Oh btw, updating this thread tomorrow. If you have beautifully shot pictures of your V281 then send them to me please via PN. Want to freshen up the starting page a bit along with user impressions that I promised a good time ago.
My V281 is scheduled to arrive today. I plan to do some product shots over the next week along with the new dac (Holo Spring L3 Kitsune) that is also arriving today. It feels like Christmas !
I used 24 dBu until I found what at this level V281 can distort the signal when the input level exceeds ~23 dBu.
This is because the maximum input level of the V281 is 21 dBu (according to specification) for all inputs.
I was thinking this is because of the intersample peaks, because it was noticeable primarily with the music mastered close to 0 dBFS (I was wrong).
And I decreased the volume slightly in digital. But finally I measured the signal from the line out of V281 and found it distorted at 23+ dBu.
That's why I decreased the output level to 15 dBu. I also tried 18 dBu. With the accurate volume matching it sounds very close.
Some time ago I was thinking this pre-gain changes may lead to better sound (and I am sure they can with some equipment).
But finally I found that I used incorrect method to pick the best settings.
There may be some subtle difference between the settings, but it is hard to pick the best if the comparison is made accurately.
But I still use V281 @ -14 dB pre-gain, because it allows me to change the volume smoothly (provides optimal range for my headphones/usecases).
For the last few years with the LP/Vio gear I made tons of experiments, which lead me to thinking this gear is pretty linear.
@zhgutov ; can you tell me what position you have chosen for the inside jumpers for both v281 & v800 (general ground / lift jumper & xlr)? Can you also explain why you chose for these settings? I remember from v200 it made a huge difference changing the ac to dc jumper (dc) and also general jumper (ground) with my HD 800. It made a huge difference, but I always had the idee, this was mostly because of switching to dc! (V281 doesn't have the possibillity to switch to dc!) I am very much interested in your and other peoples findings! Thanks!!!
@zhgutov ; can you tell me what position you have chosen for the inside jumpers for both v281 & v800 (general ground / lift jumper & xlr)? Can you also explain why you chose for these settings? I remember from v200 it made a huge difference changing the ac to dc jumper (dc) and also general jumper (ground) with my HD 800. It made a huge difference, but I always had the idee, this was mostly because of switching to dc! (V281 doesn't have the possibillity to switch to dc!) I am very much interested in your and other peoples findings! Thanks!!!
Well, this is probably not so easy to choose the right settings.
Quote from manual: Unfortunately there is no general recommendation how to solve hum and jitter problems - or even minimize them. The best way to succeed is to check different options !!
Some time ago I made some measurements which showed me that when I set everything to LIFT (including XLR connectors) I can minimize the hum from the headphone outputs.
I cannot hear anything similar to this measurements when I check this with the headphones. The noise seems to be "white".
But it was there on the measurements with my E-MU 0404 USB (probably because this is active equipment unlike the headphones).
But I leaved everything in that position. Another point to use LIFT positions is to avoid the ground loops which may be caused by different ground potentials if I use bad power source (or use some strange equipment).
So, there is more possibility to succeed with no changes if I will temporarily move this equipment to another place.
I think the effect of AC/DC switch depends on the headphones you use. If your headphones have more distortion in the low end it is probably better not to switch to DC.
V281 does not have such switch, but it has relay volume control with the similar filter (for headphone outputs only), which should not harm the low end, but probably can improve this range minimising the distortion.
I think it is hard to be affected by this with Audeze (for example), which have very low distortion in this area. But this may affect (and improve) things when you use most of the dynamic headphones.
There is another thing about GND-LIFT switches. Some people told here (it was long time ago), that when they switched to LIFT they had more "harsh" or more "hot" sound.
I think this may be caused by improper connection with the XLR. The manual tells that XLR cables should not have connection between the case and the pin 1.
Unfortunately, some cables are made with such connection (even relatively expensive). I had such cable and it showed the similar effect.
If I understand this correctly (I am not an electrical engineer), this forces the connection of the internal ground to the case.
Probably in a wrong place, ignoring the ground-lift settings. This is especially important if you use LIFT position for XLR.
I don't have any audible difference with the proper cables (but probably the difference may appear in the different environment).
The following is not related to the V800-V281, but anyway. When I switch XLR inside V800 to LIFT it works fine with V281.
But when I connect it to E-MU 0404 USB it shows the strong hum. This should illustrate the sentence from the manual about the general recommendations.
And... AES/EBU does not have GND-LIFT switch at all, probably because it is transformer balanced.
I expect somebody to correct my sentence if I am wrong.
Finally, I think it would be great if Fried Reim can tell something about that.
And then @Fegefeuer can add this to the first page, like he already did with the pre-gain/volume control adjustments.
Because such questions appear here from time to time, and I can actually have much less knowledge and experience in that area.
All this talk about switches inside the V281 and V800 (or V850 in my case) makes me want to re-read that portion of the manual and give it a try myself. Although I've been holding off opening anything as I don't want to accidentally break anything. Might give it some thought first
All this talk about switches inside the V281 and V800 (or V850 in my case) makes me want to re-read that portion of the manual and give it a try myself. Although I've been holding off opening anything as I don't want to accidentally break anything. Might give it some thought first
I think it should work fine with the default settings in the most cases (general switch is set to LIFT, XLR switches are set to GND).
Especially if you connect everything with the proper cables. Otherwise, why Violectric use this settings by default.
I started such experiments only because I noticed hum in the measurements (thank you, innerfidelity).
I think it is better to check your cables first with the Ohm meter if you think something is going wrong.
Thanks Zhugov,
I Just finished changing all the jumpers inside v281 & v800 to the lift position. For other readers, it's all very simple except for the xlr jumpers inside of v281! There are two of them (left & right) for headphone use. One was relatively easy to reach, but for the other one I needed to remove the main pcb board and still the jumper was difficult to reach! (you are going to need small pliers for this in order to lift and move the jumper to the other position).
I Will try these settings for a couple of weeks and see if I hear a difference.
Indeed it would be nice if Fried Reim could tell us a little bit about these jumper settings also in relation to possible sound quality improvement!
Zhugov, thanks again for taking your time to give your insight on these jumper settings!
Main PCB board??? O_o
You are talking about line out PCB, I hope?
Actually, I changed the position of this jumper just with the tweezers (but it's a bit tricky).
They are not for the headphone use. They are for the inputs.
There are no such jumpers for the headphone outputs.
And there is no need for them at all.
Main PCB board??? O_o
You are talking about line out PCB, I hope?
Actually, I changed the position of this jumper just with the tweezers (but it's a bit tricky).
They are not for the headphone use. They are for the inputs.
There are no such jumpers for the headphone outputs.
And there is no need for them at all.
Main PCB board??? O_o
You are talking about line out PCB, I hope?
Actually, I changed the position of this jumper just with the tweezers (but it's a bit tricky).
They are not for the headphone use. They are for the inputs.
There are no such jumpers for the headphone outputs.
And there is no need for them at all.
@Zhugov "You are talking about line out PCB, I hope?"
No, I did it with removing the main pcb board (so to other people reading this, don't do like me! Because this was a bit difficult and can be done easier apparently!) "They are not for the headphone use. They are for the inputs."
You are right! I talk about these also and not the other xlr jumpers for line output to go to active speakers or amp.
I Just read in the manual that I removed the 2nd amplifier board instead of the main pcb board! This gave more room to handle my small pliers in order to change xlr jumper settings. Again, don't do like I did, because apparently this can be done simpler by removing line out pcb.
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