[Svatopluk]

I picked up a nice used V181 off of ebay a few weeks back to pair with my Gumby and Utopia. I'm really impressed with it, but now I find myself still salivating over the V280 and wishing that I'd gone ahead and spent the big bucks and got what I really wanted.

Some times it sucks being cheap.

 

[danielwz]

how is this one compared with moon 430ha, anybody has a compare?

 

[Svatopluk]

how is this one compared with moon 430ha, anybody has a compare?

I don't know about performance-wise, but the price difference is like $2.500. So, if you go with the V280, you will have plenty of money left over for beer and CD's.

 

[Jodet]

I've had my V280 about half a year now. I have other amps in the house and have had the opportunity to listen to many others over the years.

With my 800S's and 700's the V280 is just wonderful. I'm done listening to amps. It's a keeper. In terms of construction quality and sound quality..... it is the one to beat.

 

[zek4u]

My V280 is being fed by a Chord 2Qute and it is an amazingly synergistic combination. I've never heard my HD800S's sound better.

I also have a V280 being fed by a Chord 2Qute over Chord Anthem 2 interconnects. Completely Amazing! It's made me completely rethink my life as an audiophile. Now I'm wondering how much better it gets using a Hugo TT over balanced cables. I've read there is more space between the performers, etc. Ideally, I would upgrade a to a Hugo TT/V281 so I could also run a DV75 phono amp unbalanced and the DAC balanced into the V281. Now if there was a good pre-amplifier that wouldn't degrade the sound between the DAC and headphone amp, that would also be nice since I want one pre-out for my amp/speakers and a tape out for my DSD recorder.

 

[peabreu]

I use the V280 with a Hugo TT thru balanced cable and is really sweet on my LCD3, it has been an amazing upgrade when compared with LCD3 directly from the TT. Did not test the RCA vs Balanced as these would be different cables and the RCA of the Hugo goes to main system preamp (Conrad Johnson, Rca only). Have a hard time believing the difference between balanced vs RCA would be very big. Anyway I am perfectly happy with this TT and V280 combination what a pair both for the LCD3, Sen. HD650 and even for the DT990Pro 250.

 

[zek4u]

I'm now convinced I need to move on to a V281 over a balanced DAC connection. I'm between the TT, Invicta Mirus or a Lynx Hilo. John Grandberg who I very much respect seems to like the Invicta Mirus but having a Hilo do double duty D2A/A2D would be a plus. Been a Chord fan for a while though. Any advice?

 

[Fegefeuer]

@project86

 

[project86]

I'm now convinced I need to move on to a V281 over a balanced DAC connection. I'm between the TT, Invicta Mirus or a Lynx Hilo. John Grandberg who I very much respect seems to like the Invicta Mirus but having a Hilo do double duty D2A/A2D would be a plus. Been a Chord fan for a while though. Any advice?

I do indeed like the Mirus Pro, which is the the latest update, but original Mirus or even plain old Invicta remain excellent if you can find 'em. I also very much enjoyed the Hilo when I briefly spent some time with it. I'm unable to give a meaningful comparison to the Resonessence unit other than to say the Hilo did not make me rethink my choice of reference.... but, as I said, it was quite enjoyable nonetheless.

Hugo TT is decent in my book. Probably a distant 3rd place compared to the other units mentioned.

 

[zek4u]

I do indeed like the Mirus Pro, which is the the latest update, but original Mirus or even plain old Invicta remain excellent if you can find 'em. I also very much enjoyed the Hilo when I briefly spent some time with it. I'm unable to give a meaningful comparison to the Resonessence unit other than to say the Hilo did not make me rethink my choice of reference.... but, as I said, it was quite enjoyable nonetheless.

Hugo TT is decent in my book. Probably a distant 3rd place compared to the other units mentioned.

I briefly had the Concero when it first came out. Was very nice and I seemed to have liked it better then a Benchmark. I'll keep an eye out for a Mirus Pro, Mirus or an Invicta. I've ripped a lot of DSDs and hope I wouldn't lose too much quality going DoP. I'll keep my A2D duties running separate. I am just stunned with the quality of my 2Qute - V280 - HDS800S. Part of me just wants to leave it alone but I want to run balanced to a 2 channel rig, hence the v281. There must be some good synergy going on with my system playing over Chord Anthem 2 unbalanced and a Chord Signature USB running from a Microrendu/MCRU. Just wonder how much better it can get going Mirus Pro, Mirus or an Invicta or even a TT to a v281. From what you and others have said, I have to find out. Also going to move up to an Ultrarendu.

