Review and Measurements of Violectric HPA V281 HP Amp

[JJB70]

Then there is this, for the true audiophile:

https://www.niimbus-audio.com/product-page/niimbus-us-4

Don't be a cheapskate, buy the real deal...… Lake People invented Vioectric as an audiophile orientated spin off brand, now it seems Violectric is too low rent for the true hipsters so they need a super audiophile brand.

 

[graz_lag]

Indeed, however it looks the 2 product lines share the same good quality volume knob so the Violectric' owners can rest assured of the value in the used market of their HPAs ...

 

[Alexander Gödde]

This is a luxury item, but then there's a place for these as well. While there is no reason to get this based on performance, this is what I'd get if I had the cash to spare!
I really like the chunky design, would find the balance control really useful (slight hearing loss in one ear, no need to dig around whether and how to change balance in the source), and would appreciate the peace of mind that this will power any (remotely reasonable) headphone I'll ever get.
The manufacturer is not claiming magic performance, but great engineering - an they deliver on that. The made in Germany with the rock-solid built quality is nice as well.
Buy once, be happy for the rest of my life (or at least the next couple of decades).

 

[Herbert]

Hmmm… Wasn´t there also an audio company from California
that went by the name "Lake People"? I think somewhere in
the late 70´s, early 80´s...

 

[Labjr]

Would be nice to see JDS Labs or THX add a stepped attenuator option.

 

[audioBliss]

What a shame that all those nice measurement are wasted on that it's not even flat to 20Hz.

 

[MediumRare]

Then there is this, for the true audiophile:

https://www.niimbus-audio.com/product-page/niimbus-us-4

Don't be a cheapskate, buy the real deal...… Lake People invented Vioectric as an audiophile orientated spin off brand, now it seems Violectric is too low rent for the true hipsters so they need a super audiophile brand.

Looks pretty nice, and a steal at $4,499. I better cancel my Monolith order so I can spend the extra $4,000.

 

[JJB70]

This Niimbus amp really makes my Beats headphones come to life, I know it's expensive but if you are going to invest in the best headphones like Beats then you need to buy the right amplifier.

 

[audioBliss]

This Niimbus amp really makes my Beats headphones come to life, I know it's expensive but if you are going to invest in the best headphones like Beats then you need to buy the right amplifier.

I've not followed the thread but I'm guessing the sarcasm level here is pretty high.

 

[amirm]

Hmmm… Wasn´t there also an audio company from California
that went by the name "Lake People"? I think somewhere in
the late 70´s, early 80´s...

Dolby used to make a Lake processors which they sold to Lab Gruppen. Is that who you are thinking of?

 

[tktran303]

Ni

Dolby used to make a Lake processors which they sold to Lab Gruppen. Is that who you are thinking of?

No that’s Lake Tech (Australian)

I don’t mind the bling or going upmarket, but castrating or making the product worse is crazy.

Clearly the Violetric product delivers.

Btw any dCS products on the horizon?

They went from component/subassemblies suppliers (eg. With Arcam) to producing shiny complete boxes with a extra 0, but they ain’t no BS Audio

 

[FourT6and2]

Well if we can assume the V280 performs the same as this, I can cross it off my list.

 

[JJB70]

Lake People make some very nice headphone amplifiers which are well made with a suitably premium feel and which are reasonably priced. If people think the Atom and O2 are low rent and don't want one of the THX alternatives then the Lake People offerings seem to make much more sense than Violectric. Although if it is just about SQ then I really see no need to go beyond the (made in the US) Atom or the several modestly priced THX options from Drop, Monoprice, SMSL.

I see Violectric and Niimbus as being like the Sennheiser Orpheus products to the Lake People HD650. One is an excellent product developed as a working tool for people wanting a good product, the other is an indulgence for the luxury goods market.

 

[anmpr1]

Hmmm… Wasn´t there also an audio company from California
that went by the name "Lake People"?

I know there's Westlake Audio in California. Making expensive pro oriented loudspeakers. They've been around since the '70s, but maintain a pretty low profile.

 

[FourT6and2]

So what's up with the ground lift? Certainly that would affect noise floor? Why not put the ground back and retest?

 

[FourT6and2]

Also your readings say there is no difference in output power between 1/4" and XLR4. However Violectric says output should be double on XLR4. And spec sheet numbers don't match your readings. Maybe something is wrong with this unit? XLR4 output at 50ohm should be well over 3 watts.

600ohm: 1800mW
100ohm: 5300mW
50ohm: 3100mW
32ohm: 2600mW
16ohm: 1500mW

There are a bunch of different dip switches and jumpers inside the unit that you can adjust if you read the manual. Maybe this unit had some bad settings... Each 1/4" jack has a dipswitch to change it from single-ended to balanced when running both 1/4" jacks simultaneously to the same pair of headphones. Is it possible these were set to the wrong position?

 

[amirm]

Btw any dCS products on the horizon?

Only a faint trail right now....

 

[amirm]

So what's up with the ground lift? Certainly that would affect noise floor? Why not put the ground back and retest?

It won't make much of a difference because the mains leakage is below the general noise level of the unit:

The mains leakage is at most -120 dB. Our SINAD is about 115 dB so what is reducing it is general noise level. FFT reduces the level of noise in measurements making it look like it is much lower than it is.

 

[amirm]

And spec sheet numbers don't match your readings.

They never do because manufacturers don't provide the details of how they are measured. Most commonly they measure one channel at a time when I measure two channels simultaneously. I also limit the power level right when clipping starts. Companies routinely let the distortion climb, some as much as 10%.

Remember, wattage is a marketing number so they do their best to inflate these. You can only trust them if they provide a graph like I do and full specifications.

 

[FourT6and2]

They never do because manufacturers don't provide the details of how they are measured. Most commonly they measure one channel at a time when I measure two channels simultaneously. I also limit the power level right when clipping starts. Companies routinely let the distortion climb, some as much as 10%.

Remember, wattage is a marketing number so they do their best to inflate these. You can only trust them if they provide a graph like I do and full specifications.

Understood.

But that doesn't address the fact that XLR4 on this amp should be double the power of the 1/4". And that is according to the manufacturer. Seems like a rather large spec to inflate in that regard.