[project86]

Blackrain - thank you for the impressions, that is very helpful! I've been eyeballing the Wadia 321 just out of curiosity if nothing else... seems interesting that they came out with a new $3k DAC right after Exogal launched their similarly priced Comet DAC (Exogal being made up of prominent designers who did much of Wadia's best stuff back in the day).
 
In any case, glad the V850 stacks up well.
 
Forresttones - it might be worthwhile to look into a stand alone USB to SPDIF converter. For example Matrix Audio makes a nice one. Get yourself XMOS based async USB as well as isolation from the computer itself, then feed out from there to the coax or AES/EBU on your V800. 

 

[Blackrain]

Project 86 - The Wadia 321 still has some of the Wadia House sound.  Not quite as detail as I remember some of the past Wadia pieces.  Certainly has some similarities to the Macintosh D100.  I purchased it unheard at the time as no one had one to demo but at a significant discount from the $3000 price tag from an online auction site.  All in all I am very happy with the way it sounds.  I can listen to it for hours and never think that I am listening to digital.  It is quite analog sounding.
 
I have used a PS Audio Nuwave Phono Converter to hook up my Turntable and compare the coaxial digital output from the Nuwave going through the Wadia to Analog coming directly out of the the Phono Stages on my Integrated 300B amp and except for the fact that the digital signal from the Wadia seems about 1-2db louder I could not tell in a blind test which was the analog from the PS Audio Nuwave phono stage and which was the digital from the Wadia.  What I have found in general with DAC comparisons is that the Wadia always sound musical and enjoyable.  Sometimes its not all about how much we hear but how it all gels together.  Many times I find that lots of detail and transparency is great initially but listening to music for hours doesn't require that to be the main focus.  I'm not saying that detail and transparency isn't important to me but its probably number 3 on my list.  I look for 1: Musicality and Flow 2: Retrieval of the space (i listen to a lot of classical) 3:Transparency and Detail but in the form of how the micro details are rendered and interplay between the artist and their instruments.  Got to get to work now hope everyone has a fantastic day!

 

[fdg]

About the USB inputs from DAC V800 and DAC V850

 
For the first series of DAC V800 there had been a 24/96 solution made with Tenor chip-set TE7022.
As this was only USB 1.1 there had been only little issues with Windows XP. It is best working with all known OS.
 
For the curent series of DAC V800 we are using the Tenor 24/192 USB chip-set TE8802.
This is a USB 2.0 solutuion and needs dedicated drivers which need to be "signed".
And that is where the problem is as Tenor - respectively their vendor GFEC - out of a sudden decided to not support their products anymore.

Not only our company is now facing problems with new OS, specially those from Mac.
 
The Tenor TE8802 chip-set is working with
- all Linux OS
- all Windows OS from XP to 10
- Mac OS "Yosemite" and also "El Captain" (who is responsible for the naming ??) when the driver was installed under "Yosemite"
 
Currently TE8802 will not work with "El Captain" when there was no driver installed BEFORE.
We are looking for a solution !!
 
Having the above problems in mind we decided to go for the X-Mos chip-set for new products.
V850 is the first release.
 
X-Mos is working trouble-free with
- all Linux
- all Mac OS WITHOUT the need of drivers
- all Windows OS from 7 to 10 with a driver
 
But also the X-Mos chip-set has some issues:
1. Windows XP and Vista are not supported.
2. 176.4 kHz sample rate is not supported.
 
We are working on an X-Mos 24/192 USB update for older DAC V800 and there will also be an X-Mos-DAC solution for the headphone amps.
So evervybody may update older products from Violectric.
 
If, for any reason, somebody likes a downgrade DAC V800 or DAC V850 to Tenor based 24/96 or 24/192 USB inputs - this is also possible.
 
I hope there are no questions left,
 
thank you, Fried Reim

 

[foresttones]

It's a shame about Apple's policy regarding USB drivers. 
 
Incidentally, I had a chance to audition the Benchmark DAC2 this afternoon. I use DACs for both playback/editing of my own recordings (nature/field stuff) and acoustic music. I was really expecting to love the DAC2. And it is nice, but I think my V800 bested it in all the areas I need. It's highs are very detailed but smooth. In comparison, the DAC2's highs came off as harsh. 
 
I was playing back a 30sec clip of a file I captured this summer that includes a nice group of bird calls, leaves rustling in wind and tree branch creaks. The DAC2 did not render the bird calls nearly as well as the V800. The V800 translates the transients very efficiently: they're smooth but not smoothed out. All the detail is there without any trace of harshness. 
 
I'm really floored.
 
I'm going to place an order for the V850. It's not that I need a better sound than the V800; it's rather that I do need (read: really want) a remote and would like to circumvent some of the USB issues. The V800 will be run with a toslink and for my headphone setup in a different room. 

