[ROMEROTECH]

I am afraid it will be the same, Violectric uses a very strange reed relay in its amps.

What is strange about it? Does this affect all V550 Pro? Do they not use the same pot in the Nimbus? Is that affected as well.

 

[vonBaron]

IDK, only heard V590 Pro and it have way more noise than my Niimbus. Maybe Niimbus have better qualtiy relay or better implementation.

 

[ROMEROTECH]

IDK, only heard V590 Pro and it have way more noise than my Niimbus. Maybe Niimbus have better qualtiy relay or better implementation.

For me currently the only let down is this volume pot, the rest of the amp is brilliant but the pot is a major part of this amp and therefore has a big baring on the whole thing. I sincerely hope the pot in my new unit isn't any noisier than my dealers amp and doesn't get any worse over time. I can live with that no worries but any worse and it's goodbye Violectric.

What do i replace it with? Has to be true balanced in and out, got to have a preout, and remote control operation. Not fussed any more about a reed relay volume pot, £2500 - £3500+. Any suggestions?

 

[vonBaron]

V550 is not fully balanced.
Maybe GS-X mini or used Niimbus US4.

 

[ROMEROTECH]

V550 is not fully balanced.
Maybe GS-X mini or used Niimbus US4.

V550 is fully balanced, that's one of the reasons i purchased it.

ETA: I've just checked the user manual, it is indeed balanced in and balanced out. There are unbalanced RCA/Single ended in/out as well but it's the balanced operation of the amp i went for.

 

[Ichos]

V550 has four discrete amplifiers, one for each phase but I don't know if it is fully balanced.
Older V280 and V281 used to convert balanced input to single ended and then again to balanced.
That was the working principle as explained by Mr. Reihm.

Regarding the pot, I have used the review unit for more than a couple of months without any issues and it was dead silent.

 

[Alien HP]

V550 is not fully balanced.
Maybe GS-X mini or used Niimbus US4.

V550 has four discrete amplifiers, one for each phase but I don't know if it is fully balanced.
Older V280 and V281 used to convert balanced input to single ended and then again to balanced.
That was the working principle as explained by Mr. Reihm.

Regarding the pot, I have used the review unit for more than a couple of months without any issues and it was dead silent.

Is the V550 Pro fully balanced? I thought the only difference between the Pro and non Pro was the volume control.

 

[Alien HP]

By not fully balanced, are you referring to this section of the manual?

SIGNAL PROCESSING

Inside your VIOLECTRIC HPA V550 the signal is always unbalanced. This is no disadvantage as the so called “fully balanced” signal processing often generates more issues that solving them. It is not possible to preserve a reasonable symmetrical integrity of a signal inside a complex apparatus like HPA V550. Further, only the unbalanced signal processing is capable to use the device also as a converter between unbalanced and balanced signals.

It sounds like it's not a bad thing. Am I wrong?

 

[vonBaron]

No, its same as in my Niimbus.

 

[ROMEROTECH]

V550 has four discrete amplifiers, one for each phase but I don't know if it is fully balanced.
Older V280 and V281 used to convert balanced input to single ended and then again to balanced.
That was the working principle as explained by Mr. Reihm.

Regarding the pot, I have used the review unit for more than a couple of months without any issues and it was dead silent.

I've had a really good 2nd delve into the user manual and it does actually explain that the signal being processed is actually unbalanced regardless of the fact they state their amps are true balanced and you have balanced signals in and out. They state keeping a balanced signal for processing brings a lot of it's own issues so that's why signal processing is unbalanced. OK that's fair enough but they do call their amplifiers true/real balanced.

So, i have to apologise to the chap that stated the Vio isn't in fact true balanced and technically he was absolutely correct. He did mention the Nimbus is though and i wonder why? Is that where Vio spent the money making the Nimbus true balanced and the volume pot better designed/implemented?

It's very misleading when going through the manual and they state real balanced and true balanced amps yet there is a very small paragraph stating the signal being processed isn't balanced.

Thanks for the comment about the volume pot on your demo amp being very quiet, i can't say the same about my dealers amp and certainly not mine. I wonder if my dealer has a batch of suspect amps. The fact my original amp came back from repairs with the same issue after a few hours of use means they didn't fix it or some of these pots or the electronics controlling them are suspect.

Delivery has been delayed untill tomorrow so i'll report back when it's here.

ETA: Just read other replies, i can't say if it's a good or bad thing about the signal processing, are there amps that actually are true balanced right through.

VonBaron... I thought you said the Nimbus is balanced right through, my apologies again that i've misread, i must find my reading glasses!

 

[vonBaron]

Well before Niimbus i have "full balanced" Pro ICan and GS-X, never look back

 

[Fegefeuer]

Th reed relais is the same

V590v1 and US4+ here, no problems with the reed relais since 2+ years. Hope you get the same experience.

V590 is balanced in the sense the US4+ is. For true balanced you would need every component twice, think monoblocks, just a bit more interwoven. I don't know who does. Would double the footprint and price increase would be significant.

Just a waste of resources.

 

[Ichos]

By not fully balanced, are you referring to this section of the manual?


It sounds like it's not a bad thing. Am I wrong?

Yes I am referring to this section of the manual and I would trust that Fried know what is he doing.
After all it sounds great and this is what it matters in the end.

 

[Alien HP]

Th reed relais is the same

V590v1 and US4+ here, no problems with the reed relais since 2+ years. Hope you get the same experience.

V590 is balanced in the sense the US4+ is. For true balanced you would need every component twice, think monoblocks, just a bit more interwoven. I don't know who does. Would double the footprint and price increase would be significant.

Just a waste of resources.

Well before Niimbus i have "full balanced" Pro ICan and GS-X, never look back

So then how likely is it that the ifi Pro iCan is "fully" balanced? Is it then as balanced as the V550?

 

[thecrow]

as I understand it
violectric and niimbus amps are not fully balanced in the true sense of the word.

balanced signal comes in. It is converted to signal (which helps reduce noise) and then the signal is amplified. And then converted to balance if you are using a balanced output hp cable.

i think there is sometimes a misunderstanding out there of what a balanced amp brings.

And lake people do what they do for a reason as they express in their manuals/user guides

imho, my 2c