[Pharmaboy]

when i owned my 281 i was able to listen at -12 balanced with the abyss 1266 phi and even the susvara

This is all about system gain. I use my V281 both for headphones & as a system preamp.

• If the component upstream of the V281 (ie, a DAC) has high gain--or components downstream want higher gain (ie, planar headphone like the Ori; inefficient amp for speakers)--the best tactic is to dial in gain as needed for system gain-matching
• The V281 has separate dip-switchs for headphone out vs line out. IMS the ideal setting is -12 dB for both. But if I need to have one output higher or lower, I can easily make it happen

Add in the separate muting for headphone out vs line out, and you see just how flexible the V281 is...

 

[S Crowther]

Agreed, I'll prob play around a bit. Briefly doing so yesterday, I felt that unity gain (no pre gain) seemed a tad more transparent? What did you find that noticeably changed?

Higher voltages seemed to me to produce a brighter edgier sound and the lower ones a duller smoother sound. I noticed also that the change was more noticeable with my Chord TT DAC than with my Terminator DAC. Not sure why or whether that was just illusion.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I use -12 dB on both the line outs & headphone outs. It gives me optimal gain matching in my rather complicated desktop system.

I don't know of any other amp/preamp that offers this much gain matching control & flexibility. Hard to imagine ever doing w/o the V281, not just sonically (wonderful sound), but also operationally.

 

[Pharmaboy]

From Buzzlulu : Who is carrying the 281 these days with a return policy? I know Arthur is no longer the distributor



Just to let members of this thread know, Arthur is once again the sales representative/ distributor for Violectric USA. I spoke with him on the phone about a sales matter & I brought up the subject. Arthur told me he was reinstated as the sales representative. So if anyone needs to contact Violectric USA for any reason, Arthur's your man, again.

Glad to hear this! Arthur is a very solid audio citizen, quite helpful in the 2-3 contacts I've had with him.

 

[Luckbad]

Has anyone used both the V281 and SPL Phonitor X/XE/2?

I'm after a transparent solid state headphone amp/preamp. I was originally hoping to trade my ECP L-2 for the SPL Phonitor X but the V281 seems to be a contender.

Does anyone know if the Violetric also works well with IEMs? I need zero background noise/hiss and reasonable play in the volume knob (for normally sensitive earphones, not Andromedas).

 

[tholt]

Has anyone used both the V281 and SPL Phonitor X/XE/2

Interested in this too. I liked the 281 but it was a little warm and laid back for my tastes. Looking at something like the SPL X or XE for a little more drive and bite...without being harsh?

 

[RobertSM]

@Luckbad, I own both the SPL Phonitor X & V281.

The Phonitor X is a a very very good HP amp. It's extremely powerful and to my ears very linear in sound. If I was only going to listen to chamber and orchestra music then this would be the way I would go.

V281, leans in the direction of a slightly warmer signature to my ears. I use it everyday and it is always up for the job, regardless of what music style I throw at it. I love it so much that I have added studio monitors to it and use it as the center piece of my two channel system. V281 has a very musical presentation that I am always in the mood for.

 

[Luckbad]

Thanks, @RobertSM! That's good to hear. I'd probably like both, then. I actually prefer my ECP Audio L-2 to the SPL Phonitor XE with Sennheiser HD650s because of the slight musicality. Hmm...

 

[tholt]

@RobertSM , would you character the Phonitor X as a fast sounding amp? I need something with good PRaT and bass extension. I listen to a lot of electronica. The 281 was good, but not the best amp for that IMO. or was a tad too warm and slow for that genre.

 

[Fegefeuer]

How is the V281 too slow?

What headphones are you using and how do you define "slow" in the context? I listen to a lot of electronic music myself and slow is not something I'd attest this amp, quite the contrary, if at all. I don't notice the blurring or smearing of textures and detail/transients etc.. It's always, sharp, focussed, separated, especially for grand orchestra, ensembles etc.

