The fact that Chinese companies are pushing the rest of the brands on the audio market in full is understandable long ago. Often this leads to the fact that well-known manufacturers are forced to reduce their, often a considerable margin for their goods. Similar products of Chinese products are much cheaper. Separately, no luck to those manufacturers, which the Chinese copied as a whole, as happened with the products of Violectric. It's about the clones of their products, made by Accurate Audio, I'll tell.
Of course, cloning of other people's developments is bad, but in the case when it is possible to get a full analog of an expensive device for less money, mercantile considerations appear to be on the foreground. In addition, such replicas force manufacturers to revise pricing policies, reducing margins. In general, I will perhaps leave the moral side of the matter aside and focus on the practical aspects of the devices.
The two most popular Violectric models underwent cloning: the V200 headphone amplifier and the V800 DAC. Until recently, these were flagship models of the company, but time does not stand still, and the Germans have developed new (extra-expensive) models, and former flagships are repeated by the Chinese and sold at discounted prices. You can get copies (the original costs from 756 euros) and (the price of the original version starts from 925 euros). What do you get for this money?
To begin with, to the question - how much copies are close to the originals. Appearance coincides one to one, the insides, judging by the photos - are also the same, no attempts to save, putting the details worse, Accurate did not. By the sound - the amplifiers are exactly the same (I compared it with the original), I do not know about the 100% of the DAC, because the original did not hear, but I think that here too it is possible to put a "copy is true" stamp.
What are devices? V800 is a balanced digital-to-analog converter on a PCM1792 chip. Of the interesting features can be noted the presence of the signal's upsampling function, the digital volume control and the richness of digital inputs. Well-designed circuitry has achieved 120 dB of dynamic range and very low total harmonic distortion.
A200 is a fully discrete unbalanced headphone amplifier. Due to the low internal gain, the A200 provides very low noise. Inside this amplifier uses a voltage of 60 volts, which allows it to achieve excellent headphone build-up, both in voltage and current, which is not so common. Due to its low output impedance, the A200 provides a high damping factor, which allows this solution to perfectly control even very capricious headphones.
Specifications
V800 D / A converter
- Inputs: AES / EBU, S / PDIF, TOS-Link, USB
- Sampling frequency: up to 192 kHz by AES / EBU and S / PDIF, up to 96 by USB
- Bit depth: up to 24 bits
- Dynamic range: > 120 dB
- Frequency range: 10 Hz - 20 KHz (-0.05 dB), 10 Hz - 40 KHz (-0.20 dB)
- The coefficient of nonlinear distortion: <-112 dB
- Outputs: 2 × RCA, 2 × XLR, digital S / PDIF
- Dimensions: 170 mm × 49 mm × 225 mm
Amplifier A200
- Inputs: 2 × RCA, 2 × XLR
- Frequency range: 0 Hz - 60 KHz (-0.5 dB)
- Output Impedance: 0.06Ω
- Dynamic range: > 128 dB
- Noise: <-100 dBu
- SOI + noise: <-110 dB @ 100Ω, 1 W, <-103 dB @ 32Ω, 0.5 W
- Maximum power: 570 mW @ 600Ω, 2200 mW @ 100Ω, 2700 mW @ 50Ω, 2000 mW @ 32Ω, 1000 mW @ 16Ω
- Dimensions: 170 mm × 49 mm × 225 mm
Design and management
Both devices are made in a single style, which makes it possible to compose an aesthetic couple from them (it is still surprising how some manufacturers do not understand the obvious need to do so). The cases are completely metal, made of thick aluminum, this makes the A200 and V800 heavy and adds stability to the table and solidity. Front panels are made of 8-mm anodized aluminum, the inscriptions are made using laser engraving.
All controls of both devices are focused exclusively on the front and rear panels. I'll tell you in detail about each of the devices.
Let the first be a DAC. Behind are the power connector, 4 digital inputs, a coaxial digital output and two pairs of analog outputs, balanced XLR and conventional RCA. The first thing that surprises the front panel is the volume control - the function for DACs is very rare, but useful, it helps to more accurately choose the desired volume level for some headphones. In the middle position, the regulator can be fixed, apparently it corresponds to the "zero" version. Also on the front panel are 3 buttons in the environment of garlands of LEDs of all colors. The first button allows you to select one of the four inputs, the LEDs around it show your choice, another serves to indicate a successful connection. Next is a button that temporarily turns off the sound and the LED indicating errors. The last of the control buttons allows you to select the required upsampling factor (in this case, the DAC will automatically increase the sampling frequency of the signal) or turn off this function. There are options for doubling and quadrupling the frequency, as well as the ability to provide the DAC with the decision to decide what to do. The last button on the right is turning off the power of the device.
In general, the work of the DAC looks very elegant, although the colorful lights (some very bright) can be annoying.
