[NDonchev]

Interesting. My immediate thought was that the HD800s does not sound at its best with the V281. I have one but much prefer the HD800s through my Pro-Ject Head Box which is a hybrid amp. I use a Denafrips Terminator as my DAC. I can tell you it makes a night and day difference compared to the Chord TT I was using before.

The Pro-Ject Head Box I found on the Internet has some crappy reviews, doesn't seem to be hybrid and costs about 150 euro. Maybe I'm looking at a different unit?

 

[NDonchev]

What I can tell is that I did not merely type whatever came to my mind; I have been through this route of USB to coax/AES. With USB, you listen to more of USB implementation and less of DAC. When you have top of the line headphone amp and headphones, spend couple of hundreds on Eitr, and feel what lower noise floor can do to your music.

That may be true, but generally I'm a bit discouraged right now. To try the setup you suggest I have to buy the v800 and the Eitr and that seems too much of a hassle at this point.

 

[NDonchev]

Here are some more thoughts on the v800 sounds the same as Fiio X3 II matter with the v281 and HD800S.

The reviews I read about the v800 are reviewing it with the USB input usually. Here is a quote from the Headfonia review, although it's for the v850, but it should be fairly similar with the v800:
"Before the V850 arrived I was constantly switching between DACs like the Chord Hugo, Resonessence Labs, ALO CDM, Stoner EGD, Chord Mojo and even DAPs like the AK240 and Fiio X7 which have excellent DAC chips. While I quite like several of those – and especially the Sabre based DACs – the V850 plays in a different league, both in versatility and sound quality."

Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions here, but the v850 being in a "different league" from the Fiio X7 and the Fiio X7 being significantly better then the Fiio X3 II (judging from other reviews), I would expect to hear at least some improvement of the v800 over the Fiio X3 II, no matter if I use the USB input of the DAC or an alternative one.

By the way, I'm not alone in this conclusion. Here is a quote from the comment secion of the same v850 review on Headfonia:
"Mojo->V281 and V850/V281 have very minimal sound differences which is difficult to identify (even when there was are absolutely no interferences and very concentrated listening)"

And on the "Chord Qutest _(Z Reviews)_" video from Z-reviews on Youtube he makes basically the same conclusion at about 17:42.

Again, I'm not saying that all DACs sound the same and for all people. But I think making a side by side AB (ideally blind) testings should be encouraged.

 

[Arniesb]

why violectric dac? because its same company as your amp from?

Here are some more thoughts on the v800 sounds the same as Fiio X3 II matter with the v281 and HD800S.
Dont be fanboy on any company. Doesnt matter if its Violectric dac its aint gonna sound as good as chord dacs for example.

The reviews I read about the v800 are reviewing it with the USB input usually. Here is a quote from the Headfonia review, although it's for the v850, but it should be fairly similar with the v800:
"Before the V850 arrived I was constantly switching between DACs like the Chord Hugo, Resonessence Labs, ALO CDM, Stoner EGD, Chord Mojo and even DAPs like the AK240 and Fiio X7 which have excellent DAC chips. While I quite like several of those – and especially the Sabre based DACs – the V850 plays in a different league, both in versatility and sound quality."

Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions here, but the v850 being in a "different league" from the Fiio X7 and the Fiio X7 being significantly better then the Fiio X3 II (judging from other reviews), I would expect to hear at least some improvement of the v800 over the Fiio X3 II, no matter if I use the USB input of the DAC or an alternative one.

By the way, I'm not alone in this conclusion. Here is a quote from the comment secion of the same v850 review on Headfonia:
"Mojo->V281 and V850/V281 have very minimal sound differences which is difficult to identify (even when there was are absolutely no interferences and very concentrated listening)"

And on the "Chord Qutest _(Z Reviews)_" video from Z-reviews on Youtube he makes basically the same conclusion at about 17:42.

So I'm not alone in that conclusion. Again, I'm not saying that all DACs sound the same and for all people. But I think making a side by side AB (ideally blind) testings should be encouraged.

 

[NDonchev]

why violectric dac? because its same company as your amp from?

Mainly because that is the one that my local store have, so I could audition it. Also, it has good reviews overall.

 

[Arniesb]

Mainly because that is the one that my local store have, so I could audition it. Also, it has good reviews overall.

Didnt heard much recommendations from friends or from reviews besides Violectric fanboys.

