Lake People G100 just to calm my curiosity; Violectric vs. Lake People house sound...

What's this? 

 

[InnerSpace]

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 ... Violectric vs. Lake People house sound ...

There really isn't a difference - except in the case of the V200, which is deliberately different than the other products on both sides of the house.  I think all their stuff is good, but if you like the V200 you won't necessarily like their other stuff, and vice versa.