I spent a couple of hours doing some A/B testing with the Taurus vs V281. I know my V281 is fresh out of the box, however a number of forumites have stated that the V281 doesn't change significantly during burn in, so I don't think an early comparison is invalid. Some folks might find these amateur observations interesting.
DISCLAIMER - THESE ARE EARLY IMPRESSIONS OF A FRESH AMP I HAVE SPENT ABOUT 4 HOURS TOTAL WITH. Take all this with suitable caution - I will do more testing and report back in a few weeks. I don't expect my first impressions to change much, but you never know...
As a Preamp:
Setup has the V281 fed from the Vega (via XLR) and the Taurus also from the Vega (via RCA). Both then feed the XLR and RCA inputs on the Accuphase P-4200 power amp. One set of speaker taps is wired up to my HE6 via a HiFiMan adapter box. This adapter box has had all the internal resisters and circuitry removed - it is a 'straight thru' device. I use it as it allows me to plug any headphone into the speaker taps via an XLR socket (but only doing this with the HE6 makes any sense for me - perhaps if I had an Abyss?). When I repeat this testing in the coming weeks I will swap the V281 vs Taurus with the XLR vs RCA connections and see if that makes any difference.
Here's a pic of the setup:
The important thing with this rig is that I can swap the preamp source between the V281 and Taurus almost instantly with the press of an input selector button on the power amp. It takes a fraction of a second to swap over - no changing headphones or unplugging anything. You can also do solo blind testing by not looking at the setting and pressing the button several times so that you lose track of which input is selected. More about that later.
As an aside, this is the rig I used to confirm my suspicions regarding the 430HA. It's lack of dynamics, speed and punch compared to the Taurus becomes rapidly apparent when testing like this. Picking the difference in blind testing between the 430HA and Taurus was comparatively easy.
Some observations on the V281 vs Taurus as preamps driving the HE6 via the P-4200.
- Both amps are excellent pieces of kit. The sound from these amps are far, far, far more alike than different. Only certain parts of certain tracks, using my most revealing headphones (HD800S / HE6) could I tell much difference. That 2% difference, but a very important 2% for my needs (more on that later).
- Detail - plankton aplenty from both. The slightly brighter presentation of the Taurus might give an impression of greater detail, but I think that is more an audio illusion than a real difference. If you like detail, either amp is going to do it for you.
- Soundstage, separation and imaging - slight edge to the V281. It's close. Both are very good. I will do this again later on with the XLR and RCA feeds reversed and see if that changes things.
- Tonality. It would be easy to make too much of this. I keep coming back to the fact that these amps are far more alike than different. Trying to tell these amps apart in blind testing purely on tonality isn't easy. Put a gun to my head and make me commit myself and I would describe the Taurus as slightly on the bright side of neutral and the V281 as slightly on the dark side of neutral. Both are neutral amps to my ears, with each having a slightly different take on what 'neutral' is (if that makes sense to folks).
- Bass / mids / speed / punch... both are excellent. Not going to waste too many words here.
- Treble - now this is the killer issue for me. The Taurus combined with the HD800S / HE6 can get a little too much for my tastes in the top end. After about an hour (or less) I get fatigued and have to quit. Too much sparkle gets distracting and pulls me away from enjoying the music. The V281 renders the treble in a way that I find much more pleasant and natural - it is smoother and loses that aggressive edge that can be there with the Taurus. The treble is still there - this is not treble roll off. The different treble rendition is the only difference in these amps that is significant enough for me to pick the difference in blind testing most of the time (and sometimes I got it wrong).
As a Headamp:
Same rig, but using the XLR output of each headamp to drive the HD800S. I use XLR extension cables so I can easily change headphones and these cables can also be used to solo blind test (face away from the amps and randomly move the connectors around in your hand so you don't know which connector is hooked up to which amp - as long as your XLR extension cables are identical this will work).
All the comments above regarding the differences as preamps apply when using these amps as headamps. Again, it is the treble rendition that makes the critical difference for my needs.
When using this rig to drive the Ether C the differences became essentially irrelevant to me. As good a headphone as the Ether C is, and I like it a lot, it is simply not in the same league as the HD800S or HE6 when it comes to revealing minor differences in the upstream gear. This was after only a brief test of a few tracks - I will spend more time with the Ether C and these 2 amps later on and see if I change my mind.
Driving the HE6: The V281 can do this with authority and strong bass that comes close to what my power amp can do via the speaker taps. The Taurus cannot. Enough said.
My initial thinking was that it might be worth keeping the Taurus alongside the V281 for classical / instrumental. I don't think that idea stands up after the testing above. What is the Taurus going to do that the V281 cannot do at least as well, if not better? Nothing I can think of. Might be selling it soon.
Some questions that folks might want some feedback on:
I am contemplating getting a V281 or a Taurus - which should I buy? To me that is an easy one - if you can afford the (relatively) small price difference, get the V281. Mine has the relay attenuator and the remote. I am lazy slob by nature and I
LIKE having a remote. Note that a remote is not an option on the Taurus. Throw in better treble rendition and slightly better sound staging and I am pushing V281 all the way.
I already have a Taurus, should I upgrade to the V281? Probably not. Your audio dollars might be much better spent elsewhere. The Taurus is a very, very fine amp and there isn't much the V281 will do that the Taurus cannot. Exceptions would be if you are experiencing treble fatigue with the Taurus and/or you want to drive the HE6 close to the limit of its capability with a headamp. I ticked both those boxes and got a V281 and I am happy with my choice.
My closing comment is regarding blind testing. There is no substitute for it. Do it - I promise you will learn more about your gear than you thought you would.
Limited though it may be. 