Earlier this month I wrote about German audio specialist Violectric. The corporate has been designing and manufacturing high-end audio tools for 15 years. Based mostly close to Lake Constance, Germany, the corporate has a philosophy grounded in pragmatic German design and engineering, infused with a few of the most superior audio know-how accessible.
Now a mortgage pattern of the Violectric’s DHA V226 headphone amplifier and DAC is on my desk for assessment. Designed for music lovers who need the very best sound for taking part in via ugh high-end headphones, the V226 is certain to please these audiophiles who love getting up shut and private with nice music. If that sounds such as you, then learn on.
The Violectric DHA V226 has a wise price ticket for what’s on provide. Housed in one of the crucial sturdy steel circumstances I’ve ever seen, this DAC and balanced headphone amplifier additionally has a pre-amp perform so you may plug your favourite pair of headphones in and pay attention simply as you’ll a correct audio system. The one factor it gained’t do is drive a pair of audio system.
The DAC’s design is predicated on Cirrus CS 43131 chip with a typical 130 dB dynamic vary and THD that goes as little as -115dB. The preamp part will settle for digital sources by way of a USB Sort C port on the rear of the unit. The V226 can even deal with analog line-level inputs by way of two pairs of RAC Phono sockets. So, you would use that for inputting one thing like an FM tuner, cassette deck or vinyl turntable. Nonetheless, it’s the digital perform that most individuals shall be concerned about.
First, let’s have a look at the connections on this little amp. In regards to the measurement of a thick hardback e-book, the V226 weighs a hefty 3kg and is superbly put collectively. The black brushed steel end appears skilled and oozes German engineering vibes. It’s every part you’d anticipate from the nation that introduced us Mercedes-Benz.
On the rear of the unit, there’s a mains enter so there’s no exterior energy provide to litter up your residing area. There’s a preamp output for connecting to an influence amplifier and you may swap between pre and submit alerts. Subsequent to the output are the 2 pairs of analog line-in RCA phono sockets and there are two banks of DIP switches for setting the quantity of pre-gain you would possibly need to use in order that the analog sign matches the digital enter, avoiding a jarring change when switching between sources.
Lastly, there’s a USB-C port that may help digital PCM alerts as much as 32 bits at 384kHz. There’s additionally help for DSD as much as 256kHz. to comes with a USB-C terminal and helps PCM alerts as much as 32 bits and 384 kHz pattern fee in addition to DSD as much as 256. That USB-C port will take nearly any supply whether or not it’s a desktop, laptop computer, Home windows, macOS, Linux and even the output out of your iPhone or Android smartphone.
On the entrance of the V226, there’s a massive rotary quantity knob with superbly clicked detents to point the quantity steps. There are outputs for a 6.35 unbalanced pair of headphones, a 4.4mm Pentaconn balanced jack, plus a four-pin XLR connector for a pair of balanced headphones. Two dolly switches on the entrance of the panel. One is for switching between the RCA and USB inputs, whereas the second switches between the headphone amp and preamp out. Lastly, there’s an influence swap to show every part off while you’re not listening.
Organising the V226 takes seconds. Merely plug it into an influence socket utilizing the equipped kettle lead after which join the USB-C port to your digital supply. Then activate the facility swap, plug in your headphones and switch up the quantity. The consequence is among the smoothest and most detailed headphone amplifiers I’ve ever reviewed. There’s loads of quantity to play with and the tone is spot on. This amp doesn’t want EQ or tone controls as a result of its native sound is elegant.
To check the amplifier, I turned to my assortment of Diana Krall albums that I’ve created on Tidal. For my part, the Norway-based Tidal is among the finest streaming companies because it presents high-res audio as much as 24-bit 96kHz. Tidal can be the one streaming service I do know of that gives MQA encoding, though the V226 can’t unfold for decode MQA, so you will should. hearken to FLAC information for high-resolution music. Amazon Music is one other service that additionally presents lots of hi-res music at a wise value.
Anyway, again to the music. The Diana Krall information in high-resolution FLAC format are a wonderful check of any amplifier. The recording high quality is invariably excessive and there’s a lot nuance within the recordings, that you simply nearly really feel as in case you are within the room with Ms Krall. In the case of headphones, I selected a pair of Sennheiser HD660S2 with a balanced 4.4mm termination. The HD660S2 headphones aren’t tremendous costly, however they’re greater than adequate to audition the V226.
The sound from the V226 is nothing in need of superior. We’re speaking hairs rising on the again of your neck high quality. Each element and each breath from Ms Krall’s voice are captured with astonishing readability however with a laid-back analog really feel that can sweep you off your ft. Hearken to the brushes on the snare drum whereas a string slaps on the fingerboard of a double bass. The V226 can extract sounds from a hi-res audio file that you simply didn’t know have been there.
As I discussed earlier, the V226 doesn’t want tone controls, loudness buttons or bass boosts. The sound straight out is completely balanced and can work properly with nearly any good pair of headphones, irrespective of how onerous they’re to drive. For those who solely like listening to music via headphones or IEMs, the Violectric DHA V226 is an economical different to a big and costly audio system.
One phrase of warning, with an audio system able to such a excessive efficiency, there’s no quarter given to poorly recorded music or tracks which were overly compressed. The extent of element is so astonishing, that sloppy mastering or low-quality sources shall be ruthlessly uncovered so watch out in your selection of music. With nice high quality recordings like lots of the early Blue Tone albums, the V226 will provide you with hours of delight and can have you listening to your music assortment once more. You do want supply and in case you use CDs, as I do, you might discover the absence of an optical or coaxial digital enter which I might have appreciated to have seen quite than the 2 line-in inputs. Perhaps subsequent time.
Verdict: For those who love listening to music via a fantastic pair of headphones, the Violectric HA V226 will soften your coronary heart. With a wonderful high-res music streaming service like Tidal or Qobuz, the Violectric is ideal. Even with analog sources, it’s a fantastic headphone amp. Many individuals criticize digital music for being harsh or overly metallic in sound, however I can guarantee you that an audition with the Violectric DHA V226 will persuade you that digital can sound each bit pretty much as good—and in some circumstances higher—than a few of the finest analog sources. For those who love headphone listening and revel in nice music that’s been correctly recorded, then the V226 is a pure pleasure to listen to.
Pricing & Availability: The Violectric DHA V226 headphone amp and DAC is out there now and prices $1,399 / £1.230 / €1,399.
Extra data: violectric.de or electromod.co.uk
Tech Specs:
- Analog inputs: 2 x Stereo RCA.
- Digital inputs: 1 x USB-C (32-bit/384kHz PCM, DSD 64 256).
- DAC: 32-bit
- Dynamic vary: 130dB
- Whole harmonic distortion: -115 dB THD+N
- Pre-Acquire: +/- 18 dB:
- Quantity management: Alps RK 27.
- Amps: 4 x 3,500mW Pmax into 100Ω and 23 V RMS into 600Ω.
- Headphone path and line-out path individually switchable
- Headphone outputs: 1 x 4-pin XLR, balanced / 1 x Pentaconn, bal. / 1 x ¼inch / 6.35mm jack, unbalanced.
- Line stereo outputs: Unbalanced by way of RCA.
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 17 x 5.5 x 29 cm.
- Weight: 3 kg.
- Energy enter: 110V or 230V (not each).
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