Did you try the Qutest on 2v as well? I’ve done some tests with it and found out this was the best, a bit less ‘forced’. Gain was somewhere in the middle.
Y ou have some nice headphones to try.
Good luck and have lotsvof fun!
I had the Qutest on 2V to start and then switched it to 3V, I can't say I noticed an appreciable difference other than the volume but I'll check it out some more later. I like the higher voltage to narrow the volume difference between RCA and XLR when switching between the Qutest & D70.
I've now settled on -12dB pre-gain on the amp as it creates a near perfect volume range for my headphone collection - between 10 o'clock 3 o'clock for most listening.
Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere, but is there a difference between the final edition and the 281s before it, other than cosmetics and the inclusion of a DAC?
Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere, but is there a difference between the final edition and the 281s before it, other than cosmetics and the inclusion of a DAC?
No published difference apart from those you mentioned.....same specs everywhere else.
I had no intention of buying the Final Edition but my retailer had it on sale at AU $500 less than the standard model without DAC, so I purchased the FE purely as a money saving exercise.
Does anyone know any details of the DAC used in the Final Edition ie. chip used etc? I found some scattered info that suggests it might be the Burr Brown PCM1798?
No published difference apart from those you mentioned.....same specs everywhere else.
I had no intention of buying the Final Edition but my retailer had it on sale at AU $500 less than the standard model without DAC, so I purchased the FE purely as a money saving exercise.
It may have been purely a money saving exercise, but you scored one of the really excellent headphone amp/preamps around. There are any number of people jonesing for this recently discontinued model and wishing they were in your shoes.
The V281 is my favorite HP amp & preamp by a country mile (I have 5 or 6 others, and have bought & sold 3-4 others).
Does anyone know any details of the DAC used in the Final Edition ie. chip used etc? I found some scattered info that suggests it might be the Burr Brown PCM1798?
I finally tried the USB DAC in my Final Edition, with NAS content via my iMac and using Audirvana 3.5 as the player.
The first thing I did was feed it 24/192 content to see if if it was the 24/192 module and not the 24/96.....and it is in fact 24/192. I listened to a few more well known tracks using my Supra USB cable. It was not great - a little edgy and lacking definition as well as a reduced soundstage compared to the Qutest (which is very good in this particular aspect). I then inserted the best 12 Euros I've ever spent, a USB adapter cable that takes external 5V power and blocks the power from the computer:
With 5V power coming from an LPS, the internal DAC sounded much better. The bass was better defined, deeper & impactful and the slight edginess was gone, overall it was a smoother presentation. It is probably a safe bet to assume that the internal DAC in the V281 does not have galvanic isolation.
So with the external 5V power it's a very decent DAC, it reminds me a bit of the AKM DACs I have with that touch of warm mid bass bloom, especially compared to the Qutest.
With just under 160 hours listening with the Holo Spring 3 feeding signal into the V281, I can say IMO these 2 pieces work nicely with each other. I did adjust the input gain to -6db on the 281 to account for the higher output voltage of the Spring. The system sounds good and the DAC isn't even fully run in yet so I expect it will continue to improve. It's not too warm or overly smoothed and I've no sense of exaggerated or unnatural staging. I was enamoured with Soekris/281 pair up but the Holo takes it next level.
At this point I am now wondering to myself what the heck would I even look at as an upgrade from the V281?
With just under 160 hours listening with the Holo Spring 3 feeding signal into the V281, I can say IMO these 2 pieces work nicely with each other. I did adjust the input gain to -6db on the 281 to account for the higher output voltage of the Spring. The system sounds good and the DAC isn't even fully run in yet so I expect it will continue to improve. It's not too warm or overly smoothed and I've no sense of exaggerated or unnatural staging. I was enamoured with Soekris/281 pair up but the Holo takes it next level.
At this point I am now wondering to myself what the heck would I even look at as an upgrade to the V281?
I just saw that Violectric is releasing the 340 and 380, the latter has a DAC. Seems that is the direction Vio is going as the 550 is sans DAC while the 590 has one. The 340/80 look to be based on the 550 but with less power (I'm simplifying). They note '8db less noise than the 281' in the specs so that's something. This is good news and fills a nice slot in the lineup. Exciting Vio is releasing some new and improved gear.
The Violectric vast product range of headphone amps is getting even bigger, frankly that is a bad move from marketing point of view and even more confusing than 6 months ago when I dropped the idea of getting one because I couldn't decide on which one - and got a pass labs instead! They only have one model since the launch in 2015, but it's a well sorted flagship item. I think I'm done with amps for the next decade!
the violectric vast product range of headphone amps is confusing. i considered one but couldnt decide on which one, so i bought a pass labs - they only have one model since the launch in 2015, a well sorted flagship amp, and I think I'm done with amps for the next decade!
I'm not sure about going balanced, certainly not for increased power as both my amps are single ended and have more power than what is needed for the lcd-x and hd800s. And going balanced for noise rejection is bollocks in my opinion. The remaining reason is perhaps reduced cross talk but - I used to have a Headamp amp with x-feed function (gimmick if you ask me) and from that perspective I'm, not worried about cross talk much. A simplicity of a single ended class A is the sweet spot for me, long term. Don't get me wrong though, I am a fan of Violectric and their V-200 was my end game amp for good 6 years.
I'm not sure about going balanced, certainly not for increased power as both my amps are single ended and have more power than what is needed for the lcd-x and hd800s. And going balanced for noise rejection is bollocks in my opinion. The remaining reason is perhaps reduced cross talk but - I used to have a Headamp amp with x-feed function (gimmick if you ask me) and from that perspective I'm, not worried about cross talk much. A simplicity of a single ended class A is the sweet spot for me, long term. Don't get me wrong though, I am a fan of Violectric and their V-200 was my end game amp for good 6 years.
I believe the V281 is only balanced at its output stage. A balanced input is converted to SE for amplification and then converted back to balanced for output?
I believe the V281 is only balanced at its output stage. A balanced input is converted to SE for amplification and then converted back to balanced for output?
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