[project86]

Sorry everyone - I've been trying to wrap up some other reviews which have taken far too much of my time.
 
Now, about that V281..... It's breathtaking. Extremely smooth but still has great extension and clarity on the top end. Very organic, or what some might call "analog", without being obviously colored. Soundstage, especially with the balanced out, is impressively wide. But more importantly it has the corresponding image accuracy to make that wide/deep soundstage seem very convincing. This is the mark of a truly great amp - some have accurate imaging, some have a big soundstage, but you really need both of those working together in harmony to be highly convincing in a top level system. V281 does it very well indeed, among the best I've heard.
 
Let's see..... ideal with my CIEMs on -6dB pregain setting. I don't even need to adjust the pregain any higher with most headphones, just crank that big knob further to the right if needed. LCD-3, HD800, Alpha Dogs, HE-500, etc are all perfectly fine for my listening preferences, with the exception of certain quiet music (or when I really want to rock out). HE-6 does usually need more gain though, especially when listening to those quiet recordings. If I didn't use IEMs I'd probably run it on 0 pregain which would be perfect for every headphone out there including HE-6. This assumes a balanced source with the usual 4V output or slightly higher..... I haven't played with feeding it RCA yet, but the lower voltage there would probably mean 0dB or +6dB pregain most of the time. 
 
Not sure I can go much further than that at this point. I will say I'm using the V281 more often than any other amp these days - including Taurus mkII, Icon Audio HP8, and even the dual mono Questyle CMA800R setup. Is it better than all of those (each of which I absolutely adore)? Not sure yet, but there's definitely potential. 

 

[project86]

  It will be interesting to read comparisons between the V281 and the new Schiit Ragnarok - another end-game amp

 
 
Sorry I have not heard the Ragnarok yet, but I intend to when my schedule frees up (which may not happen for a while). 

 

[Nomax]

I was Hearing the cavalli liguid Gold(much much higher price)was owner in the past luxman p700u But THIS is ONE of BEST AMPS in the World today beside my PHONITOR 2!
And THE V281 is a real MACHINE and drives my ABYSS very very well

BIG THANKS AGAIN TO FRIED!!

NOMAX

 

[zsolt]

Great review! What's your impressions about the 24/192 USB add-on?

 

[BobG55]

  Sorry everyone - I've been trying to wrap up some other reviews which have taken far too much of my time.
 
Now, about that V281..... It's breathtaking. Extremely smooth but still has great extension and clarity on the top end. Very organic, or what some might call "analog", without being obviously colored. Soundstage, especially with the balanced out, is impressively wide. But more importantly it has the corresponding image accuracy to make that wide/deep soundstage seem very convincing. This is the mark of a truly great amp - some have accurate imaging, some have a big soundstage, but you really need both of those working together in harmony to be highly convincing in a top level system. V281 does it very well indeed, among the best I've heard.
 
Let's see..... ideal with my CIEMs on -6dB pregain setting. I don't even need to adjust the pregain any higher with most headphones, just crank that big knob further to the right if needed. LCD-3, HD800, Alpha Dogs, HE-500, etc are all perfectly fine for my listening preferences, with the exception of certain quiet music (or when I really want to rock out). HE-6 does usually need more gain though, especially when listening to those quiet recordings. If I didn't use IEMs I'd probably run it on 0 pregain which would be perfect for every headphone out there including HE-6. This assumes a balanced source with the usual 4V output or slightly higher..... I haven't played with feeding it RCA yet, but the lower voltage there would probably mean 0dB or +6dB pregain most of the time. 
 
Not sure I can go much further than that at this point. I will say I'm using the V281 more often than any other amp these days - including Taurus mkII, Icon Audio HP8, and even the dual mono Questyle CMA800R setup. Is it better than all of those (each of which I absolutely adore)? Not sure yet, but there's definitely potential. 

Thanks for a great review project86.  One question if you don't mind : what attributes would you say the v281 has over the v200 ?

 

[project86]

I was Hearing the cavalli liguid Gold(much much higher price)was owner in the past luxman p700u But THIS is ONE of BEST AMPS in the World today beside my PHONITOR 2!
And THE V281 is a real MACHINE and drives my ABYSS very very well

BIG THANKS AGAIN TO FRIED!!

