Violectric HPA V280 - balanced headphone amp - impressions and discussion thread
Dec 6, 2016 at 8:51 PM Post #106 of 1,098
I understand how it works.  If it could be replicated more cost-effectively I believe it would have and that information would be at least semi-widely available.

For me, given the fact that I have multiple systems that I have decent money into it was worth it.

Check out the Audiogon forums.  It is a pretty highly regarded product there used by posters that are well respected, some of whom have well into six figures invested in their systems.  That meant more to me than the commercial reviews, which while very good, well you never know how honest the reviewers are about their findings in general.

It's like Head-Fi and headphones.  If enough posters I respect give a positive review of a product it's probably pretty good.  When enough complain about one (the flimsy construction of the original HE-1000 comes to mind) there's probably something to legitimately complain about.

Finally, if it didn't work for me I could sell it at a loss of of a couple of hundred dollars.  Unfortunately, I have made far costly asset purchase decisions than that in my life.



From the audiodharma website:

"[COLOR=4C4C4C]The output signal includes a swept square wave calibrated from 0 DC to over 40KHz (plus harmonics)."[/COLOR]

So, yeah....you can buy good, modern signal generators for $75 or less on Amazon that do this.




You don't even need a signal generator to do it. You can write out a wav file in matlab or free equivalent no problem. Just generate an appropriately sampled LFM with the desired chirp rate. Spending even a penny on this type of nonsense is a waste and just reinforces to sleazeball manufacturers that they can keep getting away with this crap.
 
Dec 10, 2016 at 12:01 AM Post #107 of 1,098
I'm on the fence for the V280.  I don't need the preamp capability of the V281.  I just got an Ether C Flow and get this feeling that my transportable ALO CDM isn't cutting it.  
 
Can someone tell me that I should just be happy with the CDM and the V280 won't sound any better than the CDM?
 
:)
 
CJ
 
Dec 10, 2016 at 12:05 AM Post #108 of 1,098
I'm on the fence for the V280.  I don't need the preamp capability of the V281.  I just got an Ether C Flow and get this feeling that my transportable ALO CDM isn't cutting it.  

Can someone tell me that I should just be happy with the CDM and the V280 won't sound any better than the CDM?

:)

CJ


You should be happy with CDM and V280 won't sound any better. There, you are welcome :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
 
Dec 10, 2016 at 7:08 PM Post #110 of 1,098
@cj3209

If you can audition them first, give it a go.


I don't have a local dealer unfortunately.  Violectric has 15% off right now and I'm tempted.  I have a secret fascination with headphone amps...lol
 
Dec 10, 2016 at 8:00 PM Post #111 of 1,098
IMO, it's still expensive for a blind purchase, but if you want to risk it, give it a shot. Also, make sure your headphones have balanced 4 pin XLR cables to tap the full potential of the V280. If not, then get the V200 instead.
 
Dec 15, 2016 at 12:56 AM Post #112 of 1,098

Ok, I gave in.  I got the V280 with USB DAC.  Will post some impressions when I get it.
 
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Dec 18, 2016 at 2:30 PM Post #114 of 1,098
As I'm waiting for my V280 (which got delivered to a wrong address - thank you USPS) I have been wondering what the sonic differences are between the left and right SE headphone jack.  Something about 180 degree phase difference...?  What does that mean to the sound?
 
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Dec 20, 2016 at 3:37 AM Post #115 of 1,098
Something about 180 degree phase difference...?  What does that mean to the sound?

 
Suppose sine wave A starts by going up, and sine wave B starts by going down.  Can you tell the difference?  Almost certainly not.
 
Now suppose that impulse A starts by going up, and impulse B starts by going down.  An impulse is a steep bump, maybe followed by some oscillation.  Can you tell the difference?  Well, maybe -- I don't think there's consensus.  For a real-world example, say you're listening to a drum head from one side or the other.
 
What's worse, the original recording may have the "wrong" phase, and you're actually "fixing it".  Or if it's a multi-track recording, some tracks may have one phase, and some tracks may have the opposite phase.
 
The bottom line is, try the two outputs on the V280, and see if you can tell the difference.  If you prefer one over the other, see if your preference is consistent across recordings!
 
Dec 21, 2016 at 12:07 AM Post #117 of 1,098
What's your source?  Very nice set up with the Violectric DAC.
 
:)
 
CJ
 
Quote:
  Was waiting for the second part of my recent spending spree to arrive before showing off in the thread. 
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 New toys: V280 and an LCD-4!

 
  Was waiting for the second part of my recent spending spree to arrive before showing off in the thread. 
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 New toys: V280 and an LCD-4!
 

 
Dec 22, 2016 at 11:06 AM Post #119 of 1,098

Well, thanks to Arthur's help, my shipment came in and I am now in the possession of a new V280 w/USB DAC.  My sources include line-out via my CDM and MoJo and OTG via my LG V20 (had to make some adjustments to USB Audio Player Pro including volume, Force 1 and USB Tweak 1).
 
Sound is marvelous from my C Flows and JH Audio CIEMs (no hissing):  I get a feeling of effortlessness and the music seems to hang in the air.
 
Back to the music (it's addicting...)...
 
CJ
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Dec 27, 2016 at 7:37 PM Post #120 of 1,098
Hello Music friends!
 
I just stepped in this thread. I'm planing to buy a Violectric Amp to pair with Senn HD 800.
I just cannot figured out in there are any real differences between V280 and V281.
I saw that the 281 has a little more power in 300 and 600 ohm.
But those differences in be audible in different sound signatures?
I cannot test those amp cause a live in Brasil.
So, it's a lot of money ( 1 dollar = 3,3 Brasilian Real)
 
Almost forgot. I use my HD800 with a lyr1 since 2014. Sometimes I feel this a good match, and sometimes i just cannot end the music tracks (lack of bass and excessive treble)
 
Any help its very welcome!
 
happy new year for all
 
david
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