[borkenarrou]

I got it from Thomann (from the US), but I am *not* a US citizen so UPS asked me to fill a form and my passport and custom fees was waived for me, so anything > $2500, customs has to be paid (if you are US citizen), I got the Pro I think the non-Pro you dont have to pay if price+shipping < $2500.

This is only from customs tax, I am not sure about sales tax, my address was in Oregon which is tax free so I don't have to pay anything.

 

[borkenarrou]

V550 Pro is selling for less than Standard at bhphotovideo.com

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...50_pro_balanced_headphone_amplifier_with.html

 

[LoveKnight]

Well. After several weeks of using my HPA-V550 non pro version for my Sennheiser HD650. I would like to share my impressions. Musical, clean and clear are the words I would like to use for this amp. Power high impedance dynamic headphones no problems I think. This amp pairs with Sennheiser so fabulous. This amp and reference Sennheiser headphone do reveal how your set up and music you feed them to listen. The better the music records and the gears, the more fantastic sounds come out. I am very happy with this amp right now. Recommend if you want a mid-fi headphone amp that sounds great to Sennehiser HD600-650-HD800.

This amp makes my Sennheiser HD650 sing wonderful and better than my Denon D9200 now. My D9200 sounds closed, bright, veiled and a few negative things when comparing to Sennheiser HD650 now.

Just buying a Sennheiser HD650 balanced cable from Sennheiser and this cable makes the sound more balanced, leaner, more quite, and more coherently from balanced ports. Highly recommend you should upgrade to balance mode for this amp.

 

[MindsEyeKay]

Volume Control of an amp is as essential as having inputs and outputs. What sounds like sarcasm isn't, it's just that volume control is not only important for regulating the volume, it also defines the sound itself, beyond crosstalk and linearity. It's a complex topic but far more important than any cable could "remedy".

I can't help but concur with this statement, after doing some research on the differences between the potentiometer implementation, via the proficient Alps RK27, and the reed relay implementation.
It definitely isn't sarcasm, below is a link to an article which clearly and concisely describes the different implementations with their advantages and disadvantages, with direct reference to Lake People and Violectric, for anyone who is interested.
Lake People and Violectric offer relay-based volume control

 

[powermod]

Hello,

I have both the V550 and a DHA V380, which has the same amplifier section as the V340. Nominally, the V340 is a little weaker than the V550 in terms of power, but in terms of sound, the two are almost identical.

Hi, the V550 has balanced XLR inputs, the V340 (amp of V380) has only RCA inputs. If an external DAC outputs balanced, the V550 should have an advantage with better soundstage and imaging, or am I wrong? Would be really interested in the sound difference of V550 with balanced input vs. V340 with unbalanced input, both from the same balanced DAC. Do you have any such experiences to report?

 

[Ichos]

If the DAC is a true balanced design then using its XLR outputs into the XLR inputs of the V550 has an advantage.

 

[Whazzzup]

Subbed, interested in hpa 550 pro. Gathering info stage. Also looking at dcs lina hp amp, course almost twice the price.

 

[Honeypot]

Anybody tested violectric v550 pro and por+hypsos stack by ferrum? I'm having a mixed opinions. Some people says one is warmer than the other, and the other way around. I am trying to use it with zmf caldera and a pontus ii r2r dac

 

[Whazzzup]

ok lina out hpa v550 pro or cfa3?

 

[MartussDer]

Hello,

I have both the V550 and a DHA V380, which has the same amplifier section as the V340. Nominally, the V340 is a little weaker than the V550 in terms of power, but in terms of sound, the two are almost identical.

excuse me, Have you tried your v380 and v550 with hifiman Susvara? Do you think it drives susvara well?

 

[Delta9K]

I've spent some time with my Susvara on my v550 fed from a both Spring 3 KTE and a Yggdrasil DAC, and while the Susvara sounded good and I really enjoyed the tone I got from the v550 the impact was lacking for me. I feel it may be down to personal prefererences and library selection and that for some the with the Susvara the v550 will be great and for others its just OK. That's not to be taken as complaint against the v550 I truly enjoy mine just as I did the v281 and v200 I owned before it. Just happens that in my opinion the Susvara and v550 are not as optimised as other matchups.

 

[borkenarrou]

I've spent some time with my Susvara on my v550 fed with both Spring 3 KTE and a Yggdrasil DAC, and while the Susvara sounded good and I really enjoyed the tone I got from the v550 the impact was lacking for me. I feel it may be down to personal prefererences and library selection and that for some the with the Susvara the v550 will be great and for others its just OK.

This is with pre gain applied on the V550?

 

[Delta9K]

This is with pre gain applied on the V550?

Absolutely, the v550 was not my fist rodeo with Violectric amps and having owned a v200 and especially the v281 before it I became very familiar with the dip switch settings for gain control and using them to tailor matchups. Also, I did not do quick changes I tried a setting let it sit for a couple weeks and then tried another. Believe me, I was doing all I could to get what I was after without having to buy another amp. I had such high hopes too becuase the 1266 phi TC I had on a in home demo sounded really, really good with the v550 and that's what led me to buy the Susvara, thinking I would be alright. But it just wasn't the case for me. As I mentioned earlier, it may just be me - somebody else who's looking for a different sound could find the combo terrific. There's no right or wrong just what's right to you.

I really dig the sound I get from the Yggy+v550 and I have never heard my TH909 or LCD-24 sound better on any other setup so ye'ah, not dogging the v550 in the least.

 

[UlrichAgathe]

I've spent some time with my Susvara on my v550 fed from a both Spring 3 KTE and a Yggdrasil DAC, and while the Susvara sounded good and I really enjoyed the tone I got from the v550 the impact was lacking for me. I feel it may be down to personal prefererences and library selection and that for some the with the Susvara the v550 will be great and for others its just OK. That's not to be taken as complaint against the v550 I truly enjoy mine just as I did the v281 and v200 I owned before it. Just happens that in my opinion the Susvara and v550 are not as optimised as other matchups.

While its beautiful overall tonality is much more accessible, susvara’s bass is notorious for requiring absurd amount of driving power to reach its true potential, and many craving for it resorted to power amps. In fact it might also be the cheaper solution for it than TOTL HPAs like wa33 or viva 845.

 

[Whazzzup]

I’m a bit confused. Ok lake people and violectric teamed up to make lake people Niimbus 5 pro hp and preamp. It’s aprox 2* the price and has more power, lower noise floor (if that matters) remote 256 step….yet it’s not really on lake peoples site nor violectric site as well. Now it does show as a vioelectric product. Sooo is the attraction that the v550 pro is half the price? Or why wouldn’t you want more power of nimbus 5 pro?