[wormsdriver]

Is there a noticeable difference going from a regular V200 to V280 Balanced? (I'm using Hifiman Arya + Mytek Liberty)
Trying to make up my mind between buying V280 or V200 + Portable Dac/Amp.
I'm a big fan of Violectric sound, and would love to hear from someone who experienced both amps!

Thanks!

I currently own the V200 and it's definitely a fantastic bargain in the used market usually under $600USD if you're patient. If you have the budget go for the V280 and be happy for a very long time knowing you're not missing much (I imagine) unless you spend a few grand on something much more expensive.

Is there a noticeable difference between them? Yes I think there is, although I did not own the v200 and v280 at the same time (a bit over a month between them) I 'd say the V200 is definitely worthy, the v280 balanced all the way is something else. From memory I'd say just more control over the drivers, more spaciousness, more transparency while still staying smooth.

Hopefully others will chime in with their experiences and maybe somebody who actually did a side by side comparison!

Edit: from memory I'd say the v200 is more comparable to the unbalanced output of the V280, balanced did go up a step

 

[Fegefeuer]

Yes, there is. V280 SE to V200 is a step up, going balanced is the real deal, especially with a can like the Arya.
V280 balanced vs. V200 will give you:

-better driver control, an iron grip so to say
-better macro and microdynamics, generally much more liveliness
-noticably bigger soundstage with more height, depth, overall 3D-ness
-overall more transparence, clarity
-more details and texture definition
-sharper transients and overall separation
-tighter more hardhitting bass, better definition

BALANCED is a must if you go the V280 route.

 

[Ichos]

The V280 balanced is a little more fast , clear better separation and sound stage , faster and better defined bass and more detail and better overall clarity.
If your headphones are balanced it is definitely worth.
Of course you get double power in case that is needed.
The V200 is a better choice if you want to tame a little bit an aggressive headphone.

 

[lhydavid]

Is there a noticeable difference going from a regular V200 to V280 Balanced? (I'm using Hifiman Arya + Mytek Liberty)
Trying to make up my mind between buying V280 or V200 + Portable Dac/Amp.
I'm a big fan of Violectric sound, and would love to hear from someone who experienced both amps!

Thanks!

V200 SE to V280 balanced is about double the power output.
You can compare the 2 spec sheets if interested.
Most of us go for the V280 to use the balanced output.
With it, you can drive almost if not all headphones pretty dang well, and not have to think about solid state amps for a long while.

To help you along your decision, you may want to consider:
1) How much of the volume pot on the V200 are you using now with your Arya? Does the current amount of adjustment suit your listening needs?
2) What type of pre-gain settings are you using on the V200? The default if 0db but it can swing + or - 12db. You can increase this if you wish as it helps.
3) I don't use the Liberty DAC, but on my RME, I can adjust my LineOut volume and I try to have this as high as possible before clipping sets in, so that my V280 has the most room to work with. You may want to check if it is possible on the Liberty to ensure you are already getting the most out of your V200.
4) Do you have many tracks/records that are poorly recorded/compressed or even DSD files, that typically require a higher amplification to bring them to listenable volumes where they can be enjoyed at their best? If you have a lot of these and find that you are running out of headroom to adjust even after trying options 1 to 3 above, then consider the V280, or even the V281 that is about 25 to 30% more powerful than the V280.

I have a pair of HE-560 that are harder to drive than the Arya, and on regular flac, I need between 12pm to 1pm on single ended, 0db pre-gain, maxed possible line-out volume from my ADI-2. Going to DSD, I have to increase to even 4pm or sometimes 5pm. I would increase my pre-gain if I could, but it would be too loud for my LCD-XC even at almost the lowest volume pot setting.
With balanced, however, I have much more headroom. There are some sonic improvements, but these are slight. If your amp is a good one, as the violectric is, going from single ended to balanced is not a night and day difference.

 

[tan29844]

1) How much of the volume pot on the V200 are you using now with your Arya? Does the current amount of adjustment suit your listening needs?
2) What type of pre-gain settings are you using on the V200? The default if 0db but it can swing + or - 12db. You can increase this if you wish as it helps.
3) I don't use the Liberty DAC, but on my RME, I can adjust my LineOut volume and I try to have this as high as possible before clipping sets in, so that my V280 has the most room to work with. You may want to check if it is possible on the Liberty to ensure you are already getting the most out of your V200.
4) Do you have many tracks/records that are poorly recorded/compressed or even DSD files, that typically require a higher amplification to bring them to listenable volumes where they can be enjoyed at their best? If you have a lot of these and find that you are running out of headroom to adjust even after trying options 1 to 3 above, then consider the V280, or even the V281 that is about 25 to 30% more powerful than the V280.