For some people the V281 can even be a bit overly sharp.
Slow is when I have the JAR 650 on my head after having listened to a good session of acoustic music and decide to fire up electronic music and notice: yeah, this is the wrong headphone, the bass part is simply overwhelmed even though the HD650 can slam pretty well (kickbass).
Time for the HD800 or TH-900!

I don't get these warm impressions either. The V200 is noticably warm, that's its universal impression, the V281 isn't at all in comparison. It's definitely not a warm amp per se, in fact if you compare it with the Niimbus US4+ it's more zippy, unrestrained and the US4+ isn't a generally warm amp. It just renders the treble the most natural of any SS amp I ever heard. However I have been reading people calling that amp rolled off so there is definitely a subjective part in it.

What generelly stands out for the V281 is its liveliness, speed, driver control, slam, the total absence of a dead presentation (this is the worst). The only other amp in the price range I'd ever consider would be the BW2. That amp gets the romanticism the best.

 

[S Crowther]

How is the V281 too slow?

What headphones are you using and how do you define "slow" in the context? I listen to a lot of electronic music myself and slow is not something I'd attest this amp, quite the contrary, if at all. I don't notice the blurring or smearing of textures and detail/transients etc.. It's always, sharp, focussed, separated, especially for grand orchestra, ensembles etc.

For some people the V281 can even be a bit overly sharp.
Slow is when I have the JAR 650 on my head after having listened to a good session of acoustic music and decide to fire up electronic music and notice: yeah, this is the wrong headphone, the bass part is simply overwhelmed even though the HD650 can slam pretty well (kickbass).
Time for the HD800 or TH-900!

I don't get these warm impressions either. The V200 is noticably warm, that's its universal impression, the V281 isn't at all in comparison. It's definitely not a warm amp per se, in fact if you compare it with the Niimbus US4+ it's more zippy, unrestrained and the US4+ isn't a generally warm amp. It just renders the treble the most natural of any SS amp I ever heard. However I have been reading people calling that amp rolled off so there is definitely a subjective part in it.

What generelly stands out for the V281 is its liveliness, speed, driver control, slam, the total absence of a dead presentation (this is the worst). The only other amp in the price range I'd ever consider would be the BW2. That amp gets the romanticism the best.

I have had this amp for a couple of years now and to my ears it is on the warm side of neutral.
Which is to say nothing much at all: it all depends on the other parts of your system and the biggest variable in any system is your ears; not just the physical ear drums etc. but how your brain interprets the signals it is getting getting from the nerve endings. Just like everyone sees the same colour just slightly differently.

 

[Ichos]

I have the V280 which is the same amp section as V281.
From the balanced output this is a lighting fast amp and neutral and natural.
It's not a warm amp but it's an amp with treble done right.
There is no roll off or coloration it's just that the treble does not exhibit any ringing or other artifacts.
When compared with other amps that have treble done wrong this may sound warm.
But it isn't , it is just done right.

 

[S Crowther]

I have the V280 which is the same amp section as V281.
From the balanced output this is a lighting fast amp and neutral and natural.
It's not a warm amp but it's an amp with treble done right.
There is no roll off or coloration it's just that the treble does not exhibit any ringing or other artifacts.
When compared with other amps that have treble done wrong this may sound warm.
But it isn't , it is just done right.

To me it is not the treble but the mids sound just a little honeyed. That is no problem for me: I have put the 821 aside in favour of XDduoo TA-20, a hybrid headphone amp that is definitely warm!

 

[Ichos]

As always frequency response doesn't show the whole truth but we can see that the amp is dead flat
More info at https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/amp/violectric-hpa-v281-balance.php#rw9

 

[zhgutov]

To me it is not the treble but the mids sound just a little honeyed. That is no problem for me: I have put the 821 aside in favour of XDduoo TA-20, a hybrid headphone amp that is definitely warm!

This is probably caused by source / DAC, or even the connection / setup details.
This amp "shows" the source very well.