[phase0]

  Okay, thanks, but I do not exactly follow...My expertise in audio lingo is not among the sharpest I know, so could you kindly elaborate a little more?  Are you saying the "relay with remote control" allows a more refined control of the volume?

 
My experience might not be representative as there may have been something wrong with my unit but I hated the relay. I settled on the middle option with remote control, it's totally smooth. With the relay you're going to hear some audible clicks and noise as it moves (audible in the sense that you can hear it mechanically moving, not inline in the audio stream). On mine there were also excessive clicks and pops in the audio stream which people assured me was not normal. In theory you're supposed to get fine grained control and it's supposed to have better audio quality. I couldn't tell a difference in sound quality when I got my unit back with the mid-level volume knob. IMO if you like throwing away your money get the relay option.

 

[Khragon]

   
My experience might not be representative as there may have been something wrong with my unit but I hated the relay. I settled on the middle option with remote control, it's totally smooth. With the relay you're going to hear some audible clicks and noise as it moves (audible in the sense that you can hear it mechanically moving, not inline in the audio stream). On mine there were also excessive clicks and pops in the audio stream which people assured me was not normal. In theory you're supposed to get fine grained control and it's supposed to have better audio quality. I couldn't tell a difference in sound quality when I got my unit back with the mid-level volume knob. IMO if you like throwing away your money get the relay option.

I have the relay unit and did not hear any clicks or pops during usage, there are clicks during volume transition, but perfectly silence other wise.

 

[PleasantSounds]

  The relay option means you have a relay-based system with 128 steps, each .75dB apart from the previous step. So it's easy to dial in the exact same level every time. It also sounds ever so slightly better imho, since it has less "stuff" in the signal path compared to the regular potentiometer. 
 

 
Not sure if a resistor ladder together with switching relays is really less stuff than a single pot, but what it can achieve is much better consistency between L and R channel volume levels at any loudness.
 
With pots it is much harder to get exactly the same resistance at every point of turn, while discrete resistors can be easily matched. This causes that the signal might mildly float between left and right as you turn the pot, but usually it's noticeable only at very low volume levels.
 
128 steps is really state of the art, as some high end amps offer stepped volume control with only ~30 steps.

 

[Khragon]

Relays are good for sensitive IEMs since the operating range is most likely going to be down low.  The only problem I see with the relay volume is that it's hard to change one step at a time, remote control doesn't help either since it's simply move the volume knob too much.  You have to turn the knob by hand very little at a time.  Typically this isn't a problem, but with IEM sometime one press of the remote control button rotation is too much and you just need to manually dial it back down by hand.

 

[BirdManOfCT]

 
I have the relay unit and did not hear any clicks or pops during usage, there are clicks during volume transition, but perfectly silence other wise.

Are the clicks through the audio stream (i.e., headphones) or can you just hear/feel them externally during volume transition?

 

[TonyNewman]

 
Are the clicks through the audio stream (i.e., headphones) or can you just hear/feel them externally during volume transition?

 
Through the headphones for me. Not objectionable in terms of volume. It's just a clicking noise

 

[redstar]

Hey all, may I ask, how does the LCD-X sound from the 850 paired with the v281?

How do IEMs sound also with the pair? Specifically the Noble K10u and if any one has tried, the new Noble Katanas

Also may I ask, if one opts for the additional digital-in on the v281, for example x-mos usb, how to you switch to the usb input? There doesnt appear to be a corresponding button on the front pannel.

Thanks again

 

[mulder01]

Haven't tried anything high sensitivity with the v281 but the digital input is selected by pressing the digital input button (labelled "dig") 

 

[redstar]

Cheers

Anyone else tried IEMs with the v281?

 

[Khragon]

I am using U12 with V281, you got to set it at -12dB, no worries since even at that setting I power my HD800S just fine, volume never goes past 12 o'clock.  For U12 the volume setting is a bit finicky, you got to stay down low and there the relay volume is a bit hit or miss since Violectric doesn't let you easily change volume one step at a time, it's based on the knob position instead, so what I usually do is go over the desire volume using the remote then dial it back down.  No problem with L/R balance, but a bit annoying sometime.  At -12dB setting with the U12 connected to the XLR output, if you listen very very very carefully you can hear some noise, zero noise using the single ended output.  In fact recently I haven't heard noise even on the XLR output, it's that low.

 

[redstar]

Thanks so much for the reply, may i ask whats the difference between motor and relay remote upgrades?

Regarding the -12db, is that the red switch area on the back, labled pre-gain?

