New toys - V-DAC II, V-CAN II & V-PSUII

[hifidez]

OK, so a whole bunch of budget components. But I saw the price of these getting a bit lower recently (Mk III on the way?) so thought I'd take the risk and order them.

I bought the DAC first and straight away I was impressed. I ran it side by side with my X-DACv3 but the new V-DAC II won the fight. Was a close call but the V-DAC gave a more human, organic sound; the X-DACv3 was more clinical, greyer sounding - I've always appreciated the X-DACv3 but I felt I had to LEARN to love it. The V-DAC II? Instant infatuation I think. I really took my time over the comparison but eventually the X-DACv3 went to a new home via Ebay; it almost paid for the V-DAC which was nice.

The purchase of the V-PSU II came next and I'm happy to report that the improvement it brought about was every bit as good as the few reviews I've read led me to expect.

Then came the V-CAN II as it was a shame to let the spare power supply outlets go to waste... the V-CAN arrived only yesterday but at first listen it sounds good. I'm looking forward to comparing it to the X-CANv3. I like the way my X-CAN gives me the impression that the music is coming more from outside my head, and at eye level, than is usual for headphone listening. Wonder how the V-CAN will shape up?

Budget hifi has come a long way hasn't it? Squeezebox Touch > V-DAC II is such a cool yet inexpensive source for my upgraded & overhauled 3.2cr and the wicked Spendor A5s :-)

I had one of those 'just one more track' afternoons yesterday and I'll be having a few more.

D.

[alebonau]

Nice pickups hifidez

Yeah these x and v components definitely great value and even more so when pick them 2nd hand

Sounds like the xdac v3 bit more clinical in sound and the vdac more up your street. Another good thing is resale on these as dont loose if want to move with plenty of fans & demand for them out there

The power supply on these definitely seem to help looks like confirmed that on the v series as well.

So how did you find the x cans to compare ? I owned an xcan v3 myself and found it a beauty. But wonder how it compared to the xcanv2 as that is a bit of a classic in itself

[hifidez]

I'm away from home a lot for the next two weeks so no time fot proper comparison of the 'phones amps. Will report back when i have had the opportuniy to do do.

D.

[hifidez]

Have now added the V-LPS ii to the collection :-)

Not even tested it out yet as I've been busy.

[hifidez]

Never did comment on the sound quality of my V-CANii h'phone amp. Compared with the X-CANv3 (sold on now) it is more neutral, less character. And that's a good thing (as long as you appreciate 'neutral' that is). It's simply 'there' with plenty enough power to drive my Grado SR 60 & 80 plus my old Sen. HD480's. The X-CANv3 IIRC was a slightly 'bigger' sounding amp... but because of it's tube hybrid make-up I didn't want to run the risk of it failing or needing maintenance in the future. And is the 'bigger' sound of the V-CAN a psychological artifact? After all it's weighs a lot and looks the business whereas the V-CANii is slight. It weighs very little. Anyway I'm not a regular headphone user so I find the V-CANii just 'plug 'n' play'. Fit it and forget it.

By the way, for bedside use along with my Pure DAB radio I use a Topping NX-1 headphone amp. Well under 30 quid and it's a little beauty. Designed in the main to be an upgrade for phones, tablets, laptops etc where the output (especially with mobile phones) can be limited in both volume and qaulity terms. In my case, during the very few times I fly on holiday, my Android tablet can't quite compete with the aircraft noise even though I use on-ear, sealed back 'phones. The tab. hasn't enough grunt. The NX-1 solves this issue.

Dez.