[mulder01]

  Not trying to derail the thread, but does anyone know what this is??? It looks like an exact clone of their older DAC. Really pretty blatant. I've been reading up on the Gustard stuff too and how its basically the same stuff as Violectric at 1/3 the price. 
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Full-Balance-DAC-decoder-USB-Coaxial-optical-AES-input-Ref-Violectric-DAC-V800-/271807864652?hash=item3f4902df4c

 
 I would probably steer well clear of a cheap Chinese copy of anything weather it be hifi equipment or tools or whatever.  Even though they look the same, they definitely aren't.

 

[prestigetone]

  Just received my purchase from Violectric USA. Pictures will be incoming once I am done playing around with it. I have to say it is like Christmas early. Also a shout out to Arthur of Violectric USA he was extremely helpful and quick to respond to my questions. 
 
Also I guess I am the first one in America to get this unit! At least from Violectric USA. 

Any impressions yet?

 

[13713]

Yes. I hit an emergency at work. I will give a post later tonight. I did receive my items Friday and have been using them with the SD 800. I like the 800 so I am biased there but so far so good.

 

[hypersonic]

Received mine yesterday.... Was in a shock by the way they packed their flagship dac in the box..
 

 
Seriously, four thin foam sticks and a plastic wrap, that's it....I was so lucky that mine survived without a scratch. A drop by the postman would have wrecked it. 
I know they used much better packaging method on previous product (thick foam all around), it's ok to skim a bit to cut cost, but not to this degree

 As you can see, the foam sticks just hold the unit in place, providing close to none protection against impact.
 

Apart from the packaging, the unit itself look gorgeous.
About the sound, I will leave it to 13713 bro

 

[prestigetone]

 
About the sound, I will leave it to 13713 bro

 
Your impressions would be awesome too, if you are willing to share! That package is unbelievable. You are totally right that the foam on the older model (my v800) was so much better. And those lights are still bright AS F. They need to have a dimming function as its distracting in a dark room. When I emailed them they said they could turn them down but I would love the ability to do that. Much like the packaging there is more to be desired around totally polishing the product. Love the sound but at that price, remote volume, dimming, and proper packaging should be standard IMO.
 
Thanks for the post!

 

[13713]

I have to agree with Hypersonic about the packaging. Here's a picture of my DAC:



As you can see here this is the packaging. The DAC came in safe but the Amp and Phono were much more protected.

 

[hypersonic]

The last time I was able to listen and compare bunch of higher end stuff was almost two years ago, while I was working in a headphone/audio gear retail. So I can't compare it to other products in the same class, as I don't own any. I will just share my own impression on it (which holds no value as a reference)
 
I am treble fetish. Ice cold, bright sound is perfect for me. So at first glance, this dac wasn't that thrilling. Comparing to my old dac (Dacmagic 100), it is not as sharp. But wanting to justify my purchase (especially without a chance to audition), I tried to compare them by repeating short passages of various music tracks. It was tedious since my amp only has one pair of RCA input.

 
note: I am very aware of placebo, I repeat many times to confirm a difference spotted. If the more expensive stuff is not better, I will only be very sad instead of hypnotizing myself to like it.
 
First I would like to say, quality dacs are quality dacs. Both dac sounded great to me, and the difference was subtle (but critical, will describe later). Immediately I found the V850 sounds richer and thicker. It is not warm or coloured, just the feeling of fullness of music. Then I repeated a short passage of female studio-recorded vocal, with my trusty ER4S. Yes, my old dac was colder. But the vocal was machinery and lifeless. It was very exciting to listen to, but could not trigger any emotion as it doesn't carry any itself. With the V850, the same vocal sounded real. I could perceive a better image of the vocalist singing.
Piano test, with Liszt's piano sonata in B minor played by Krystian Zimerman (DG). I like testing gears with this recording. The piano was recorded very crisp and prominent. This time, with Beyer T1. Again, with the V850, it was more realistic and three dimensional. I repeated on few seconds fast passages. Both dacs showed the abstract of the music brilliantly, but with the V850 the melodic flow was better. In these fast passages, the dacmagic sounded messy and wild and V850 was controlled and organized.
 
I concluded it was a result of more details. Not any apparent details that you will spot immediately, but very small details that construct a sound. This dac has higher resolution(or say less distortion), so it make perfect sense. It is not a dac of excitement to me, but it definitely make music more enjoyable.
 
setup used: laptop->ortofon usb cable->V850/Dacmagic 100->van den hul RCA cable-> alo audio panam with mullard tubes -> Audio Technica AD1000/ Beyer T1/ Etymotic ER4S
settings on computer: foobar ASIO out with their own proprietary usb driver
settings on v850: resampling x4/"best"
music: level 0 flac ripped from CD, 16/44.1

 

[hypersonic]

I want to also note that, the unit comes with very nice power cable and usb A->B cable!
Not anything sonically, as I don't believe there is any significant difference between quality cables here.
They are SOFT! Not those tough crap we encounter in most other electronics. And the connects actually fit!
I will still use my ortofon though

 

[13713]

So to get into headphone audio I went all the way. I picked up a V850, V281 and V600. I paired the large purchase with a HD800. All 4 units are brand new so I have yet to post a hardcore review because of waiting for burn in. 
 
So far this is what I can say. Violectric products are well built. Violectric USA spent a lot of time with me reviewing questions I had and helped out a lot. So far the V850 paired with the V281 and HD800 is brilliant. But many people do not like the treble of the 800 or the "real representation" of sound from them. I find it amazing and fulfilling. 

 

[davidespinosa]

Check out some of the HD800 mods.  Apparently adding a bit of felt helps considerably...

 

[naimless]

I've just received my V850 and I have to agree with the others who have remarked on the packageing,Violectric should at least redesign or add to the foam insert as mine had actually spun round within the box and the front fascia had hit the inside of the box hard enough to cut through the plastic bag containing the dac luckily nothing else was damaged and the dac is working fine.
I'm just going to leave it running for a couple of days and then I'll post some impressions comparing it to my Oppo HA-1

 

[project86]

I know this is the V850 thread but if anyone is struggling with the price.... Violectric has a sort of clearance going on the V800 v2. Original price $1440, now down to $999, then the temporary 15% off summer sale is still going which means $850 for a brand new V800 v2 with the 24/192 USB input.  

 

[13713]

Alright 3 days later it is brilliant. Such a great unit. Paired with my V281 this thing is wicked. Honestly the deal with the V800 v2 is a great one if anyone wants to try Violectric products. 
 
Edit:
 
I would say this unit is an evolution with newer parts not a revolution. But honestly looking at DAC technology it is hard to quantify a revolution if any. 

 

[prestigetone]

  I know this is the V850 thread but if anyone is struggling with the price.... Violectric has a sort of clearance going on the V800 v2. Original price $1440, now down to $999, then the temporary 15% off summer sale is still going which means $850 for a brand new V800 v2 with the 24/192 USB input.  

 
Amazing deal? Do you think given the specs the 850 is TWICE as good as the 800 v2? I am leaning towards no. I don't really see much of a difference in terms of capabilities...

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]