By the way, quite nice the 2 x 6.3mm on V200. I listen in parallel with Final D8000 Pro and Ultrasone Signature Pro. The only thing I have to take care is to lower the volume when switching because of different impedances and sensitivities. As expected Ultrasone Signature Pro sounds louder. In rest, no chance against D8000 Pro. It kills the soundstage, less resolving, less separation between frequency bands, what to say, I was not expecting something different, I am not a fan of closed backs and here I guess we discuss about different price ranges. I avoid to say that the comfort is close because this is debatable, you know, many complain D8000 Pro is heavy, for me it stays fix on my head when working and the earpads are quite comfortable. But there is only one thing I liked more on Ultrasone, which I guess is common for all closed backs with decent bass, more visceral in isolated passages. And Signature Pro has more bass than D8000 Pro. Here I have to admit I liked it, but it was, well, 1 case on 3 tracks. LOL
But I guess that Ultrasone Signature Pro works well for EDM and people listening to electronic music. In my case with rock, well, this kind of "in your face" sound does not really appeal. Is the difference between them 3x (like the original price when launched)? Of course not, I would say 20% but Final is less sharp, wider, more natural, does things much better.
But the difference between headphones is not so important. Today I realized how much of my preferred sound signature are the interconnects. I started connecting the audio-gd NFB11.32 to V200 via some DH Labs Air Matrix (1m, RCA-RCA). All sounded shouty, veiled, same feeling as my Valvo EL42. Not necesarily bad, at first I thought that well, this is the SS area and its limits. But later I put the same interconnects I use on TT2 -> Eternity: some custom made Neotech NEI-2001 I use for many years. These are made by a local professional, but have very good quality and he used also very good connectors. And damn, magic was back, my SS smaller system started to sound similar (but not at that level) with my main rig. Of course, there are differences and limitation, but WOW what a difference some good interconnects make. I have 2 pairs of interconnects made by the same person from the same NEI-2001 (one RCA and one XLS terminated) so I will use the same type on both systems from now on. And now the Cable Inquisition will come and explain me that a 5 USD cable from Amazon is the same if properly soldered. Come on guys.
I will compare these for days, but a few words about the amp comparison, starting with 2 words about V200 vs Eternity:
- Eternity is, as expected, the best. Same speed or even faster as V200, but wider and more organic sounding. Everything is more 3D, you feel more about the placement, an idea more resolving (here we have TT2 + M Scaler against a mid-fi DAC, I was expecting more, honestly). But Eternity is not with its best tubes on it, I use some Sylvania 6L6 with Tung Sol 6SL7 (7/10 if you ask me, compared to what I can do with Eternity, but the other amps, well, they are like they are, this is the beauty of tube rolling and flexible amps). Eternity can go up with better combos, SS amps will sound the same in every situation.
- I wondered sometimes if D8000 Pro would benefit from an SS amp, or if Eternity is not bringing out of them the maximum, well, I do not feel that V200 provides more. Of course, there are its bigger brothers V281 or newer models (I do not remember their names) but what I hear here is not more from what Eternity provides in terms of impact, bass. The only difference is that Eternity sounds smoother, this is the tube magic, less digital, but not slower nor less impactful. If you like or not this kind of sound is your personal preferrence.
And now some more stuff between Audio-gd NFB11.32 vs 200, when using Final D8000 Pro:
- V200 sounds smoother and more realistic, it's a more organic sound compared to the integrated amp of my DAC (nothing I would not expect). So the question if V200 makes a difference is YES. I quite like it. It's not about the level of detail, it's about the presentation, more natural, organic. It has more bass, better separation.
- audio-gd NFB11.32 sound more "digital" to me, I guess more sibilant and flat.
From memory I can say that V200 sounds better that TT2's integrated amplifier. And this is happening when connecting this small amp to a mid-fi DAC. It would be nice to try it with TT2 but I do not want to touch the main system.
In short, what I tried to say is that V200 is the best solid state amp I had the chance to listen (I had not many, but I think I like it more than A2 for example, because of its clean and organic presentation). Neotech NEI-2001 are killing other interconnects and are a big part of my favourite sound, more than I was expecting. Final D8000 Pro is in another league than Ultrasone Signature Pro, but closed back headphones with decent bass have a visceral presentation, which from time to time, is nice. And last but not least, I was expecting a lot more of a difference between TT2 + M Scaler vs audio-gd NFB11.32. But maybe these differences will come in time. Or maybe the tracks I've chosen are not as relevant. We will see. (Do not understand me wrong, there is a difference, just that I was expecting to be bigger).
And now I really deserve my beer.
PS. I'm limited to D8000 Pro stock cable because my FAW Noir Hybrid has XLR connector. So that's it, I'll have to use this one.
