Hi,
New here…
Has anybody auditioned or bought the new Violectric Dac Amps - DHA V380, or the DHA V590?
If so can you share how they sound?
Thanks
I’ve used one as my primary amp for about 3 months now. I never formally wrote about it.
Just out of curiosity, what headphones and amp do you have currently use, so I attempt could relate it?
Hi,
I have a Questyle CMA 400i connecting to a Goldpoint balanced passive attenuator connected to a Lake People G111.
Headphones - Focal Clears, Audeze LCD2, and Senn. HD660s
If I plug directly into the Questyle - for me - the volume is too loud at 10-11 on the dial.
I have full range with the above setup. …and the G111 is better than the CMA400i.
I would like to use the G111 in another location.
The concern is. - will the Violectrics be too powerful for my cans?
An all in one would be neater too.
Thanks
Hello,
Sorry, the Questyle is not bad in itself, why would you add an additional headphone amplifier to it?
It’s one of the few headphone amplifiers that are at least inherently decent and sound good.
With an Rme Adi 2 Fs or Matrix Audio i pro mini I can still understand it a bit because they are quite analytical and cold tuned for headphones.
That you want to bring a little bit more warmth into your headphones I can understand.
And with a position of 10-11 o’clock that it becomes loud there is actually normal as long as you don’t notice any delays in it that should be okay.
And that’s good because it also reveals the efficiency when you turn it.
Loud doesn’t have to mean automatically when the potentiometer is set to 14 o’clock as an example.
It may sound hard but are your ears okay?
If you are using an equalizer, leave it off and get used to the normal sound again and try to find out if there is really something missing.
I’m surprised that the Questyle is so expensive.
Don’t get me wrong, and I mean you also have headphones that you can be a bit envious of.
They should sound so good with the Questyle and especially the Cma 400i, which you have tuned to it, as I have seen.
I have the Clears and had some extensive time with the LCD2pf with a v590. Both are great pairings.
There are dip switches to control gain, you may be able to find an adequate level for your preference in complete volume control.
But regarding the qualities the V590/V380/V550 the amplification section look pretty much the same on paper.
As an all in one, using the stock DAC, I consider it neutral. I am usually after a warmer sound, but the stock DAC is extremely capable and resolving if you are seeking more detail. The presentation may seem like you are further away from instruments. There is a lot of energy in the sound if you are in the mood for that, but I wouldn’t consider any one frequency to be more forward that the other. For example, I find the Liquid Platinum (with stock tubes) to have the upper mids to be little more forward, and so vocals may be more prevelant, than in this amp. If all you want is detail, the stock DAC extremely resolving, I’m skeptical of pairing any other AKM based DAC offering to be any better than this DAC despite it using the 4490.
However, paired with a warmer DAC, such as a Schiit Bifrost 2, I feel it shifts the sound to a warmer profile, yet still has suitable detail. This was a fun combo I would often choose this over the stock DAC with my headphones.
TLDR: If you are looking for a technically exceptonal amp that will bring out some the best qualities in the headphones you currently have, is warm, yet has a fairly balanced presentation across frequencies, and is resolving and transparent (over it’s predecessor v280/281), it’s definitely worth considering.
1 Like
Deleeh,
RE: the questyle - Great Dac Amp but it has no analog inputs, When I said 10-11 on the dial - that is loudest for unbalanced. Forget balanced - that is 9-10
The dip switches are set at low gain. I can listen louder, of course, but not for long periods of time.
I have a Cambridge CD transport that puts out 2v to the dac. Way too loud on the CMA400i analog / headphone outputs.
And yes. - I can lower the digital volume on the Ipad too. Reducing digital volume reduces information. Not my first choice.
I would sell the questyle to offset costs - as well as some other equipment I have.
Yes, the CMA400i is great so it’s ok if I keep it too. If I can upgrade with improved convenience , it would be a good thing.
FBizzle,
What were your settings on the pre-gain for the LCDs and Clears.
I was told by Arthur - USA importer for Lake People that Lake people amps are more neutral and Violectric warmer. New amps should be like G111. Your description of soundstage is also what I hear in the G111.
I have another setup where I am using a Denafrips Ares 2 - Schiit Freya S - Gishelli labs Erish / Audeze Deckard. (This is where the G111 will go). I would love to compare the Bifröst 2 to the Ares some day.
You have both been helpful - THANK YOU
1 Like
In case I was not clear - the head designer for Violectric , and for Goldpoint said your normal comfortable listening range should be between 11-1. This gives you an excellent range of volume adjustment.
Sorry for the long prior post.
1 Like
Hello,
Yes, that’s right, I have to agree with you, this changes the matter of course.
I didn’t want to step on your feet, I am really wondering why you come to such statements.
Have you ever tried to use the Cd Player as input to try something else, for example optical to see if something changes?
Or maybe even try another cd player that is less alarming or where the alarm would be less strong.
As you already mentioned the Questyle has only digital inputs.
Maybe that’s the problem, you have to say that CD players are designed for analog things where amplifiers can handle such power.
And headphone amplifiers are more sensitive and tend to be sensitive and react accordingly.
I know that the Lake People is a different circuitry and is probably better able to handle such voltages.
That would of course explain the whole thing.
How about using the Questyle purely digital with a pc that serves as the source? as loud or better?
If that would be better I would really try another cd player.
I do not have a CD player, but rather a CD Transport. It only reads the CD and sends digital out to the Questyle Dac.
