[JeffMann]

This is my concern with the v281 driving the HE1000. The HE1000 need special treatment to the leading edges. With some warm sounding amps, like the Teac UD-503, the leading edges were grossed over and the images lack outline. The GSX II amp which has a very slight upward tilt in the treble response, and has sharp transient edges, and is said to be the perfect match for the HE1000. So can someone comment on how the v281 and He1000 pairing fair in transient edge performance?

I use my V281 with a HE1000 headphone as my primary headphone. I don't have a problem with leading edges that are too tamed. By contrast, if I use my HD800 headphone with my V281 then I have a problem with too much treble brightness and a slightly brittle leading edge problem. I blame the HD800 and not the V281, which I think is an amazingly neutral headphone amp.
 
Jeff.

 

[TonyNewman]

... The HD30 was crisp, too accurate and didnt sound natural, and some instruments were uncomfortable. ...

 
Gotta agree 100% with this statement. The HD30 works quite fine with floor standers, but in the more intimate world of HeadFi the sound has a hard leading edge that becomes fatiguing and irritating fairly quickly. A rushed purchasing decision that I have come to regret.
 
The interesting thing is that the V281 does a better job of smoothing out the hard leading edge than my Glenn 300B tube amp - so the 300B amp is more transparent in this case - so the V281 is definitely doing something with those harsh sounds (something good, in this case).
 
I have stretched my audio budget way beyond the pain barrier and am replacing the HD30 with a Bricasti M1. Anyone tried the Bricasti + V281 combination?

 

[mulder01]

 
Since I'm only running single ended at the moment, does that mean only one of the amp sections is burning in not both?

 
The input doesn't matter, the output does - balanced out uses all 4 amps and single ended uses 2 - essentially you are listening to a v220 if you use the single ended out.  In which case, you may as well have bought a v220.

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]

 

[ChrisIsAwesome]

   
The interesting thing is that the V281 does a better job of smoothing out the hard leading edge than my Glenn 300B tube amp - so the 300B amp is more transparent in this case - so the V281 is definitely doing something with those harsh sounds (something good, in this case).
 
I have stretched my audio budget way beyond the pain barrier and am replacing the HD30 with a Bricasti M1. Anyone tried the Bricasti + V281 combination?

 
This is what i hear. It's not transparent like the wa22 was, instead much smoother.
 
Mulder, i got it on sale for a lot less than the v220 retail

. I figured it would only be using the bottom amp section, but what do you mean by input doesn't matter, unless it has a phase splitter you cant run true balanced out with SE inputs.

 

[PleasantSounds]

  AK100II and AKG 7xx.
I'm able to comparing listening straight from the Dap where the treble is really sharp and clear whereas the v281 sound smoothed out, almost tinted. As I've read other say, it could be interpreted as warm.

 
I have no direct experience with the AK100, but my suspicion is that it may not drive the 7XXs properly. It takes quite a lot of power and very low output impedance to do them justice.When underpowered, they tend to sound shrill and lean. So possible that only now they sound as they should.
 
As others have stated, running the V281 single ended does not really show what you have bought. I'd recommend converting the AKGs to balanced - they really come to life with V281 balanced, however the conversion is somewhat more involved than with other headphones. Or just get different headphones that are more "balanced-friendly".
 
Don't worry about burning in only one part of the amp - it really only matters that the components are powered and output load will not matter that much. If you're not convinced then alternate between the two SE outputs every few hours.

 

[mulder01]

   
This is what i hear. It's not transparent like the wa22 was, instead much smoother.
 
Mulder, i got it on sale for a lot less than the v220 retail

. I figured it would only be using the bottom amp section, but what do you mean by input doesn't matter, unless it has a phase splitter you cant run true balanced out with SE inputs.

 
AFAIK, it was mentioned earlier in this thread and explained by Fried somewhere along the line, it goes something like this:
 
The balanced input is for noise rejection (it's intended purpose) so when the balanced signal enters the amp, it is converted to a clean single ended signal.  It then goes through some other electronics in the amp like volume knob etc (yes very technical terms I know - anyone feel free to correct me if this is wrong) and then it sends that signal to two of the amps and sends an inverted signal to the other two amps and there is your balanced output.  If you used single ended in, you just skip that noise rejection bit at the start, but get the same balanced output (possibly with some noise - if you run your interconnect from your AK it's whole length in parallel with a power cable for some reason

)
 
I think there are some amps like the Mjolnir? that don't actually do the noise rejection bit at the start, but rather amplify the noisy signal and an inverted noisy signal so that the noise is cancelled out at your headphones?  I think?  For some reason that method has earned the name "true balanced" here on head fi which makes it sound more impressive but the advantages of doing things that way are questionable IMO.
 