 

[Blackrain]

You will really love the V850.  It will need about 50 hours to break in.  Mine sounded great but was missing the smoothness in the beginning.  After about 50 hours it became very smooth without loosing detail or transparency.  Bass in my system remained the same throughout the break-in period.  Soundstage will be wider and deeper than the V800.  When you receive your unit....Could you report back about how well the remote volume works at the lower end of the volume control?

 

[tgray]

I've really enjoyed my V800.  I've had it for a few years now.  I was planning on getting a V850 for the living room, but the Grace M920 Massdrop the other week sidetracked me.  I'm sure there is stuff better than the V800/V850, but for my ears, it's plenty good enough.
 
The 32 bit nature of the volume control in the V850 should quell any worries about reducing quality, not that I've ever had an issue with it in the V800.

 

[gonzfi]

Hi, I'm wondering if there are some clever people out who could look at the V850 specs and compare with the NAD M51 and advise if it would be a potential upgrade to go with my V281 amp. Or even better if someone has heard both combinations. Thanks.

 

[davidespinosa]

There's also the NAD C 510:
  http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NAC510
 
But these products aren't a particularly good aesthetic fit with the V281.
And aesthetics are important when it comes to stereo equipment.
Do they integrate well with the rest of your system somehow?
 
OTOH, if you're just looking for the "best DAC", there are many contenders for that title.

 

[Blackrain]

I have heard the NAD M51 and I own the V850 and the Wadia 321. I never had both the NAD and the Violectric on hand at the same time to compare.  I have compared the NAD and my WADIA at the same time for about a week. The Wadia is fuller and warmer sounding overall than the NAD.  The NAD is a bit more detail but I thought the WADIA was more musical.   I never compared the specs of the units in detail as I find that it ultimately never tell me how the units will sound in a system. 
 
In my opinion both the DACs that you are looking at are very musical but they do sound different.  I found the NAD slightly leaner on top, very detail and neutral overall.  The V850 is quite detail but sounds slightly warmer and fuller in my opinion.  Because of the slightly warmer sound signature it doesn't thrust detail at you. Which is what I prefer overall because I think music should never seemed rush or thrust at you unless it was intentional.  Which sound signature works better will depend more on the headphones that you use. 
 
I own the V281 headamp and thought it had better synergy with the V850 overall than my Wadia 321 on my headphones (however this is not true on my two channel speaker rig where I prefer my Wadia because I have a fairly live sounding room with glass cabinets).  
 
I am using the combo mostly on the HE-1000 and very little on the LCD 3 with Fazor and my Thinksound On1.  On darker headphones the NAD is probably a better fit and on neutral to brighter headphones I would choose the Violectric. 
 
Just so that you understand where I am coming from ---  I like a warm, 3D lush sound.  I like to listen to music for many hours at a time.  I rather listen to less detail than a clinical sound.  I'm not listening to review equipment...although I have listen to plenty equipment on my search for audio nirvana : ) as many of use probably can attest too.  On that note I would not place the V850 in the lush category.  The V850 is detail and just warm enough with "my combo" of headphone amp and headphones. 
 
YMMV....Hope this helps your decision.

 

[gonzfi]

Thanks for the tips. I currently have the M51 and can't decide if it's worth getting the v850. I guess the differences will be minimal so may just stick with the NAD.

 

[Blackrain]

Differences are minimal they are both really good units.  You would have to spend quite a bit more to really hear a significant change.  There is definitely a greater difference in sound signature between my headphones than between those two units.

 

[project86]

Agreed, the NAD is a very competent DAC. It shouldn't be hugely different compared to the V800 or V850. The aesthetic aspect is worth considering, but that would apply more to someone making the initial purchase.... not sure I'd sell your DAC just to get a matching look for your amp.
 
 
Still, ,it IS compelling to see a matching stack like this:
 

 
 
 
 
Instead of of a hodgepodge this:
 
 
 

 

[Ultrainferno]

I on occasion do use the HUGO as well as DAC for the V281, but now it's mostly the V850. Did you keep your V200 after you got the V281? (or isn't that your picture?)
 

 

[mulder01]

Cool photos guys
Think I'm gonna wait for the v820 though...

 

[phonomat]

  I on occasion do use the HUGO as well as DAC for the V281, but now it's mostly the V850. Did you keep your V200 after you got the V281? (or isn't that your picture?)

This has got me intrigued. You would do me a huge favour if you could elaborate on this. I'm not too happy with my Hugo and basically looking for a reason to ditch it, and the V850 would just go to well with my V200, of course. So any comparison would be wildly appreciated!
 
Thanks a bunch!