[Megalomaniak]

 
wow that is indeed very similar to my story lol. Back when I was buying the denons (which were my second pair of over ear headphones ever after my now sold dt 990) I too was not looking at powerful/expensive amps because they were sensitive headphones and I didn't fully understand how amps and dacs affected the sound as much yet. So my first amp was actually a fiio e11 and man is that amp bad lol. Like take into consideration that I never heard headphones out of an amp before and yet I still could tell it was bad. it just ruins soundstage and adds tons of harshness. either way after that, one year ago, I finally got a proper amp, the burson soloist SL. which was a massive improvement, and by now I had also gotten the lcd 2, but it just was not cutting it in terms of power and the sound was a bit too dull and lifeless. So my search a couple months ago began, and here I am waiting for a V281 to arrive on friday

Also 2 years back when I was originally researching the denon d5000 I came across some sort of very long review/comparison of the Audeze models at the time, and before then I didn't even know such a thing as planar dynamic headphones or electrostatic headphones existed. But the whole idea of a big flat surface just moving back and forth between magnets to create the sound seemed so unique and special and fancy and expensive and true high end lol. Again once I learned how much they cost I quickly ignored them and went back to my 400 dollar denons (i got a good deal on them). Thankfully I was able to save up enough money in the last year to actually get a lcd 2 and now V281. I sometimes think back to how I perceived these products back then, and realize I now own them and can enjoy them any time I want (because back then I seriously thought to myself that I would never be able to hear what a planar dynamic or electrostatic headphone sounds like, not to mention actually own one). Puts things into perspective and really makes me appreciate how awesome these products are, since it can sometimes be very easy to get caught up in the expensive stuff and talk about their minor flaws and we forget how great they actually are and it allows us to just step back and enjoy them instead of feel like we need to upgrade from them all the time.

 
Hahah, yeah. My story about Stereo stuff is a bit longer.
 
My father used to run a small technical workshop with some brands such as Pioneer, Technics, Panasonic, Marantz, Kef and so on. So he repaired and upgraded tons of them, and of course in my house there was always a nice piece of stereo equipment in which we listened to cds and vinyls (most of them classic rock and pop). We always had a good pair of Kef Speakers (broken now) which sound, as far as I remember, was live-like, astonishing.
 
Also, ive seen a couple of Electrostatic Speakers but didnt create much interest in me, and as you, until I digged deep into the hi-fi headphone world, I didnt know that the technology those speakers had could be installed in headphones. And then the Planar Magnetic or Magnetostatic headphones came across too, and I was wow what the hell.
 
But yeah, I started to read about the sound of them, and the price was a bit prohibitive but not too much as I used to spend thousands of euros in the PC world, so a $1000 planar headphone vs a $900 SLI card configuration sounded fair to me, since the headphones lasts like 10x the time.
 
Now, almost 8 years since my first Sennheiser HD555, a long long list of tried headphones, "planars" are for me

 

[Poladise]

Do the new models improve on the rolled treble of the V200?

 

[Megalomaniak]

  Do the new models improve on the rolled treble of the V200?

 
Ive never seen a rolled off treble in the Violectric amps, but they are not bright indeed and V220 / V281 maintain that warmer sound. They dont lose any treble extension tho.

 

[saxelrod92]

   
Hahah, yeah. My story about Stereo stuff is a bit longer.
 
My father used to run a small technical workshop with some brands such as Pioneer, Technics, Panasonic, Marantz, Kef and so on. So he repaired and upgraded tons of them, and of course in my house there was always a nice piece of stereo equipment in which we listened to cds and vinyls (most of them classic rock and pop). We always had a good pair of Kef Speakers (broken now) which sound, as far as I remember, was live-like, astonishing.
 
Also, ive seen a couple of Electrostatic Speakers but didnt create much interest in me, and as you, until I digged deep into the hi-fi headphone world, I didnt know that the technology those speakers had could be installed in headphones. And then the Planar Magnetic or Magnetostatic headphones came across too, and I was wow what the hell.
 
But yeah, I started to read about the sound of them, and the price was a bit prohibitive but not too much as I used to spend thousands of euros in the PC world, so a $1000 planar headphone vs a $900 SLI card configuration sounded fair to me, since the headphones lasts like 10x the time.
 
