A comparison between both (and also the sinergy with your current headphones) would be appreciated. Enjoy a lot your new AMP
V550 compared to the V281? Tough one, as I hold the V281 in high regard. Also, I should state I am not a reviewer, only an enthusiast. I’m not an eloquent writer, and I do not have a vast treasure chest of experience. What I do have is a passion for music, gear that reproduces music, and a willingness to share what I can in hopes that others may find some value.
I am really enjoying the V550 it is a fantastic amplifier and is a keeper. I really want to say one is not better than the other, but rather that they are just different. Though, deep down I think the V550 may be better for me because of its improved technical abilities. What I’ve noticed with the 550 is:
- Blacker background than the v281, which I considered already as having very a black background, one of the things that blew me away when I first heard the v281 compared to other amps I had heard.
- More transparent; This for me is related to the blacker background highlighted above and was another aspect which knocked my socks off when hearing the V281 for the first time, but the V550 is even cleaner, clearer allowing me to hear more individual components and detail in the music.
- Better with Macro/Micro dynamics. Instruments, vocals, ambient, all sounds in the recording space appear more apparent and recognizable, no matter their stage position.
- Texture; I’m picking up more texture through the entire frequency range, where with the v281 it was more perception of textures, less definitive.
For the bullets above alone, after hearing both, if I was forced to pick only one - I would personally choose V550. However, If I did not have either amp, and was looking for a new amp and considered myself more in the “musical” camp than “analytical”, I don’t think there is a “wrong” choice with selecting either one.
I can confirm that the V550 does not appear to tilt as warm as V281. Does it lean more that direction than the V281, yes but there is still a warmth and smoothness to it that for myself, I find very appealing. In no way would I describe the V550 as being dry, thin or peaky.
Transitioning from the V281 to the V550 hasn’t resulted in any thinness, there is no lack of reproduction in the lower frequencies or any weakness in harmonics or less full sound, which honestly, I was expecting based from my interpretations of the terminology used to describe signature differences between these two amplifiers. What I detect is that the V550 is even cleaner and more transparent than the V281. I used the descriptor “transparent”, because now when connecting different DACs. I’m better able to hear the differences in the DACs as individual pieces of kit vs. as part of a chain, more so than with the 281. My feeling is that the additional transparency, blacker background and overall enhanced technical abilities are what makes the V550
appear more neutral at first listen, especially if coming directly from an amp like the V281.
My preferences are a warmer organic sound and I don’t feel I am missing any of that which I had in the V281 with the V550, even when using a cooler leaning DAC as the Soekris dac1541, the V550 still delivers all you’d expect from the V281, just that the V550 is better at delivering a truer representation of the upstream sources feeding it, good or bad. That is the difference IMO.
Operational details
-DACs used with the both V281/V550: Soekris dac1541 (Butterworth Filter) , Holo Spring 3 KTE. NOS (only mode on the new Spring 3)
-Source PC via Shunyata Venom USB cable, (Qobuz/Roon) PCM only, 24/192 max bit/sample
-Headphones: HE1000 V2, TH909, TH900mk2
-Both amps input gain setting set to -6 dB (mainly to accommodate higher sensitivity of the Fostex phones to get a bit more range on the volume control)
-Balanced input / output used on both amplifiers
