Hi all
Is this amplifier still relevant, or ha the development of amplifiers come so far, that even a lot cheaper products will outperform this old German amp? It is available locally for around 550$, and I'm expecting to run a set of HiFiMAN HE 1000's on it.
Should I give it a listen, or just find something else?
• Violectric HPA V200 is a wonderful headphone amplifier! Tube spatiality & solid-state transients . Plenty of power for dynamic & planar headphones (ex Abyss, Susvara). If you can locate one in very good condition, buy it!
• EDIT: as for power, HPA V200 delivers where it counts. As per the manual, 18.2 volts maximum into 600 ohms with the ‘pre-gain’ set at zero. In comparison, the balanced HPA V281 delivers 40.2 volts under the same conditions.
Thanks a lot for the input I guess the remaining concern is if this 9 year old unit breaks, I'm out of luck, as warranty has run out.
With this ind mind, and assuming the unit is in good shape, is $550us a good price?
Thanks a lot for the input I guess the remaining concern is if this 9 year old unit breaks, I'm out of luck, as warranty has run out.
With this ind mind, and assuming the unit is in good shape, is $550us a good price?
• Assuming no physical abuse, and with periodic cleaning of sockets and of volume pot, the V200 should go for years … In time (15 years?), capacitors may need to be replaced.
• Power Holdings, the U.S. distributor for Violectric (Lake People, Niimbus, …) has a very strong customer satisfaction ethic. So even with an expired warranty, you will be best off going to them - if need be.
• $550 USD might be a touch high. Does that include shipping, PayPal fees, etc? .
• Assuming no physical abuse, and with periodic cleaning of sockets and of volume pot, the V200 should go for years … In time (15 years?), capacitors may need to be replaced.
• Power Holdings, the U.S. distributor for Violectric (Lake People, Niimbus, …) has a very strong customer satisfaction ethic. So even with an expired warranty, you will be best off going to them - if need be.
• $550 USD might be a touch high. Does that include shipping, PayPal fees, etc? .
The unit has been checked and serviced by an authorized dealer in Germany in 2020, and it is a 1 owner unit. He says he has been taking very good care of it, but I guess everyone would say that when selling something
550USD is the asking price without shipping or anything like that. I'm thinking about driving down there, ad it is a 2,5 hour drive from where I live.
He also has the V800 DAC for another 550USD.
The unit has been checked and serviced by an authorized dealer in Germany in 2020, and it is a 1 owner unit. He says he has been taking very good care of it, but I guess everyone would say that when selling something
550USD is the asking price without shipping or anything like that. I'm thinking about driving down there, ad it is a 2,5 hour drive from where I live.
He also has the V800 DAC for another 550USD.
I do have a DAC, actually two, so if the V800 wasn't anything special, I'm not that interested in it.
I really appreciate your replies, that I super helpful to me. Thank you
I ended up buying it, after a long by really cool discussion with the owner. Got it for $395US
Should arrive tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to it.
I have two options when it comes to a DAC for the V200. Either an SMSL DO100 or the pre-amp section of a pretty good integrated amp with an ESS chip.
So you guys think the V200 will benefit from det high quality components in the integrated's pre-amp section, or is it better to just run a simple DAC in front of it?
I have two options when it comes to a DAC for the V200. Either an SMSL DO100 or the pre-amp section of a pretty good integrated amp with an ESS chip.
So you guys think the V200 will benefit from det high quality components in the integrated's pre-amp section, or is it better to just run a simple DAC in front of it?
‘Simple DAC’. Especially one with XLR out sockets. Take advantage of the XLR in sockets (rear of V200). Even though the V200 front headphone jacks are TRS, the sound definitely improves with XLR —> XLR connection.
With the XLR—>XLR connection, V200 receives a higher signal voltage (typically twice that through RCA —> RCA connection), exhibits a higher S/N (signal-to-noise) ratio. All this helps, particularly if the headphone(s) used is (are) less efficient.
V200 has some cool features I never was able to try. It can be upgraded to accept USB input via a DAC board which can be ordered. It also has switchable input/output RCA sockets if I remember correctly. Not to forget those gain settings. A very cool little amp. Violectric rules.
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. Plenty of power for dynamic & planar headphones (ex Abyss, Susvara). If you can locate one in very good condition, buy it!
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