Now, almost 8 years since my first Sennheiser HD555, a long long list of tried headphones, "planars" are for me

I too was influenced greatly by my dad when it comes to high end audio. Ever since I could remember he had some sort of stereo set up in the living room, it was not anything super fancy of expensive by it was still pretty good. it was some B&W 808 speakers, something like that, with some Bryston amp and pre-amp, and then just an assortment of source gear. I was always very impressed with all the different pieces of gear required just to make the speakers work. I think thats what got me used to the fact that to get great sound you need more than just a pair of headphones/speakers and a cable hooking them up to your computer. My dad also was the first person ever to show me how getting better headphones, lets you have better sound. I was so stubborn when I was a teenager with my first pair of crappy sony on ear headphones (one of those like 10 dollar things), until it finally broke my dad insisted I get something better, but I was so stubborn thinking how on earth could it sound any better than what I was used to. lol. then I got a pair of Sennheiser px 100 II, and those changed everything to me, which eventually got me to where I am today.
 
I also just helped my dad set his stereo system back up after we recently moved, which is great because he never had the time in the last few years to really do it, but now he's sorta rediscovering good music and his set up/collection.

 

[Megalomaniak]

 
I too was influenced greatly by my dad when it comes to high end audio. Ever since I could remember he had some sort of stereo set up in the living room, it was not anything super fancy of expensive by it was still pretty good. it was some B&W 808 speakers, something like that, with some Bryston amp and pre-amp, and then just an assortment of source gear. I was always very impressed with all the different pieces of gear required just to make the speakers work. I think thats what got me used to the fact that to get great sound you need more than just a pair of headphones/speakers and a cable hooking them up to your computer. My dad also was the first person ever to show me how getting better headphones, lets you have better sound. I was so stubborn when I was a teenager with my first pair of crappy sony on ear headphones (one of those like 10 dollar things), until it finally broke my dad insisted I get something better, but I was so stubborn thinking how on earth could it sound any better than what I was used to. lol. then I got a pair of Sennheiser px 100 II, and those changed everything to me, which eventually got me to where I am today.
 
I also just helped my dad set his stereo system back up after we recently moved, which is great because he never had the time in the last few years to really do it, but now he's sorta rediscovering good music and his set up/collection.

 
Hahaha, yeah, the teenager time is the stubborn time. Im 25 atm but Ive always known that better headphones meant better sound quality as the speakers were, like, some of the speakers my father repaired didnt sound as good as the KEFs we had at home.
 
Now, whenever I get a new headphone, either for review/test or bought, my father tries it and he usually uses them while Im not
 
Also, he loves the "violectric" sound, he describes it as "the old analog style sound", warm and laid-back, but detailed with good bass and body.

 

[Nomax]

In few weeks i will give you my IMPRESIONS about THE ABYSS&V281 combo!

REGARDS NOMAX

 

[Zkadoush]

@ Zkadoush

There will be a upsized and a downsized version of V800 in the future.
If there will be a low feature V281 in the future I can not say in the moment. We must first check what the customers think about V281.

Also, the noise figure and the damping factor will not alter with such an amp, perhaps there will be improvements concerning crosstalk.

In the moment the response for V220 / V281 is amazing but this should stay for several months/years.


Greetz

Fried

Hi Fried,

Me again wanting to bother you with yet another couple of questions:

Could you provide some info on the second optional motorized potentiometer ("128-step relay attenuator with 0.75 dB per step together with remote input/output control") and its advantages?
Is this also an ALPS potentiometer?

You have also mentioned that transformers and power supply in the V220/V281 are different from V200, would it be to much indiscretion to ask you for some details about those differences?

Will there be some digital specs for the new 24/192 DAC modules in the near future?

I really like the idea of a standalone balanced V281 Amp (or V282), it would be a great option for those looking for the ultimate Balanced Amp.

Thanks againg for all your answers, and sorry for all the questions.

Greetz

 

 

[kinger2005]

Just pulled the trigger on a v281.
 
Since fried is active in this thread, I'd like to ask a question. What ever happened to the concept of the v284 and is it still alive?
 
I'd like to see fried make a competitor to the dark star, that doesn't make my xcs hiss. Something that could even stand on the same leg as the beta 22.

 

[alvinmate]

Hi everyone,
 
Did anyone had a chance to properly compare the Taurus MK2 vs HPA V281. I am really eager to know what are the biggest differences esp interms of sound signature.
 
