[Pharmaboy]

Personally, when I sent my v281 in to get the remote volume control, I asked for the normal smooth volume control, because it never occurred to me that a simple volume control could make a difference in sq. Now that I have learnt my lesson and know better, I would like to have the superior volume control, but I am feeling foolish to do a "double dipping" on the volume control, since I can neither sell the older remote/control nor trade it in to get the better one at a reduced cost...

So either way, I am feeling foolish and, worse, trying to console myself sometimes that I am not losing much SQ by using the standard non-relay remote/volume control, but who am I kidding? This labor of self-consolation is not working! The bottomline is I do love the V281, and I hate to think that I might be keeping it from performing to the best of its abilities by using a substandard remote volume control... So what is there to do? This situation just sucks!

So your options are to do nothing and feel a nagging doubt that your V281 could be even better than it is; or spend nearly $600 to upgrade the V281 to the best volume pot, then be stuck with the non-stepped pot you already upgraded to? Yes, that's a difficult spot.

2 thoughts:

• If you ask Violectric USA, you might get a credit of some kind for the non-stepped volume pot (a kind of trade-in against the new one). No idea if that's possible, but it never hurts to ask...
• And after looking at your equipment list, I'm struck by the evident quality of some of your gear, sources, amps, and headphones. That tells me that you would almost certainly hear & appreciate the upgrade the stepped pot represents for the V281.

It might just be worth the $$ to push your V281 to the next level...

 

[rgs9200m]

Will the line outs send any signal if the amp is switched off? Thanks. (I only ask because some amps do this, like my current one. Just curious.)

 

[Pharmaboy]

Will the line outs send any signal if the amp is switched off? Thanks. (I only ask because some amps do this, like my current one. Just curious.)

My V281's line outs definitely don't pass signal if the amp is switched off:

• Listening right now to headphones & speakers/sub at the same time
• Just shut off the amp, and all sound vanished (didn't touch the on/off buttons of anything else, just the V281)

 

[Mediahound]

Will the line outs send any signal if the amp is switched off? Thanks. (I only ask because some amps do this, like my current one. Just curious.)

My V281's line outs definitely don't pass signal if the amp is switched off:

• Listening right now to headphones & speakers/sub at the same time
• Just shut off the amp, and all sound vanished (didn't touch the on/off buttons of anything else, just the V281)

Right. It does not have line out pass thru.

 

[rgs9200m]

Thx again for the quick answer!

 

[sahmen]

2 thoughts:

• If you ask Violectric USA, you might get a credit of some kind for the non-stepped volume pot (a kind of trade-in against the new one). No idea if that's possible, but it never hurts to ask...
• And after looking at your equipment list, I'm struck by the evident quality of some of your gear, sources, amps, and headphones. That tells me that you would almost certainly hear & appreciate the upgrade the stepped pot represents for the V281.

It might just be worth the $$ to push your V281 to the next level...

Yes I would ideally like to optimize the performance of the unit, as I consider that to be worth it for peace of mind. However, I have already inquired about the possibility of the type of trade-in you have mentioned. It is the very first thing I did after learning about the sq difference the relay volume/remote can make. Unfortunately, Arthur explained to me, in his usual nice and calm style, that such a trade-up arrangement was not possible. Otherwise I would have done the upgrade a long time ago.

I might still wind up doing it at some point in the near future. I just have to convince myself to pay the nearly $600 upgrade fee, and accept the loss of the original non-stepped upgrade payment. I do not know why that is proving to be so difficult.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Yes Arthur at Violectric USA is the one that would do the upgrade for you. Excellent to work with. He gave me the instructions on the upgrade when I did my V281.

@Mediahound: @ArthurPower is the man.

 

[rgs9200m]

Yep, Arthur is great to work with and generous with his time. I've never dealt with Violectric before but they seem like a great company and easy to deal with.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Arthur has been great to work with. He really helped me last time I dealt with him. Also was able to meet & talk w/him a bit at CanJam NYC. I've been obsessing a little over one of the Violectric products, and there it was...

 

[andromeda1954]

Yes I would ideally like to optimize the performance of the unit, as I consider that to be worth it for peace of mind. However, I have already inquired about the possibility of the type of trade-in you have mentioned. It is the very first thing I did after learning about the sq difference the relay volume/remote can make. Unfortunately, Arthur explained to me, in his usual nice and calm style, that such a trade-up arrangement was not possible. Otherwise I would have done the upgrade a long time ago.

I might still wind up doing it at some point in the near future. I just have to convince myself to pay the nearly $600 upgrade fee, and accept the loss of the original non-stepped upgrade payment. I do not know why that is proving to be so difficult.

The difference in sound quality between the stepped and the non stepped volume control is minimal and barely noticeable and in a blind test you will probably hear no difference .I had both the non stepped and stepped v281 for 10 days and decided to keep the non stepped .I followed the advice of my dealer to put the extra money into better cableling the v281 (better power cord and interlinks ) which will have a far better audible result unless you are in the need of a remote control of course.

