TheMiddleSky
Headphoneus Supremus
I found that each gain position will have silght different sound signature. I prefer +6db than the others for now (both for low imp and high imp headphone), ymmv of course
Hi,
I'm very sorry if I have missed it. But do I can use 2 inputs of V200 the way: Rca inputs from my tutntable pre, and Balanced from my CD Player? Could anyone please check it with your amp? If one source is switched of, will V200 recognize this which plays music?
Another happy owner here; I drive the V200 balanced over XLR from the V800 DAC. Not really surprising as they're both from Violectric but the combo works exceedingly well. I concur with a previous poster who mentioned the soundstage opening up a bit when using balanced feed.
The V200 has loads of power and the pre-gain setting is a terrific design feature as it quickly allows one to make modifications based on the headphones that are connected. The sound is not absolutely neutral in the way an SS amp could be supposed to be but to my ears that's not necessarily a bad thing in this case. It's not exactly warm in any pronounced way but it does add a touch of warmth and euphony which I haven't experienced with other SS amps I audited such as the (by itself excellent) Burson conductor. It does very well with all my headphones including my HE-6 (more about this below) but the greatest synergy is displayed with the HD-800 imho. That pairing is truly glorious and although the HD-800 will never be my favourite set of cans for relaxed listening (they're just too analytical and a touch too pronounced in the treble for that and I own too many less than perfect old recordings) the DAC/AMP combo takes off a touch of the analytical coldness otherwise displayed by the HD-800 (one of the main reasons for purchasing the V200 at the time was the contrast it offered as compared to the conductor when paired with the HD-800). The conductor (in itself a fine product) made the HD-800 sound positively cold/harsh.
With my HE-6 the amp performs well and I haven't managed to have it clip yet (pre-gain on max). In the interest of full disclosure: I listen to classical music and not at ear-splitting levels. Also, I've had long off-site discussions with someone whose opinion I trust and who owns both the V200 and a speaker amp. This person claims that while the V200 drives the HE-6 well -in his opinion as good as any SS amp on the market at a human price level- those specific cans benefit from the extra headroom provided by having even more power on tap. I simply don't know as I don't own a speaker amp to try this myself and as the combo sits on my desk I have zero inclination to add another piece of kit. What's certain is that the V100 (little brother of the V200) doesn't have quite the required oomph to drive the HE-6 at loud levels. The V100 delivers 2200 mW in 50 Ohms, the V200 2750 mW in 50 Ohms so I guess the argument about headroom could make sense. That being said I have absolutely no complaints and I've read some reviews by preproman (recommended reading for all) on this site who also mentions that the V200 is in his top 3 (ss) amps for driving the HE-6.
Don't worry for a second if you want to drive the HE-500 though, that one is handled with ease and it pairs very well with the V200. As a matter of fact I prefer the 500 to the 6 for most of my listening as it handles the mids and vocal better imho and the highs are not as -excessively- pronounced as with the 6. This has to do with my sound signature preference, however, not with the V200 being underpowered for the HE-6. And oh yeah, the HE-500 are near half the price of the HE-6.
Violectric isn't very well known outside Europe but imho their products represent truly excellent price/quality, if you're hesitant do give them a try, pretty sure you'll be a believer soon.
Violectric V200 + LCD-X = musical bliss.
That's good to know, which DAC are you using and what's the sound like? I need another pair of headphones like I need a visit from the taxman but was planning to try and audition a member of the Audez'e family (LCD-3) although I'm pretty sure it won't really work with classical (too dark) certainly paired with the V200. But I'd like to compare the sound with what I get from my Hifiman phones, especially the HE-500 which come at a third of their price (and are also said to be too dark with classical although my ears don't agree with that statement). For the price it would have to be a substantial improvement in order for me to even consider buying into them.
Curious to see when Violectric will release the rumoured upgrade to their gear, should be any time now (and I do hope it'll possible to upgrade the existing stuff by swapping out a component).
I'm using an Oppo BDP 105 blu ray player, with music files on an external hard drive. "What does it sound like?"......uuuhhhmmmm....hard to put into words. Everything sounds at least wonderful, with so much music revealed in an effortless manner - an attribute I really like. The detail is there, can even hear the singer taking a breath on older, not so well recorded music. I am not a detail freak, but it's there. The emotion in voices, sounds previously unheard before emerging from a totally black, silent background. I love that the Vio amp is so dead quiet, I have to look to make sure it's on! I need to confess, though, that my preference is for a darker, more effortless sound. I run from the slightest hint of brightness. That is not a problem in the least in this set up, and yet it still manages to convey so much detail in the treble region. Bass is taught and deep. The midrange has a seductive quality.... (I don't listen to classical, though...just to say).