NOMAX

 
 
I haven't heard the Liquid Gold yet but the V281 easily outperforms the older Liquid Fire, as well as the Liquid Glass (though I realize the Glass is not necessarily a direct competitor). 
 
Glad you enjoy the V281 as much as I do.
 
 
 

  Great review! What's your impressions about the 24/192 USB add-on?

 
 
Thanks! I talked about the USB DAC a few pages ago in this thread, but to summarize - quite good for the price, certainly better than any dedicated $240 USB DAC I've ever heard. It's not the last word in resolution or extension when compared to my usual DACs (normally in the $1k or much higher range) but it's not offensive either. Tonal accuracy is good and it isn't all boxed in like a lot of budget DACs can be. I enjoy it quite a bit. Definitely good enough to start enjoying the amp while saving up for a top tier DAC. 
 
 
 

  Thanks for a great review project86.  One question if you don't mind : what attributes would you say the v281 has over the v200 ?

 
 
The biggest step up is soundstage. Even with single-ended headphones, I notice a slight increase, but balanced mode is significantly more spacious. And then the top end seems more articulate while still keeping that killer Violectric house sound. 
 
I'll have a full review up at InnerFidelity eventually, and I'll explore all this in more detail. 

 

[Shini44]

i guess it will be my amp for 2015 >=) 

 

[Zkadoush]

Sorry everyone - I've been trying to wrap up some other reviews which have taken far too much of my time.


 


Now, about that V281..... It's breathtaking. Extremely smooth but still has great extension and clarity on the top end. Very organic, or what some might call "analog", without being obviously colored. Soundstage, especially with the balanced out, is impressively wide. But more importantly it has the corresponding image accuracy to make that wide/deep soundstage seem very convincing. This is the mark of a truly great amp - some have accurate imaging, some have a big soundstage, but you really need both of those working together in harmony to be highly convincing in a top level system. V281 does it very well indeed, among the best I've heard.


 


Let's see..... ideal with my CIEMs on -6dB pregain setting. I don't even need to adjust the pregain any higher with most headphones, just crank that big knob further to the right if needed. LCD-3, HD800, Alpha Dogs, HE-500, etc are all perfectly fine for my listening preferences, with the exception of certain quiet music (or when I really want to rock out). HE-6 does usually need more gain though, especially when listening to those quiet recordings. If I didn't use IEMs I'd probably run it on 0 pregain which would be perfect for every headphone out there including HE-6. This assumes a balanced source with the usual 4V output or slightly higher..... I haven't played with feeding it RCA yet, but the lower voltage there would probably mean 0dB or +6dB pregain most of the time. 


 


Not sure I can go much further than that at this point. I will say I'm using the V281 more often than any other amp these days - including Taurus mkII, Icon Audio HP8, and even the dual mono Questyle CMA800R setup. Is it better than all of those (each of which I absolutely adore)? Not sure yet, but there's definitely potential. 

 


Thanks a bunch for those preliminary impressions, project86, I'm looking forward to the full review at Innerfidelity. I hope you'll be able to draw clear lines and comparisons between the V281, the Taurus and the CMA800R, and share some of your thoughts and pics of what the Violectric sports under the hood (this aspect of your reviews is one I have been missing over at Innerfidelity). I also hope that Tyll will finally yield and give Violectric Amps the credit they deserve this time, and put the V281 on the test bench (and hopefully in his Wall of Fame).

Thanks again for sharing.

Cheers

 

[Nhubley]

Wow this looks great I want one! 

 

[achristilaw]

Nicely built, exquisite to look at and to soft and warm to listen to. 

 

[Armaegis]

I don't remember if it was mentioned anywhere, but is there any planned update to the V800 dac?

 

[Amorgan]

  I don't remember if it was mentioned anywhere, but is there any planned update to the V800 dac?

 
That will be really interesting if they ever do that. Been looking for my next upgrade and Vioelectric makes nice gear. 

 

[Fegefeuer]

  I don't remember if it was mentioned anywhere, but is there any planned update to the V800 dac?

 
Yes. 

 

[Tony1110]

Would a balanced DAC be necessary to get the best out of this?

 

[roskodan]

nope