RE: pre Gain:
Questyle’ s dip switches are Unity gain - o, and + 8db compared
to the new Violectrics which offer -18, -12, -6, Unity, +6, +12, +18
Remember too - if you lower the volume digitally you loose BIT information for the dac which will affect Some quality. …an option, but not the first option.
I want to reduce the number of separate components I have. Unfortunately to maintain the quality of sound components afford, you need to go to higher quality All-in-ones.
CMA400i’s only weakness , really, is it’s limited Pre-Gain adjustment. My stable of headphones are fairly sensitive and easy to drive - Focal Clears: 56ohms, 104db - LCD2: 70ohms, 101db and
660s: 150ohms, 98 dB.
1 Like
Hello,
What exactly is this Cd Transport you have here?
Is this a good thing and can it do justice to a cd player?
I just have a little bit of a suspicion from the source that there is something wrong.
This might be the cause of your problem.
Even if it is only optical, the data processing may not be optimal.
The technical production of your medium may cause something that is not right.
In the past, there were also a lot of bad CD players and so CD readers that appeared on the market at low prices, which fulfilled their purpose but were not the real thing for audiophile music or were not suitable at all.
There is no need for a top modern Cd player, there are enough of them on the after market and in good condition. Partly also reference players which were the measure of things at that time.
From Technics or Pioneer there were quite good ones with optical output and also Sdac.
Well I think you can work better with the Lake people and they also have some advantages with the gain control.
Hi,
CD players have their own DACs. They may also play other formats —CDR, CDRW, SACD, etc
These formats spin at Different speeds. Therefore a CD player has to retrieve information off various formats making the mechanics and electronics more complicated.
A CD TRANSPORT decodes 44.1 digital audio CDs - nothing else. It won’t work with a CDR, CDRW, SACD, or DVD-Audio.
There is no dac. You connect SPDIF cables to your Dac of choice.
A Transport is more efficient at pulling information off a CD. Remember you are also using a separate dac to convert to analog - and that’s almost always better than what is in the player
My $400 Cambridge CXC transport sounds as good as my OPPO costing 2.5x as much - maybe better. With the Violectric I will be able to upsample CD’s to 96 KHz.
I know the Violectrics will be a good fit because they use AKM 4490 DACs - same as the questyle. The sound signature will be similar.
1 Like
Hello,
Hmmm yes difficult.
If one of the converters would have an overlap maybe, but that would not be the case.
Otherwise try to go into the Questyle and see if it has brought an improvement.
Possibly also exchange the coax cable against another one.
Maybe a high quality one if a less good one was plugged in.
Has anyone heard the 590/550 yet? Wondering how the performance of the amp stage racks and stacks against other amps in similar price range (Moon 430, GSX mk2/mini, etc…). Is it a baby Nimbus or closer to the v281 performance?
Fbizzle has a 590, his posts are above
I’ve only had a demo of the 590, it is more niimbus/lake people leaning than it is traditional violectric, it’s focus on neutrality and clarity and more forwardness is pretty different from the warmer more smooth in the treble spacious sound of the older vios. The niimbus is still more capable than the 590 but not by a super large margin, and the niimbus is more analytical leaning as well
Compared to the 430 ha, that’s going to be closer to the v281 type of sound rather than the new violectric. It is a warmer smoother leaning amp that is very spacious, controlled, and refined, although at times might be slightly blunted and could get too smooth. The 590 is not as spatially impressive, doesn’t have as organic timbre, is more forward, is more resolving, and is a fair bit more neutral imo, but also not as good dynamics. It would definitely come down to preference and synergy for what one to go for
The gsx mk2 vs 590 is an interesting one, I would call the 590 more neutral dry, where the gsx mk2 is more analytical bright but it’s also more tonally rich than the 590, spatially they both aren’t very wide, perhaps the gsx has a slight bit more depth, gsx has better timbre, they are probably on an equal playing field for resolution, and for dynamics it might go to the 590. Again dependant on preference and synergy
But overall I think the 590 delivers for the price amp wise as long as you don’t mind the signature change and also spatial recreation isn’t your first priority, I will say though that the integrated dac is mediocre in there so I would buy the one without the built in dac.
For my personal preferences I really wish these new amps went into the niimbus or lake people lineup instead of replacing the 281/280 as I do kinda prefer what those amps have to offer, mainly their spatial recreation and signature
1 Like
Also note that the V590/380 are unavailable atm (new at least) because of the AKM shortage. So the V550 is the only available option for the next gen Vio for a few months.
Yeah I’d agree. I was expecting it to be a little closer to the V281 signature when I jumped on the V590 and was a little surprised how much of a change it was. I don’t regret it as I find it to be compatible with more DACs, than the 281, despite it having a built in DAC.
1 Like
That is true, the niimbus, new vio, and lake people are more forgiving of dac pairings than the older vio, but I also would say the newer vio and to some extent the niimbus don’t necessarily convey as much of what the dac can offer compared to the old vio
fyi… in case somebody has been looking for one of these used… this is the first one I’ve seen come up for some time. There was a US4 Niimbus but it isn’t priced well… This V550 pro seems to be priced somewhat more reasonably. It has the better volume pot than the non pro v550 sold through drop @ $2500 it seems to be viable.
Has anyone paired a Chord Qutest with a new line Vio?
Looking at getting the new V550 or possibly V340. Does anyone have any suggestions for good DAC pairings?
Something like the Yggdrasil or similar (budget-wise).
Soekris dacs are an excellent choice. Many others like the Denafrips amps as well. Without knowing your budget though, I don’t want to recommend something that isn’t an option for you.
2 Likes