1.) I'm only using the amp part from the Mytek Liberty Dac, and do not own any dedicated amp. There's no number indicator on the knob, but it can get decently loud if I keep turning. The Liberty is a simple box. It has nothing to play around for settings really, but I have to double check what's it capable of though.
2.) Usually dealing with flac, wav, Tidal lossless + MQA and Youtube streaming.

Would you say switching from a Amp/Dac to something like V280 Balanced is a night and day difference? Judging from everyone's comment I probably go for the V280. Thanks y'all for the impressions!

 

[lhydavid]

LCD-XC + V280 on balanced, is overkill TBH.
I am only at 9am on the dial and anything pass 12pm on the dial is way louder than I need it to be. This is with 0db pre-gain on the V280 and -2db on the ADI-2 DAC lineout volume so I still have lots of room to go! On single ended, I work between 11am and 3pm, all other settings the same. In terms of adjustment, single ended does give you slightly more room, at least for the XC. Do note that the volume dial on the V280 is notched and not infinitely adjustable. So between 9am and 10am, there are 4 notches (i.e. 4 notches per hour on the clock), so I don't always get to listening at perfect volumes though I'm not very particular about this, since the performance of this amp is already sufficiently high for me.
The LCD-XCs sound very similar both ways being very easily driven at 45 ohm and 96db sensitivity. Going from single ended to balanced, just makes several aspects slightly more apparent (i.e. projection, sound stage depth, "effortlessness" in terms of control) but these are apparent if you're listening / comparing and really looking for differences. I'm usually listening in either 2 ways, while doing something monotonous or repetitive, reading on the web etc, in which these differences don't stand out. It is only when I do listen with my eyes closed and my mind set on listening to the music, do the subtle changes become more apparent. Truth be told, I can't listen in this manner for long as it requires too much purposeful attention. FYI, even the F35 Lightning from RSA that I have powers the LCD-XC really well. And that's a portable. I use that as a combo with my V30+ and it lets me toe tap and bob head all I want. On the DX220 2.5mm balanced on stock amp1mk2 with medium gain, the XC is similarly well driven. Get the V280 if you really have something challenging to drive or if you get a good deal.

Then again, if you have the moola, or if you suffer like most of us here from upgraditis, or if you have really tough headphones like HE6se to drive, the V280 will suite all 3 just fine.

 

[LarsGrootkarzij]

Hello, are the V280 and V281 exactly the same, except that the 281 has a pre amp build in as well? planning on upgrading since i got a HD800s since a few weeks, but know my Marantz HD-DAC1 does not push it to the limit. By far not.

 

[Ichos]

The amps inside are exactly the same.

 

[ArthurPower]

Hello, are the V280 and V281 exactly the same, except that the 281 has a pre amp build in as well? planning on upgrading since i got a HD800s since a few weeks, but know my Marantz HD-DAC1 does not push it to the limit. By far not.

The V280 and V281 share the same circuit design and therefore sound the same. The V280 has a little less power output since the smaller case limited the size of the power transformers that could be used in the design.

 

[FourT6and2]

.....

 

[Bonddam]

Just ordered a 281 today looking to it I'll be comparing to my GSX-mini using Empyrean and Verite. What is sound signature to this amp? I see it's reputation is top notch, so I impulse bought it.

 

[FourT6and2]

V280 vs...

Cayin iHA-6
iFI Pro iCAN
THX AAA 789

Just cant decide.

 

[Ichos]

I own V280 and demoed extensively the IHA 6 which was thinking of buying so i can comment on the latter.
Sound wise the V280 hits harder has better bas extension and slam with better dynamics.
Treble is the best i have heard so far without any kind of ringing - brightness.
Cayin is a tad bit behind but still good BUT the treble presentation is a little bit on the glary side
and can exhibit ringing and a hint of brightness , forwardness.
All test were performed fully balanced with HD800S.
Build quality is much much better on the V280.
The cayin has sharp edges and the pot is not very stable.

 

[FourT6and2]

I own V280 and demoed extensively the IHA 6 which was thinking of buying so i can comment on the latter.
Sound wise the V280 hits harder has better bas extension and slam with better dynamics.
Treble is the best i have heard so far without any kind of ringing - brightness.
Cayin is a tad bit behind but still good BUT the treble presentation is a little bit on the glary side
and can exhibit ringing and a hint of brightness , forwardness.
All test were performed fully balanced with HD800S.
Build quality is much much better on the V280.
The cayin has sharp edges and the pot is not very stable.

Would you say the V280 is darker then?
How would it pair with a dark/lush pair of headphones like the Meze Empyrean? I'm thinking maybe a brighter or tonally neutral amp would pair well with a darker headphone. But the V280 seems really nice. I listen to a lot of prog metal and hard rock. Tool, Karnivool, A Perfect Circle, Tesseract, Puscifer, etc.

 

[Ichos]

No it's not dark at all.
From the balanced out is dead neutral.
Treble extends very well and is excellent behaved not bright , just right.
The single ended is just slightly more warm and intimate sounding.