My guess is that there was some connector somewhere that was improperly seated, made marginal contact and caused the problems. Or something with the grounding as was mentioned. If you then open the case and fidlle a bit with the wiring, press on the connections....if only it were always that easy.
I don't even think it was a connector being improperly seated. Honestly, I didn't really touch a thing inside. Everything looked fine, solid and in perfect shape. It even smelled good. Like the inside of a car the first time you ride it. So after some short admiration I closed the case again and everything looked good from the moment I hit the power button.
But enough of that. I have been listening yesterday evening to some various music and my first impression is that it's without a doubt a direct noticable improvement over the v200/v800 stack. The first thing I noticed is the bigger soundstage. It's obvious from the first 10 seconds in a lossless michael jackson track, thriller. Michael Jackson albums have very good recordings I think. Some sounds/instruments feel like to be coming from behind my ears. It's something the v200 always felt a little short on. This is the first time I can compare the v200 with anything else, so now I feel I can say it out of experience, though it has been based on only one night of listening.
The second thing is detail. The v281, on balanced mode, is very detailed. Music I've been listening for a long time even gets more detailed with the v281 compared to the v200. There's things I never recognized earlier in certain tracks with the v200. The soundstage must be contributing to this too I think. More separation and more detail.
Then there's the fact that there's more power. Haven't touched the pre gain settings, it's still all default. Same as with my v200, always used default settings. With the v200 I listened with the volume pot going to max. 12 'o clock on loud listening sessions. Some records sound louder, so for them it might be max 01.00 'o clock. With the v281 I haven't gone over 10.00 'o clock. Again, based on one night. Listening to quite a diverse collection of music.
The lows are slightly improved in my experience as well. There's a bit more slam and more a feeling like when things really go low I get the experience like if things are really shaking. Can't express it very well, it's like with big speakers in the cinema for example. It's quite impressive.
The build quality is very solid. I think I could jump on the case and it still wouldn't make a dent. Also the inside has been thought through very well.
These have been my first impressions so far comparing the v200/v800 to the v281/v800 stack on balanced interconnects, and balanced hd800 cables. I haven't used unbalanced or even other headphones like my hd580, which I really like as well for when I'm not using any amp. The 580 always sounds good without even proper amplification. Thats why it's my office headphone.
It's unforunate about the fact that I had to open and close the case before I could get it to work, but the service provided by Fried and his team is top notch. I think the first thing Fried does when he wakes up in the morning is opening his mail box and answer support mails. I wouldn't let yourself get discouraged by it. The v200 is really good, and the v281 surpasses and sets the bar even higher. It's worth it every euro.