The amplifier shares a similar design. On the rear panel are: power connector, output jacks (a pair of balanced XLR and a pair of conventional RCA), as well as microswitches to select the gain factor. The latter allow you to adjust the amplifier for use with a wide range of headphone models. On the front panel there are two headphone jacks, a volume control and a power switch with a bright blue indication LED.
Despite the presence of balanced inputs - the amplifier is not balanced, so the two sockets on the front panel are made for convenience and allow you to connect two pairs of headphones.
Sound
For listening I used the following equipment:
- MacBook Pro Retina Late 2013 as a source
- Audirvana Plus as a player
- Headphones HiFiMan HE-4, Audeze LCD-3, TDS-7 in the modification of Snorry, Sennheiser HD800
- Balancing cables from
- Entries in lossless format
Most of the time I tested both components in combination with each other, they show excellent compatibility. That's why I'll write about the DAC and amplifier individually only briefly, and then I'll write about the bundle as a whole.
The feed of the DAC is very natural, with a slight subtle touch of smoothness. I probably would not have paid attention to it, if not for a direct comparison with Yulong DA8. The sound of the V800 is very musical and nicely combined with most headphones. On the Internet, I met feedback that not through USB, this DAC sounds even better in resolution, but did not check this version, because, firstly, there is no good USB-converter at hand, and secondly, the USB sound seemed to me and so more than good for this price range. In general, I would consider the option of purchasing an external converter the possibility of an additional upgrade for those in the future who want more.
The function of the up-sampling, built in the DAC - is quite an interesting option, which allows you to control the oversampling of the signal, choosing between the pros of different options. I liked most of all the sound with the option of automatic coefficient selection. In this case, the DAC shows better performance at the higher frequencies, they sound very easy and airy.
Amplifier - the strongest of the applicants I know for leadership in its price segment. Discrete design gives him excellent detail, neutral feed and excellent control of most models of headphones except, perhaps, HiFiMan HE-6.
It's easy to guess what happens as a result of a combination of these components. This bundle has almost no equal in its budget (primarily due to the increase).
The bass of the set "DAC + amplifier" - excellent controllable, fast, very detailed. Even the thinish on the Bass HD800 add weight in this part of the AFC, which is good for them. The background of the melody is created very lively, the solidity and weight of the instruments do not cause doubts.
The midrange is slightly softened, but this does not affect their perception negatively, and in some cases even benefits, for example, vocals, on my ear, are perceived more vividly and pleasantly. Also it allows bad records to sound at least a little more tolerant. Of course, the resolution, the dynamics - all these indicators are at a high level. The instruments are perfectly separated and spaced in an imaginary scene and well positioned both in depth and in width.
High frequencies are transparent, detailed and airy. It will play exactly what your headphones are capable of, their character will be as accurately transmitted and revealed. Particularly pleased with the fact that in A200-m they did not artificially emphasize the HF-range to create the effect of pseudo-detailing, and because of this, even light headphones sound natural.
Compatibility
Despite the presence of double volume control and gain adjustment, these devices are not very suitable for sensitive in-channel headphone models. I quite often come across the fact that similar headphones connect to powerful amplifiers, getting not very good results. In fact, large and powerful amplifiers are not really needed by all headphones.
From what was at hand, especially the bundle of the V800 and the A200 showed itself with the Sennheiser HD800, providing excellent detail and musical sound, as well as isodynamic models such as Audeze LCD-series. Naturally, with these headphones, the list of suitable models is not limited.
Genre this set is very versatile, with it great sound almost any style of music. To the quality of the records, the criticality is above average, but not beyond. You will hear bad tracks with all the ruthlessness, but I can not say that it is absolutely impossible to listen to it.
Traditionally a few tracks.
Powerwolf - Cardinal Sin (orchestral) The bonus track from the 2013 album combines juicy guitar riffs with a powerful orchestral substrate, so for high-quality wagering you need not only excellent control over all frequencies, but also high resolution. That's why a bunch of these amplifiers and DACs perfectly handle the track.
Queen - Killer Queen. One of their first hits is the greatest band. A complex combination of classical music and rock, put on a little softened musical pitch V800 give exactly the effect that is necessary for this music.
Rage - Shame on You! Perhaps, the first album of those Rage, which became one of the founders of the German Power Metal. The rather complex material requires an excellent tract, and the V200 is paired with the Audeze LCD-3 and is just such an option.
conclusions
What could be better than saving almost 50% of the price when buying high-end equipment? Perhaps a little. This is exactly how the Chinese from Accurate decided and made a complete and ruthless clone of two, perhaps, the best models available on the market. Of course, from a moral point of view, this is a very, very bad thing. But the opportunity for a relatively modest money to get high-quality sound makes the conscience silent and move aside.
The article is based on materials .
Comments
Post a Comment