Regarding your setting, You only have the -12 on both left and right moved to the up position? You keep this setting for both full size and iems?
I guess this is not something that can be changed by the remote?

Cheers.

 

[sahmen]

Is it ideal to use the XLR analogue line-outs of the V281 to another Pre amp processor in order for the signal to be fed to another amp and speakers?
 
My headphone systems is set up as follows:
 
Emotiva ERC 3/Mac Mini music server ==>Schiit Yggrasil==>> V281 ===>> Headphones
 
Currently, I am only feeding the V281 from the yggdrasil using the RCA unbalanced analog connections, because the XLR balanced connections on the yggy are connected to my Emotiva XMC-1 pre pro, for regular speaker listening.  Now  I would prefer to have the same XLR outputs on my Yddrasil feeding the V281, and since the V281 has XLR line outputs, I am wondering whether I should connect the Yggy to it (the V281) via the XLR, and then connect the V281 via its XLR Line outs to the pre pro, so that that the Yggy can now service alternatively when needed, both the V281 and the Emotiva XMC-1 via the XLR balanced connections?
 
Will the XLR balanced signal to the XMC-1 pre pro be compromised if it has to be interfaced through the V281 like this:
 
Yggdrasil ==balanced XLR==>> V281 ==balanced XLR==>>Emotiva XMC-1 pre pro ==>> External power amps  ==>> Polk LSIM stereor speakers? 
 
Any helpful thoughts would be welcome.
 
Thanks.
 
Patrick

 

[PleasantSounds]

  Is it ideal to use the XLR analogue line-outs of the V281 to another Pre amp processor in order for the signal to be fed to another amp and speakers?
 
My headphone systems is set up as follows:
 
Emotiva ERC 3/Mac Mini music server ==>Schiit Yggrasil==>> V281 ===>> Headphones
 
Currently, I am only feeding the V281 from the yggdrasil using the RCA unbalanced analog connections, because the XLR balanced connections on the yggy are connected to my Emotiva XMC-1 pre pro, for regular speaker listening.  Now  I would prefer to have the same XLR outputs on my Yddrasil feeding the V281, and since the V281 has XLR line outputs, I am wondering whether I should connect the Yggy to it (the V281) via the XLR, and then connect the V281 via its XLR Line outs to the pre pro, so that that the Yggy can now service alternatively when needed, both the V281 and the Emotiva XMC-1 via the XLR balanced connections?
 
Will the XLR balanced signal to the XMC-1 pre pro be compromised if it has to be interfaced through the V281 like this:
 
Yggdrasil ==balanced XLR==>> V281 ==balanced XLR==>>Emotiva XMC-1 pre pro ==>> External power amps  ==>> Polk LSIM stereor speakers? 
 
Any helpful thoughts would be welcome.
 
Thanks.
 
Patrick

 
It will work, but what do you need the XMC-1 in this chain for? The V281 can be used as a preamp for the speakers as well. In fact that's exactly what I am doing and am very happy with this configuration.

 

[sahmen]

   
It will work, but what do you need the XMC-1 in this chain for? The V281 can be used as a preamp for the speakers as well. In fact that's exactly what I am doing and am very happy with this configuration.

The XMC-1 does 7.2/1 HT, and shall soon be upgraded Atmos/DTS-X related enhancements to make it capable of handling,  7.2.4 channels  as well as HDMI 2.0/HDCP 2.2  compatibility. The
2-channel rig to which the yggy and V281 are hooked uses the same two front LR speakers as that main XMC-1 driven HT system, so you could say I have an integrated 2.1/7.1/2 system.  The
XMC-1 has a reference stereo setting which enables it to receive an analog stereo signal from another component and pass it on to the amps and speakers without any processing, so I can send the analog stereo signal from the Yggy/V281 combo directly to my two monoblock amps and the front L/R speakers through the XMC-1, which can also allow me to harness my two subs for stereo music if needed.
 
If I was dealing simply with a two channel stereo rig, I wouldn't bother at all with the XMC-1.  I would use the V281 both as headphone amp, and as a stereo preamp for my two front speakers, as you're doing.  I actually have a near field desktop computer/headphone stereo rig which is set up exactly that way.

 

[PleasantSounds]

That looks logical. 
Your intended config should work just fine. 
 
If you intend to control the speakers volume through the XMC-1 then I'd recommend to make sure that the V281 will output fixed signal (i.e. not affected by its volume pot setting). Check page 22 of the manual for the relevant procedure.