 

[project86]

Sounds like a plan.

And don't worry about DoP - it's just a container. The sound should be the same in theory, and in my systems it pretty much universally is the same as far as I can tell. Native DSD can go to DSD256 or DSD512 in some cases, while the DoP method typically tops out at DSD128. But that's about the only difference in my humble opinion.

Think of it like WAV versus FLAC. Yes, some people claim to hear differences, but to me that's kind of silly, assuming both files are properly ripped/encoded. DoP is just like that - a container to hold the same exact info.

 

[zek4u]

Now I see what you and John Grandberg have been saying about the BMC UltraDAC. Didn't know much about it until yesterday. I'll lose my analog input for the phonograph but guess I could always use the digital output off my DSD recorder for when I want to just play a record and not make a recording. Also sounds like it works very well as a preamp even at low volumes. Plan on running balanced to an old Proceed AMP2 with some MMGs. Maybe later upgrade to a pair of .7s and try out some Ghent or Outlaw monoblocks. The idea of simplifying is very appealing. One box for headphone amp, preamp, DAC and recoup some money at the same time. The question is, will it blow my mind like the V280/HD800S have been doing. Sounds like John said it worked great with the HD800s. One guy said it really needed a separate headphone amp. Guess if didn't work out, I could always sell the thing and move to a Violectric V281/Mirus Pro, Mirus, Invicta, Veritas??. I do know the Violectric is on a completely different level then the McIntosh MHA100 I started with. You should hear how good my ripped vinyl sounds.

My cousin says, don't pay any attention to what you read on the Internet or read in reviews. Well, I know a good opinion when I read one and can read between the lines. I'm also using my ears this time around. I want to forget about all of this and get into the music for a change.

 

[project86]

That John guy really knows what he's talking about.... (that's me )

I will admit it's hard to listen to a single-box like the UltraDAC and be confident you have reference-class headphone amplification. Where's my other huge box full of tubes or transistors? Separate headphone amps give you a warm fuzzy feeling knowing your system is more complex and expensive and therefore must be better... and it usually makes sense as most integrated headphone amps aren't the greatest. But honestly, the UltraDAC is something special, assuming you can get over that need for validation-through-complexity-and-cost.

Your cousin is sort of correct though. Many of the reviews I read online don't really add much to the conversation. The internet is full of opinions, some better than others, and the trick is to find people who tend to hear things the same way as you, then follow their general advice - while always listening for yourself whenever possible,and realizing that you'll inevitably disagree once in a while.

 

[zek4u]

That made me laugh. You never know what screen name someone is hiding under.

UltraDAC has been purchased and I'll report back soon. Just thankful I don't have to re-terminate my Cardas headphone cable again. It started terminated for an Ayre Codex. Maybe I'll have to try one from Effect Audio next.

Do you plan on doing a SOtM sMS-200 - microRendu - ultraRendu comparison? All these devices are already so good if you have clean power. Probably would be a waste of time because it's all so system/headphone dependent. There is another topic. Using cables and music servers as EQs. What blasphemy.

I'll dive into reading about the PureUSB1 soon. Feel like my dedicated circuit/microRendu/Teddy Pardo chain is pretty clean.

 

[project86]

I already covered the sMS-200 over at DAR (link in my sig). In that review I briefly touch on the microRendu comparison. No plans at this stage to try the ultraRendu or sMS-200 Ultra. I'm too busy with other fun stuff!

Honestly I think if you already have your power situation taken care of, and maybe a Recovery or Regen or similar device in the chain, there's very little else to be done. Plus reviewing those little excruciating differences is boring... for the reader, and certainly the reviewer. Comparing DACs is bad enough already.

The PureUSB1 is pretty great for some situations. Like if you wanna go simple and use a NUC or Surface Pro or other non-audiophile approved source in a higher-end rig. It helps minimize the disparity between those and something like an Aurender dedicated machine. It is less useful when everything else is already up to snuff.