 

[NDonchev]

Didnt heard much recommendations from friends or from reviews besides Violectric fanboys.

What would you suggest instead? Also, do you have similar impressions about the v281?

 

[S Crowther]

The Pro-Ject Head Box I found on the Internet has some crappy reviews, doesn't seem to be hybrid and costs about 150 euro. Maybe I'm looking at a different unit?

Pro-Ject Head Box RS

 

[S Crowther]

Pro-Ject Head Box RS

Pro-Ject Head Box RS

Pro-ject Headbox RS is about £700. Here is a link:
https://www.analogueseduction.net/headphone-amplifiers/pro-ject-head-box-rs-headphone-amplifier.html

 

[Relaxasaurus]

Here are some more thoughts on the v800 sounds the same as Fiio X3 II matter with the v281 and HD800S.

The reviews I read about the v800 are reviewing it with the USB input usually. Here is a quote from the Headfonia review, although it's for the v850, but it should be fairly similar with the v800:
"Before the V850 arrived I was constantly switching between DACs like the Chord Hugo, Resonessence Labs, ALO CDM, Stoner EGD, Chord Mojo and even DAPs like the AK240 and Fiio X7 which have excellent DAC chips. While I quite like several of those – and especially the Sabre based DACs – the V850 plays in a different league, both in versatility and sound quality."

Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions here, but the v850 being in a "different league" from the Fiio X7 and the Fiio X7 being significantly better then the Fiio X3 II (judging from other reviews), I would expect to hear at least some improvement of the v800 over the Fiio X3 II, no matter if I use the USB input of the DAC or an alternative one.

By the way, I'm not alone in this conclusion. Here is a quote from the comment secion of the same v850 review on Headfonia:
"Mojo->V281 and V850/V281 have very minimal sound differences which is difficult to identify (even when there was are absolutely no interferences and very concentrated listening)"

And on the "Chord Qutest _(Z Reviews)_" video from Z-reviews on Youtube he makes basically the same conclusion at about 17:42.

So I'm not alone in that conclusion. Again, I'm not saying that all DACs sound the same and for all people. But I think making a side by side AB (ideally blind) testings should be encouraged.

All this goes to show how much stock I put into online reviews vs my own ears. Personally, as much as I like my RME ADI-2 I miss elements of my old Sabre-based budget dac. I really liked what I heard from the Mojo and want to try the Qutest but then I would need to go back to software EQ'ing again which I'm not the biggest fan of.

And while on the topic I'm so curious to try a NOS dac as I've yet to hear one aside from YouTube comparison videos.

 

[BobG55]

After a couple of months of research, reading reviews and perusing this thread, I purchased a V281 yesterday from a Canadian distributor located in Vernon, British Columbia. It's a large sum to pay, especially in Canadian currency but I'm pretty sure I've made a good move. One of the advantages of buying from this distributor is avoiding the large sum charged by Canada Customs had I bought it from the US.

I already own the V100 and love it's sound signature though I know that the V281's sound signature is different. During my journey I've come to prefer SS amps over tube ones. Can't really explain why save to say, I simply prefer the sound of an SS amp. Looking forward to sharing my views on this thread.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Make sure to get balanced cables (or make them yourself if you're able to) to fully utilize the V281. Is the headphone inventory in your profile up to date? You will love the HE-500 out of it. The classic line really loves power and rewards you for it.

 

[BobG55]

Make sure to get balanced cables (or make them yourself if you're able to) to fully utilize the V281. Is the headphone inventory in your profile up to date? You will love the HE-500 out of it. The classic line really loves power and rewards you for it.

Thanks Fegefeure. Yes the HP inventory in my profile is up to date. I have a friend who's a retired audio repairman. He'll alter the cables with XLR connectors for me and keep the SE at the end of the cable. I had it done in the past by him with other HPs when I owned XLR amps back then.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Hi guys! We were talking earlier about choosing a DAC for the v281. So here is an update on the situation which you may find interesting.

I went to local shop today to compare the v800 DAC against my current DAC (the Fiio X3 II DAP).

THE SETUP
I set the following two audio chains:
1. Fiio X3 II DAP -> RCA Cable -> v281 -> HD800S
2. Windows PC -> USB Cable -> v800 DAC -> XLR Cable -> v281 -> HD800S

I used the same audio files on a Flash drive for the Windows PC and on the Fiio DAP's SD Card.

Volume was matched by ear by adjusting it on the v800 DAC. The volume knob of the v800 ended up being at about 1-2 o'clock.