 
Thanks

 

[saxelrod92]

   
Hahaha, yeah, the teenager time is the stubborn time. Im 25 atm but Ive always known that better headphones meant better sound quality as the speakers were, like, some of the speakers my father repaired didnt sound as good as the KEFs we had at home.
 
Now, whenever I get a new headphone, either for review/test or bought, my father tries it and he usually uses them while Im not
 
Also, he loves the "violectric" sound, he describes it as "the old analog style sound", warm and laid-back, but detailed with good bass and body.

Yea I'm 22, and my dad does the same thing lol. Theres definitely a part of me thats just like wanting to make sure everything I get is also approved by him, which so far that has been the case
 
Also as a general post I got my V281 yesterday thanks to Arthur from the USA store. I'll give a longer first impressions at the end of the weekend, but for now I want to mention that mine came with the ribbon cable connecting the top amp to the bottom board, loose. I think it constricted from the cold of the airplane during it's travels from Germany to the States and it got unplugged. So I opened up the case, plugged it back in and all was good. The volume knob was all good too. and as for now I'll just say it has been impressing me quite a lot but for those of you buying these first releases just be aware of the ribbon cable thing. I talked to Arthur bout it already, and he will be telling Violectric about it, he said it was a common issue on the older models and they used to hot glue those connecters because of it, but not stopped, so because of my issue he said they might just start doing it again for future builds. Otherwise it is built like a tank, all the buttons and knobs feel very solid, and they even sent a letter with a hex key attached talking about how the volume knob sometimes can come loose during the long shipping journey. Also my manual is still entirely in German lol, they don't have the English version with these first orders yet. And for those of you who live in North America and are thinking of buying one, theres still a couple V220's in the store, and possibly one V281 (unless the guy who posted above got that one). More will be coming in a few weeks. All in all for having the first bought one in North America I'd say it turned out very well, and I'm glad to be a pioneer as Fried says lol.
 
Again first impressions on SE sound/overall usage later this weekend from me. I want to give something detailed for those on the fence still.

 

[Byrnie]

Hi everyone,

Did anyone had a chance to properly compare the Taurus MK2 vs HPA V281. I am really eager to know what are the biggest differences esp interms of sound signature.


Thanks

Project86 is doing a review on the v281 for innerfidelity.com and owns a Taurus so he'll most likely compare the two.

 

[project86]

Project86 is doing a review on the v281 for innerfidelity.com and owns a Taurus so he'll most likely compare the two.

 
 
Indeed I will. So far both amps are extremely enjoyable, handling everything I throw at them with ease. Still need to figure out the exact character of V281 and how it differs from the Taurus.
 
So far I'm convinced there's no wrong choice between the two.

 

[saxelrod92]

So just another quick update, I opened it up again because there was a rattling sound whenever the amp was set down/touched, and turns out it was missing 3 screws to hold down the top amp, and was just being held on by two out of five screws. So the entire top amp board was rattling. I sent an email to Arthur already, and am waiting reply (depending on of he checks during weekends or not). So quality control on these first few runs is a bit off, esp taking into account how the ribbon cable to the top amp was also not connected when I got it, makes me think if it instead of it coming loose during shipment, it was just never attached in the first place, just like the 3 other screws were not (theres no way it is supposed to be missing 3 major screws like this). So fair warning for those buying these first few runs, make sure you check to see if everything is all good inside. On the upside all the soldering looks really good, some pieces being slightly off-center as a result of being nicely handmade.
 
I'll update when I get this all solved.
 
Edit- Arthur got back to me VERY quickly, greatly appreciated, he said to ship the amp back to him, and he will talk to Fried about all this. I am actually really impressed by the great customer support Violectric is showing me. I love the sound, the amp, and the people working there, hopefully this was just an isolated incident due to one of the workers rushing things (thats what it seems like honestly) and all will be sorted out soon. Don't let what happened to my amp dissuade anyone from pulling the trigger on one of these, because despite everything I can't think of an amp I'd rather have for the same money.

 

[alvinmate]

Indeed I will. So far both amps are extremely enjoyable, handling everything I throw at them with ease. Still need to figure out the exact character of V281 and how it differs from the Taurus.

So far I'm convinced there's no wrong choice between the two.

thanks for the update.

 

[alvinmate]

Still torn between the two.... Leaning towards Taurus MK2 but never know