 

[sahmen]

The difference in sound quality between the stepped and the non stepped volume control is minimal and barely noticeable and in a blind test you will probably hear no difference .I had both the non stepped and stepped v281 for 10 days and decided to keep the non stepped .I followed the advice of my dealer to put the extra money into better cableling the v281 (better power cord and interlinks ) which will have a far better audible result unless you are in the need of a remote control of course.

This is certainly nice and comforting to hear, not to mention very calming for my wallet, and the "upgraditis nervosa" that occasionally haunts and perturbs my enjoyment of the fine V281. Strangely, when I inquired about the upgrade, Arthur at Violectric gave a description of the sq difference between stepped and non-stepped volume control that resembles the one you have just provided, and that made me less anxious about swapping my non-stepped for the stepped volume control... However, occasionally, I read someone else's interpretation of that same sq difference here on head-fi, and then it gets my "upgraditis nervosa" all inflamed again.

Having experienced this head-fi forum for more than 4 years now, I should be able recognize such variable assessments as normal, and not allow it to trouble me, but I guess it is my own unsatisfied curiosity regarding how the stepped volume control actually sounds, that gets the better of me sometimes...

FWIW, my non-stepped remote/volume control is still firing on all cylinders, although it does not get to see much action since I do not typically need to mess with the volume or balance controls on the V281 all that often.

 

[Youry]

New owner here and love it so far.
Question: how does the balance knob work? I mean, I know it would compensate between the left and the right side in case the sound is not balanced but mine doesn't do a thing. I'm running balanced and single ended cable headphones. Is there something I am missing? Does it work under certain circumstances?

 

[project86]

This is certainly nice and comforting to hear, not to mention very calming for my wallet, and the "upgraditis nervosa" that occasionally haunts and perturbs my enjoyment of the fine V281. Strangely, when I inquired about the upgrade, Arthur at Violectric gave a description of the sq difference between stepped and non-stepped volume control that resembles the one you have just provided, and that made me less anxious about swapping my non-stepped for the stepped volume control... However, occasionally, I read someone else's interpretation of that same sq difference here on head-fi, and then it gets my "upgraditis nervosa" all inflamed again.

Having experienced this head-fi forum for more than 4 years now, I should be able recognize such variable assessments as normal, and not allow it to trouble me, but I guess it is my own unsatisfied curiosity regarding how the stepped volume control actually sounds, that gets the better of me sometimes...

FWIW, my non-stepped remote/volume control is still firing on all cylinders, although it does not get to see much action since I do not typically need to mess with the volume or balance controls on the V281 all that often.

Don't worry too much about it. I had one of each version here together for quite some time, and the difference is not massive by any means.

When I'm in full "reviewer mode" and listening to a Reference Recordings SACD release via my ModWright Instruments Oppo 205, using the V281 to drive a modded HD800, with fancy cables and power conditioning throughout the chain.... then yes, the volume upgrade is worth it to me. When I'm just listening for fun, with less than perfect music or DAC or headphones etc, it's probably not worth the extra money.

Really a matter of perspective as to whether or not the money would be better spent elsewhere but I can tell you this - the V281 with standard volume still sounds excellent. So no need to worry about it.

 

[Pharmaboy]

New owner here and love it so far.
Question: how does the balance knob work? I mean, I know it would compensate between the left and the right side in case the sound is not balanced but mine doesn't do a thing. I'm running balanced and single ended cable headphones. Is there something I am missing? Does it work under certain circumstances?

I just checked the usually dependable V281 manual. No real answer there.

FYI, the V281's balance adjustment is unusual--it raises or lowers the level of only the right channel. Weird, but it totally works. On the other hand, you say you get no effect from it, and that's something I can't explain. The +/- adjustment is not huge, but it still should be audible...

 

[Mediahound]

I owned the Hugo2 and V281 at one point. The gain stage in the Hugo 2 is not a separate discrete module that can be bypassed but is integral by intent. So in essence you are double amplifying the signal when you pair it with an external amp. The H2 sounds cleanest when used without additional amplification. Having said that, if you like what you hear from the H2 and the V281, that's all matters and enjoy the music

Not quite a true statement. The H2 has a line-out mode that can be set. Setting it to this mode, it then outputs the same line level as any DAC does. Chord achieves this via their super well-engineered digital volume control.

While technically true that listening directly out of the H2 will by nature always be closer to the source (the DAC) and therefore cleaner, if you have an external amp like the V281 that you like, there is no harm in using it. In fact, the v281 can provide a much better damping factor and therefore can sound more engaging with many if not most headphones (especially hard to drive ones and running them balanced) than the H2 direct output, which maxes out at around just 1w max.