In this setup I was able to change between DACs only by changing the input on the v281 between RCA and XLR.

Most of the time I managed to sync the song timing of the two sources perfectly.

THE RESULTS
Absolutely identical sound from the two audio chains. There was no way I could distinguish between the two. It was to the point where I started to feel like the source switching buttons don't work. It was the same as if I was pressing some random button on some unrelated audio gear in the shop, just no difference. I tried hard to distinguish between the two DACs and I did this for more than an hour with variety of different songs from different genres and recording quality.

FINAL THOUGHTS
If I was there in the shop trying only the v800 without comparing it with my current DAC I was probably going to conclude it is better. And it sounds amazing by itself. The thing is the Fiio sounds just as amazing.

As a result of this now I'm more sceptical regarding DAC differences. What I can say for sure is that in my case paying about 1000 euro for the v800 is not justified. For me this means I'll have to pass on the v850 as well as it should be similar to the v800. It is very much possible that this conclusion will be the same for at least some other people too. In that case, you could save your money and do something with it that gives you more value.

I know DACs measure differently, but it seems in some cases that difference is not audiable. Also, I'm not saying all DACs sound the same. I'm curious to try higher-end DACs and also ladder NOS DACs.

I'll probably travel to another audio store to try more stuff in the coming 1-2 weeks, including the Hugo 2, Hegel HD30, iFi Audio Pro iDSD, iFi Audio Micro iDSD Black Label. Also, I'm very curious to try some tube amps like the Woo Audio WA6-SE and see if it is much more engaging and musical than the v281.

As for the v281 it seems it's true TOTL amp and the difference with other less refined amps is obvious.

Interesting comments. I never compared DACs w/the matching & precision you describe. Think my head might explode if I tried to "play scientist" like that.

All I can say is that I've had 2 occasions where I dropped in a new DAC (into a long-term/stable system w/o other stuff changing at same time) and really noticed a difference:

1. After several delta-sigma DACs that I really didn't care for (glassy/glarey sound), I got the humble & inexpensive Peachtree Audio DAC iTx and installed it. Went through my whole 100+ hr burn-in routine, but w/this DAC, it immediately sounded better than what I'd heard and stayed that way. Less glare & "digititis."
2. Finally became curious about Audio GD multibit & NOS DACs, so purchased the NOS 19 several years ago. Its sound fluctuated wildly for a good 400 hrs (yes, what others said was true--it really did that long to burn in). And again, the sound was significantly different, mostly in subtle ways, but in every case, better ways.

A little later I got the Audio GD DAC-19 and burned that in (another 400 hrs!). I think I hear differences between that and the NOS 19, but they're very subtle, harder to detect.

These DACs all had slightly different output voltages, so I suppose my perceptions could be due to improper volume matching. But the way I do things here is mostly low volume classical during the day, and I tend to find the same volume regardless of any new component, just by comfort level. Similarly, I have a kind of target volume for the moderate loudness listening I do, and I tend to get right there no matter what gear is installed. All to say I discount the volume factor to some degre--though if I were doing fast sequence comps w/switching I would take volume dead seriously.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Yea, I also thought that setting the volume knob to max on the v800 might make a difference. Although, I highly doubt it that this will be a significant one.

I don't intent to try other inputs on the DAC as that would mean I have to buy some additional gear. I don't think it is justified to put even more money on signal converters when I don't hear any difference with USB. To my knowledge the USB input on the v800 is good. And if I go in that direction, I might want to buy expensive cables and even pricier signal purifiers and I don't think that is a good direction to go in this situation.

On a previous visit to the shop I could compare the v281's inner DAC with my Fiio x3 II and I also couldn't hear any difference. Although, it was with unfamiliar music and back then I thought maybe that's the reason.

The volume on the v800 wasn't on max because I wanted to volume match it with the Fiio's output. The Fiio was significantly quieter (maybe partly due to different cables used - RCA vs XLR), so I had to put the v800's volume knob at about 1-2 o'clock.

Have to tell you, I've used S/PDIF converters for years because without exception, every DAC I've had sounded better via coax out of the Musical Fidelity V-Link 192/24 (and before it, the V-Link 92/24). I also clearly heard better sound going from a solid Billy Jeans coax cable (1.5M) to a far more expensive silver cable (Oyaide R-510, 1.3M).

This whole digital experience is filled with surprises.