If anyone wants to explain that better than I just did, feel free...

 

[S Crowther]

I got my v281 two days ago, does anyone else find it to have reduced highs/peaks. To me the music sounds almost smoothed out.

Its good in the sense that it doesn't cause fatigue, I've listened to it for a whole day straight. But it feels as if the music is missing something, there are no peaks or harsh sounds that should sometimes be present in music such as heavy metal with bright distorted electric guitar.

I'm not the best at audiophile terms but this is what i hear and it's been bothering me quite a bit since i really love every other aspect of the amp.

Have you tried using the gain setting switches on the back of the v281 set at +6 or +12? It may be the input signal from your AK is too low. You may get reduced highs/peaks if the volume control on the v281 has to be set much beyond 12 O'clock.

 

[manpowre]

Have you tried using the gain setting switches on the back of the v281 set at +6 or +12? It may be the input signal from your AK is too low. You may get reduced highs/peaks if the volume control on the v281 has to be set much beyond 12 O'clock.

Im really glad you pointed this out, with higher impedance headphones 200+ impedance, you need to change the gain setting to +6 or even +12 on the back of the V281.
Also, using jackplug only half of the amplifier is being used, so xlr4 is necessary too.
 
The manual of V281 points out warmer sound if the volume knob is turned too high. On my LCD4 I use +6 gain, and it stays at 11 o clock. This is where I feel I can listen max comfortable with foobar and pc volume on max. This is where I feel the LCD4 opens up at most.

 

[ChrisIsAwesome]

Thanks for the explanation Mulder.
 
I played around with the gain switches a little, +6 seems to be the best option and helped a bit.
I'm sure its a characteristic of the amp itself which doesn't need changing, It just doesn't suit my preference for something completely neutral transparent.
 
This hobby is like chasing the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

 

[emptymt]

I search a bit in the thread bout people using hugo as DAC, I only have the mojo, is it a good idea to use it as the DAC? or do I need to upgrade the DAC also?
 
I'm planning to upgrade my setup into the desktop one, atm I'm using chord mojo to power mrspeakers ether, however since the ether is so efficient already I'm not sure about its scalability with a very powerful amp such as the v281, will the sound upgrade worth the money?
 
I basically want a significant upgrade in every area as possible, but the main are that needs upgrade from the mojo setup IMO is the dynamic and soundstage.
 
there is a sale going on here in melbourne, and again I got hooked like a fish.

 

[manpowre]

  I search a bit in the thread bout people using hugo as DAC, I only have the mojo, is it a good idea to use it as the DAC? or do I need to upgrade the DAC also?
 
I'm planning to upgrade my setup into the desktop one, atm I'm using chord mojo to power mrspeakers ether, however since the ether is so efficient already I'm not sure about its scalability with a very powerful amp such as the v281, will the sound upgrade worth the money?
 
I basically want a significant upgrade in every area as possible, but the main are that needs upgrade from the mojo setup IMO is the dynamic and soundstage.
 
there is a sale going on here in melbourne, and again I got hooked like a fish.

The Mojo is not a good dac to feed the v281. it doesnt have xlr3 out. The different DAC's have so different sound signature, so you should review different ones. I landed at Schiit Yggdrasil, but I reviewed Hegel HD25, HD30, Oppo HA-1 dac and amp. Alot of high end sales shops let you borrow a unit for home listening for a weekend.

 

[emptymt]

  The Mojo is not a good dac to feed the v281. it doesnt have xlr3 out. The different DAC's have so different sound signature, so you should review different ones. I landed at Schiit Yggdrasil, but I reviewed Hegel HD25, HD30, Oppo HA-1 dac and amp. Alot of high end sales shops let you borrow a unit for home listening for a weekend.

ooo, so I can't use the mojo with it?
 
hmm in that case what is the best option for the v281, I'm a little interested with the gungnir multibit to pair with the v281.
 
final set-up will be
 
pc -> GMB -> v281 -> ETHER

 

[TokenGesture]

I have the Pioneer Master 1 and am thinking about going balanced. Would this be a good match with the Vio?  Any owners able to comment? Dac would be the Metrum Menuet (balanced out)

 

[S Crowther]

I think you can use the Mojo with the V281. You just connect them using RCA cables instead of XLR.
I have the Hugo TT (which has XLR output) and the V281. I have tried connecting them with both XLR and RCA cables and there is very little if any difference. It depends on the relative quality of the cables.