[kajetanjazz]

- Bliss has a display that needs to be turned off to get the best sound quality.

Really?? Haven’t seen that opinion before, I just had it off for convenience. I’m really surprised though how dramatically it changed over first two days of burn in

 

[DMITRIY R]

I discovered this effect by accident. I turned off the display because I wanted to extend its service life. But I was immediately surprised that Bliss played better without the display.

p.s.
Holo May also plays better with the display turned off.

 

[kajetanjazz]

Interesting. Haven’t paid much attention, but didn’t notice any sonic change when turning it off or adjusting the volume when it turns on

 

[DMITRIY R]

Interesting. Haven’t paid much attention, but didn’t notice any sonic change when turning it off or adjusting the volume when it turns on

Try listening for one week without the display. For the second week, listen with the display. With prolonged listening, it is easier to identify differences in sound.

 

[suno23]

I discovered this effect by accident. I turned off the display because I wanted to extend its service life. But I was immediately surprised that Bliss played better without the display.

p.s.
Holo May also plays better with the display turned off.

very interesteing

 

[kumar402]

I never felt the difference with display On and Off but anyways I listen for fun and don’t pay that level Of attention

 

[Frankie D]

I just did a quick test. I turned the display off. Now if I press the menu button the display will come on for roughly 10 seconds and then go off again. I used Allison Krauss’s “Forget About It” and “Restless” by Bob James.

On OG Empyrean, Solitaire P and Susvara I cannot tell any difference. Vocals sounded exactly the same as did bass impact and detail. I could not detect a change in presentation or depth/width of sounstage. Piano notes and sax all sounded the same on each headphone.

Now If you all have golden ears, you are better than me. But definitely not something I would obsess over.

 

[kajetanjazz]

Yeah tried myself various tracks with the TC turning it on and off. No difference that I could discern and a rapid change would probably be the easiest to notice

 

[wizzman121]

My question: does anyone owns both Bliss and Violectric v550? or own them for more than 6months? Which do you prefer?

I have owned both for maybe eight or nine months now. They are both fantastic amps but are also quite different. It is hard to say one is better than the other. For me it comes down more toward headphone pairings. I agree with some of the observations someone else made a few posts back:

• Both amps need a legit DAC to deliver their full potential. I have found the flexibility of the Wandla to be a super pairing with both.
• The v550 is the most balanced, reference-sounding solid state amp I have heard
• The Bliss has a slightly thicker sound, the bass is more emphatic but not quite as tight as the V550
• The v550 has an airier sound with incredible extension- this without a sharp or elevated sound in the treble area- a real feat for a highly resolving ss amp
• The Bliss has a more holographic sound- it has the most tubey sound from a solid state amp I have heard
• The V550 is not flat sounding at all but despite the incredible extension up top the sound has a little less shape and depth compared to the Bliss
• Both amps run warm but the Bliss gets pretty hot on the right side of the case
• The V550 pro volume pot is the bees knees in feel and sound but it has been known to have some issues with cutouts at certain positions. I recently had my OG V550 Pro replaced with an updated (now with 4.4mm jack) version under warranty and it has been working great.
• The V550 is insanely versatile with the dipswitches that give you almost unlimited gain control- it works with IEMs down low and at full blast drives the Modhouse Tungsten the best I have heard
• There is definitely an ideal gain setting for every headphone on the V550 and it does impact the balance and sound of the headphone
• With lower impedance headphones the impedance setting on the Bliss makes a big difference (both Tungsten and Caldera sound much better on low impedance- lo z) while the impedance isn't as noticeable with something like the Atrium (but is best on high impedance- hi z)
• In general the Bliss is a bit smoother and more romantic sounding while the V550 is more neutral with top tier dynamic range

Here are my preferred headphone pairings:

Caldera- they actually sound great on both amps. They are quite a resolving headphone though and find I tend to prefer the extra oomph down low and the slightly smoother treble from the Bliss.
Auteur- They are thick and punchy sounding headphones I generally don't like them as much out of the Bliss. They sound fantastic out of the V550 which tightens up the bass and improves the detail retrieval.
Utopia OG- With the Wandla they sounded a bit too sharp and resolving out of the V550 on some recordings. I generally preferred them out of the Bliss.
Atrium- These sound better out of the Bliss hands down. These really love tube amps and they just sound so organic natural and three dimensional out of the Bliss. I highly recommend the Caldera perforated lambskin pads. The stock pads sound too bloated to me.
Tungsten- With the Wandla digital volume trim at -4 db the Bliss powers the Tungsten quite nicely. This softer smoother sound works well for rock and classic rock. But for almost everything else especially electronic music the V550 at full gain really drives the Tungsten to their full capability.

The two amps are quite different and actually quite complimentary. I find most headphones are a fantastic pairing with one or the other but not always both. More resolving headphones will pair best with the Bliss, while the thicker and heavier sounding headphones will work best on the V550. Having both amps coupled with the tweaks available in the Wandla I am able to find a pretty optimal pairing with every headphone I own.

 

[chrisnyc75]

In general the Bliss is a bit smoother and more romantic sounding while the V550 is more neutral with top tier dynamic range

This lines up with every review I've heard of both amps - and when I was amp shopping you better believe I went deep down that rabbit hole. I'm pretty sure the popular wisdom is that Bliss errs on the side of being smoother and more organic than comparable alternatives, though in the absence of direct a/b testing I am pretty sure this difference is immaterial/negligible.

I am disadvantaged in that fully HALF of my listening is acoustic jazz, and the other HALF is modern techno (if you really think about it, there is a lot less difference here than there is similarity). I struggle to think of any dac or amp that is popularly believed to be equally good for both, but Bliss's handling of dynamic gain, coupled with its legendary smooth organic nature, seemed like the best compromise for me.

But yes, Violectric v550 and Ferrum Orr were the 2 most viable alternatives I explored before I made my decision.

 

[PrTv]

Anyone using Bliss’s XLR out? How good is it?

I’m using Violectric V281 as a preamp and am considering getting the Blliss. However not sure if Bliss’s XLR OUT is as good as the V281’s.

In particular, how high is the Bliss’s XLR OUT’s gain, comparing with the V281 at lowest (-12) setting.

At 0 gain, I can hear background noise from my poweramp and this was fixed with -12 gain setting.

 

[Patu]

Based on the comparisons of Bliss vs Violectric, it sounds like Bliss would be a perfect match for the extremely resolving and high resolution Dan Clark E3’s. My plan was to get E3’s first and then possibly changing my Serene to Bliss (and sell my V226). My only concern is if the Bliss works as preamp as well as Serene since I still use speakers a lot more than headphones. I guess the only way to find out is to order the Bliss and try.

 

[suno23]

My only concern is if the Bliss works as preamp as well as Serene since I still use speakers a lot more than headphones. I guess the only way to find out is to order the Bliss and try.

According to Tim at Kitsune he said the serene is thier best pre followed by the bliss then the preamp in the spring 3

 

[kajetanjazz]

Based on the comparisons of Bliss vs Violectric, it sounds like Bliss would be a perfect match for the extremely resolving and high resolution Dan Clark E3’s. My plan was to get E3’s first and then possibly changing my Serene to Bliss (and sell my V226). My only concern is if the Bliss works as preamp as well as Serene since I still use speakers a lot more than headphones. I guess the only way to find out is to order the Bliss and try.

Since you have the serene, why wouldn’t you use that as the headphone amplifier for the E3? It has xlrs on the back that can be used as headphone output with about 3W I think. Bliss was based on that with even more power, but I think serene would be more than enough for the E3 and it wouldn’t be worth getting bliss additionally

From my understanding they’re very similar designs