[ellevoid]

 
IMO there's no arguing about cables, balanced or other.  No, I didn't try the one you used but to me a cable is a cable...a conductor and a connector on both ends. Signal in-->Signal out.  Hook it to a scope and observe.  With interconnects, I tried a couple of el cheapo (but decent) ones and compared them at his place to a couple owned by a friend who freely admits that he makes more money than what's healthy for him and hence he blows thousands on gear such as interconnects that cost  a couple k EUR for a 1 meter pair.  He switched, I listened, then the other way around.  Result after 25 iterations:  no significant difference.  For honesty's sake:  while we were doing this we were also enjoying a bottle of excellent scotch (liquor wise there does seem to be a positive correlation between price and quality).  This was with my HD-800, I don't recall the amp used at the time but the dac was an MSB diamond dac, the music a high resolution version of Beethoven's Kreutzer sonata.  Some people believe cables make a difference, I don't* and haven't ever seen a technical explanation as to why they should differ so let's leave it at that.  Nothing personal but I wasn't really impressed with the review and again, nothing personal and the following is not aimed at you per se so don't take it wrong but I have a hard time believing that any site that derives a portion of its income from sponsoring or advertising can afford to post negative reviews of gear.  To name one:  on 6moons I sometimes read stuff that is beyond fanciful.  I do, however, agree with your assessment of the USB module that Violectric uses.
 
*For signals in the audible frequency domain.

You said no arguing about cables but your wrote a lot arguing about cables. LOL

 

[Xenophon]

 
You said no arguing about cables but your wrote a lot arguing about cables. LOL

What I say is that they don't make one whit of a difference in objective terms.  But I don't want to write more about my opinion here because these discussions degrade in pointless deaf-man arguments.  If you think you can 'prove' that they make a difference, go to the sound science forum and post there, see what happens.

 

[Tony1110]

Cable debates kick off once every five pages or so on pretty much every thread. I like cables, but there's no way I'd pay the money Nordost are asking for their Heimdall headphone cable.

 

[plakat]

@Frank I I don't doubt that the review was honest. Tyll once mentioned he does no negative reviews but decides to keep quiet in cases where he does not like a product but does not see it as some kind of "threat to the average consumer". After all many things are a matter of taste to a certain degree, so what does not please me may well be what another person is actually looking for.
 
It may be easier to write a scathing review of something and have folks enjoy their schadenfreude than to keep something honestly positive. It may be a good idea to disclose any ties (i.e. if a manufacturer/distributor is a site sponsor or something, how the gear came to review etc.) and be positively critical in those cases also. But I don't think anything of this kind was the problem, I just did not get into the review as such (maybe I could not relate to the selection of music or ... I don't know). Not because I considered it overly positive -- I do like my V281 very much, so I think others might as well.
 
I think we all agree that the digital inputs are OK (especially given their price) but not the best available and therefore a more potent DAC is obviously a good idea: the amp itself is capable of more.
 
To me cables are not interesting if a basic quality level is ensured, so instead of mentioning a specific cable the fact that the HD800 was driven balanced would have sufficed for me. I'm more with @Xenophon on that, but I don't care too much as long as cables don't get into the center of a review.
 
Btw.: a minor glitch regarding the inputs: one set of XLR inputs, one set of RCA inputs, one set of XLR outputs, one set of RCA outputs, all located on the back of the device.
 
Anyway -- many thanks for your effort, and headphone.guru as a whole. Much appreciated.

 

[Frank I]

  @Frank I I don't doubt that the review was honest. http://headphone.guru/violectric-hpa-v281-balanced-headphone-amp-dac/ may be a good idea to disclose any ties (i.e. if a manufacturer/distributor is a site sponsor or something, how the gear came to review etc.) and be positively critical in those cases also. But I don't think anything of this kind was the problem, I just did not get into the review as such (maybe I could not relate to the selection of music or ... I don't know). Not because I considered it overly positive -- I do like my V281 very much, so I think others might as well.
 
I think we all agree that the digital inputs are OK (especially given their price) but not the best available and therefore a more potent DAC is obviously a good idea: the amp itself is capable of more.
 
To me cables are not interesting if a basic quality level is ensured, so instead of mentioning a specific cable the fact that the HD800 was driven balanced would have sufficed for me 

The review was positive because it was a great amp. I have reviewed items and done reviews in the past that were honest and many considered were negative including the Ibasso DX50 and Audio GD NFB6 in the past. I also had some critical comments regarding the dac in this unit and also on other headphones in past reviews done. That being said we do Honest reviews and sometimes that does include what is not right with certain products. Instead of having readers guess or ask which cable was used with the review it makes sense in mentioning what product was and while you may not make a difference to one reader if not mentioned, another reader may  like to know what balanced cable was used. The cable debate for many is endless and frankly the review was on the amp with the Nordost balancedcable being used on the hd800.Really all subjective with this stuff anyway. Appreciate your comments . 

