[novicez1]

I think you need to be sure that you make the comparison at the equal loudness.

Anyway you can look at this in the different way.
Lowering the gain leads to slightly less resolution - that's because you hear more sparkles, and less colors.
Setting gain to 0 dB gives you that colors, which make the music lifelike.

You can find more different points of view, but I think what the equal loudness is the key to be less subjective.
The results of such comparison may surprise you

I did volume match when making the comparisons. I'll buy a pair of XLR interconnects later so as to be able to a/b the G109A and V281 on simultaneous output off the RS06.

Shouldn't it be lesser gain = more resolution as adding more gain will inadvertently add more distortion in the final sound?

 

[zhgutov]

Shouldn't it be lesser gain = more resolution as adding more gain will inadvertently add more distortion in the final sound?

 
As I know, there are two steps: pre-gain, and amplifier gain.
Amplifier gain is 8 dB for each amplifier.
It is 14 dB for balanced outputs because of two amplifiers per channel.
So, if this is true, this works in the opposite way: 0 dB = less "gain" in total.
Personally, I changed my preferences a couple of times changing pre-gain within -14..0 dB.
That's why I suggested the different point of view

 

[davidespinosa]

FYI, Violectric USA is having a 25% off Black Friday sale:
 
http://violectric-usa.com/
 
The Lake People RS 08 is also balanced and has a really good price right now.
It's made by the same people, but it's less fancy than the V281.

 

[project86]

Good deals to be had with the 25% off - RS 08 is $635, V280 is $1237, and V281 is $1725.

 

[13713]

FYI, Violectric USA is having a 25% off Black Friday sale:

http://violectric-usa.com/

The Lake People RS 08 is also balanced and has a really good price right now.
It's made by the same people, but it's less fancy than the V281.

Good deals to be had with the 25% off - RS 08 is $635, V280 is $1237, and V281 is $1725.

Wow... That's a great deal. Violectric V281 is an excellent end game SS amp for a lot of people. This is a killer deal.

 

[jmac1516]

Is it accurate to say that the v280 will have the same performance as the v281 but less features?

 

[novicez1]

  Is it accurate to say that the v280 will have the same performance as the v281 but less features?

Just by reading at the spec sheet, I would say no as the V281 has more power than the V280. 
 
For sonic differences, I'll leave that to the people who had the chance to own both chime in.

 

[13713]

Is it accurate to say that the v280 will have the same performance as the v281 but less features?

The price between the two of them is small enough that the 281 is the way to go.

Go big!

 

[Badas]

The price between the two of them is small enough that the 281 is the way to go.

Go big!

Absolutely. When I looked at the different models and pricing I thought the same.

 

[davidespinosa]

From the manuals:
 

Impedance (ohms)	RS08 (mW)	V280 (mW)	V281 (mW)
600	1700	1800	2700
300	2570	2650	<unknown>
100	3100	5300	5600
50	1680	3100	4200
32	1200	2600	2800
16	600	1500	1500

 

[jmac1516]

For efficient 300 Ohm cans like the Senn 800S, the question (for me) is if that is a meaningful enough power difference for the cost. I'm sure the v280 would power the 800S with ease.
 
I know its a personal decision for us all!  I would love to get the best (v281), but tradeoff is I can use the extra cash for a decent dac!
 
Thanks all.

 

[13713]

  For efficient 300 Ohm cans like the Senn 800S, the question (for me) is if that is a meaningful enough power difference for the cost. I'm sure the v280 would power the 800S with ease.
 
I know its a personal decision for us all!  I would love to get the best (v281), but tradeoff is I can use the extra cash for a decent dac!
 
Thanks all.

The less than $500 in savings is not really a push towards a decent DAC. 
 
Build your chain in blocks if you need to but with the sale all I can say is that with the difference being less than half a thousand dollars it makes a lot more sense to go with the V281 then with the V280 and a slightly better DAC.
 
But for the sake of hobby and having a good general discussion what DAC options are you looking at?
 
Edit: In this hobby I found the DAC the hardest component to research and pick. I am a vinyl guy so a DAC wasn't as high as a priority for me as other components. But I do understand the plight of what is the best bang for my buck build. This hobby is an absolute beast to get through and throwing money at it isn't always the best or most reasonable option for us. 
 
I cheated with the DAC because when I ordered the V281 and V600 I decided to go all the way and just get the newly released V850 to keep my newly purchased headphone stack looking the same. I am the worst person to have an in depth DAC discussion with as the majority of my purchasing decision was in support of Violectric as a company and wanting to keep components in the same company.

 

[Badas]

The less than $500 in savings is not really a push towards a decent DAC. 

Build your chain in blocks if you need to but with the sale all I can say is that with the difference being less than half a thousand dollars it makes a lot more sense to go with the V281 then with the V280 and a slightly better DAC.

But for the sake of hobby and having a good general discussion what DAC options are you looking at?

Edit: In this hobby I found the DAC the hardest component to research and pick. I am a vinyl guy so a DAC wasn't as high as a priority for me as other components. But I do understand the plight of what is the best bang for my buck build. This hobby is an absolute beast to get through and throwing money at it isn't always the best or most reasonable option for us. 

I cheated with the DAC because when I ordered the V281 and V800 I decided to go all the way and just get the newly released V850 to keep my newly purchased headphone stack looking the same. I am the worst person to have an in depth DAC discussion with as the majority of my purchasing decision was in support of Violectric as a company and wanting to keep components in the same company.

I was thinking this as well. I wouldn't want to put a $500 DAC with the V281. To me the DAC was the biggest improvement. It is so important.

 

[jmac1516]

I agree regarding lower end DACs with either v281/v280.  I meant the extra $500 would go towards a solid DAC.
 
In the price range I am considering, looking at either Gungnir MB or v850.  Thoughts?  Any others?
 
Thanks!

 

[13713]

  I agree regarding lower end DACs with either v281/v280.  I meant the extra $500 would go towards a solid DAC.
 
In the price range I am considering, looking at either Gungnir MB or v850.  Thoughts?  Any others?
 
Thanks!

Ah and with the sale the 850 would be a little over 400 dollars saved. That is actually quite the situation. Save the cash to go with a DAC that actually can be purchased with the difference saved of sticking with the V280.
 
I guess look at it in the context of is this going to be possibly your only SS amp? If you dabble with different gear the 280/850 combo might actually be wicked. I only suggested the V281 as a good choice as the discount makes it quite the steal. I can't answer those questions for you. I can say that the 850 is really amazing and I am not let down with it the flipside of that statement is that this is the V281 thread and all of us V281 owners really love the amp to death.