 

[Drewligarchy]

Does anyone have an issue with the Violectric V281 and static electricity? I am having issues - but only with my LCD XC both balanced and unbalanced. The V281 doesn't cause any issues with any of my other headphones, either balanced or unbalanced, just the XC. While it's Winter now, and there is an increase in static electricity, sometime it can get bad enough to trip the v281 relay and shut off the amps output for 5-10 seconds.
 
Usually it's a minor annoyance but want to ensure I am not in danger of damaging the XC or the v281.

 

[Frank I]

I dont have the V281` here anymore but use the xc with another amp and not noticing any static with the xc. The sometimes has a  static charge.  You may want to shoot Fried an email to ask that question.I would think though it probably an issue with the XC

 

[Frank I]

 

http://www.head-fi.org/products/violectric-hpa-v281/reviews/12368
 
 
 
Check out the detailed review I posted in the review section

 

[Ultrainferno]

  Does anyone have an issue with the Violectric V281 and static electricity? I am having issues - but only with my LCD XC both balanced and unbalanced. The V281 doesn't cause any issues with any of my other headphones, either balanced or unbalanced, just the XC. While it's Winter now, and there is an increase in static electricity, sometime it can get bad enough to trip the v281 relay and shut off the amps output for 5-10 seconds.
 
Usually it's a minor annoyance but want to ensure I am not in danger of damaging the XC or the v281.

 
It's my most used combination and I haven't noticed anything at all. I would contact Vio if I were you

 

[mulder01]

Dunno how it could even build up a charge if it's earthed - maybe the chassis isn't earthed properly?  Are you using it with a travel adapter without the earth pin maybe?

 

[Xenophon]

  Dunno how it could even build up a charge if it's earthed - maybe the chassis isn't earthed properly?  Are you using it with a travel adapter without the earth pin maybe?

Or the ground lift was used to tackle some noise issue (I assume it's basically the same configuration as for the V200, didn't check).  But even then I don't easily see how static electricity could trigger the protection relay.   Anyway, it needs looking into.

 

[BeyerMonster]

  Does anyone have an issue with the Violectric V281 and static electricity? I am having issues - but only with my LCD XC both balanced and unbalanced.

Don't have a V281, but I've been using my XC's quite a bit lately with a Schitt Magni/Modi at work and I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary, so I don't think there's any inherent issue with the XC design and static electricity.

 

[warrenpchi]

 

There's a new V281 review on Headphone Guru if anyone's interested. It's very positive.

Well, when was the last time you read a negative review about anything on one of those sites?

 
http://headphone.guru/the-violectric-hpa-v220/
 
Though, personally, I would classify it as fair rather than negative - but I think you'd agree that I've been critical where I felt it was warranted.  

 

[Tony1110]

http://headphone.guru/the-violectric-hpa-v220/

Though, personally, I would classify it as fair rather than negative - but I think you'd agree that I've been critical where I felt it was warranted.  

That is a fair and balanced review. I took delivery of a single ended cable for my Alpha Prime headphones yesterday and have spent the last few hours comparing the SE and balanced outputs. Quite frankly, there is no comparison. I agree with you that the sound is smaller and more intimate and the 'out of head' sensation you get using the balanced out has pretty much vanished. The treble is indeed significantly rolled off (and you definitely can't say that about the balanced mode). So with these headphones there is only one way to go. The beauty of the V281 however is that it's essentially two amps in one. Ultrainferno said he preferred the SE output with his HE-560 because of the more intimate full-bodied sound you get. I can see others feeling the same about the HD800 l, T1 etc.

 

[Xenophon]

   
http://headphone.guru/the-violectric-hpa-v220/
 
Though, personally, I would classify it as fair rather than negative - but I think you'd agree that I've been critical where I felt it was warranted.  

Warren, just read your review and I have no problem acknowledging that this is what imo a review should read like in terms of information offered, strong/weak points etc.  Congratulations!  I still maintain my viewpoint on the V281 review that was published but I have no problem acknowledging that yes, the one about the V220 was thoughtful, critical and balanced.  It also more or less conforms to my opinion of the V200 that I own:  for me it's a bit too warm and not detailed enough (for my taste even with cans like the HD-800).  I'd like to try one just for kicks with my HE-6 to see what the extra juice does; the sound with the V200 is good but when I hook it up to a speaker amp it becomes clear what a couple extra W can do.
 
Personally I never had issues with the jumpers (perhaps because I'm part German) and I abhor remotes and have no use for 2 headphone outs but that's a matter of taste.  For the price though I wouldn't get the 220, nor for that matter the V281 I guess (barring a sonic miracle and quicker/more detailed sound signature).  At the price point and if you actually own cans that benefit from the extra power, imo there are other options on the market.