VIOLECTRIC DHA V226 HEADPHONE AMP AND DAC REVIEW

Violectric’s DHA V226 is a £1230 balanced headphone amplifier and DAC. In this review for HiFi PiG, Oscar Stewart gives it a whirl.

Violectric is the sister company of Lake People, Lake People products are geared more towards the pro-audio industry and so Violectric was created to make specialist products for the HiFi market. Made in Germany, Violectric quickly established a name in the industry for making extremely well-built products with fantastic sound to back them up. Fried Reim is the architect behind the products and makes devices that are driven by real-world advances in electronics design, not marketing promises. 

A long time ago I spent some time with the legendary Violectric V281, and that product left a lasting impression, let us see if the DHA V226 can do the same.

BUILD QUALITY AND FEATURES OF THE VIOLECTRIC DHA V226

The Violectric DHA V226 might not be a model name that rolls off the tip of your tongue, however, it is a product that you will appreciate as soon as you take it out of its box. It’s not huge, but it does have some weight to it. The casing is aluminium as far as I can tell and is finished to an incredibly high standard. 

The volume knob on the front is stepped and lovely to use, there are 2 switches on the front for the input/output, a power button, and the headphone outputs (4-pin XLR / 4.4mm balanced and 6.3mm single-ended). On the rear, you have the USB-C input to use the internal DAC, 2 pairs of analogue RCA inputs (with adjustable pre-gain) and a pair of RCA analogue outputs so you can use the DHA V226 as a pre-amplifier. There are 4 large aluminium feet on the bottom of the amp to keep it stable on your desk, it is an incredibly well-put-together DAC/amp and Violectric products are built to last.

Feature-wise the DHA V226 has both analogue and digital inputs (albeit only USB-C), allowing it to be used as a headphone amp only, or you can use the built-in DAC which is full 32-bit/384kHz PCM – DSD 64/256 compatible. The analogue inputs have adjustable +/- 18dB of pre-gain allowing for the perfect match between source and headphones. It also features delayed coupling of the headphone amp section to avoid power on/off pops or surges. The amp section can pump out 3500mw into 100Ohms and 23V RMS into 600Ohms, making it an incredible match with both low-impedance planars alongside high-impedance dynamic headphones. One thing to note is that the DHA V226 doesn’t get very hot in use, the casing barely got warm which is very good. 

SOUND QUALITY

To give the DHA V226 a proper initial test I decided to see if I could hear a difference between the internal DAC and the SMSL D6s – which is an objectively clean and neutral DAC. My headphone of choice for this was the HiFiMAN Susvara and, I’ll be honest, I couldn’t hear any real difference between the two. This to me is great news, it means the internal DAC of the V226 is audibly transparent and I could continue listening without worrying the internal DAC was the weak point. 

So, with the Susvara out I got down to business listening to some of my library via my PC, which is running Roon, playing local files along with streaming from Qobuz. The DHA V226, in my opinion, does a very respectable job at driving the incredibly difficult load of the Susvaras – they sound snappy and dynamic (as they should when powered properly) with fullness when required. The Violectric comes across as very effortless yet is also easy to listen to, there is a hint of warmth but nothing that makes the Susvara sound too thick. For example, The Devil Wears Prada – Nora requires a fast headphone to keep up with the mix of double kicks and electronic bass beat in the chorus, something this combo manages to do with ease.

This is a clean-sounding amplifier, the lows never sound overblown but have plenty of presence when called for, the midrange is accurate without sounding dry and the treble is crisp and resolving. The soundstaging of the Susvara is one of its strengths and the Violectric was not holding them back in that area, throwing out a very wide and deep soundstage with ease. 

Blink-182 – One More Time is a hard-hitting acoustic pop-punk song that is delivered with a whole heap of emotion, the DHA V226 delivering every nuance via the Susvara in the most natural way possible. 

I decided to test this DAC/Amp with the Meze 109 Pro next, a much easier-to-drive headphone. Suffice it to say, the DHA V226 had no issues with powering these and the background was still extremely quiet with no hiss or noise present at all. These headphones really do scale up with a nice source, the sound was very smooth and enjoyable and the treble was not as sharp as it can be with some other amps. Sleep Token – Aqua Regia sounds stunning through this combo with excellent extension, control, and detail. The sound flows around the stage with pinpoint precision, however, it’s never clinical in its presentation. 

The Beyerdynamic DT880 600Ohm headphones are a bit of a classic and their high impedance load leads them to sounding their absolute best out of a good desktop amp. The DHA V226 had no issues driving these headphones, the Violectric once again showing that it can drive most headphones out there with ease. The same qualities shine through these too, being exceptionally clean but without unwanted brightness. I played Lights – Up We Go (Acoustic) through this combo and you can hear every fingertip across the guitar strings, her vocals presented without unwanted colouring, the sound is crisp and open and lower bass notes are full yet presented in a controlled manner.

With the DT880, the DHA V226 could easily be used as a pro-audio tool in a studio, it is incredibly clean and doesn’t smooth over the finer details. This is a combo that’s enjoyable to listen to whilst being a reference sounding system too, no matter how complex the recording is, this pairing easily separates each part of the mix. 

The above applied to pretty much any headphones I tested with the DHA V226, Grado’s, Sennheiser’s, were all powered with ease and the sound had a sense of drive that was very enjoyable. Never once did the DHA V226 sound like it was trying to influence what you were hearing, it straddles that line of being clean and detailed, but having a little soul to the sound – something some amps I have tried fail to do. 

QUIBBLES

I will be honest; I have zero quibbles with this DAC/Amp – I plugged it in and it worked.

CONCLUSION

To me, the Violectric DHA V226 is a fit-and-forget DAC/Amp that just gets on and does what it needs to do without drawing attention to itself. There’s a solidness to its build quality, and a simplicity to its construction, which means you spend less time tinkering and more time just listening. There are no DAC filters to get lost in, no screen, just mechanical buttons, switches, and a lovely volume knob to do what it is there to do. 

The internal DAC is, to me, audibly transparent and you can hook up an external DAC should you wish, but it’s the headphone amp section though is where this really shines. It is a powerhouse that drives most headphones with ease and is backed up with a clean and crisp sound that isn’t cold and analytical, yet it never smooths over the finer details either. 

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality And Features:

Simple to use and solidly built

USB-C and Analogue inputs/outputs

4.4mm/4-pin XLR and 6.3mm Headphone outputs

Sound Quality:

Clear, detailed, and open without sounding bright

Effortless power with a hint of warmth/soul

Very enjoyable and easy to listen to without masking finer details

Value For Money:

This is very good value for money, the output power combined with an audibly transparent DAC means you get everything you need from one box.

It’s extremely versatile and powers most headphones on the market with ease

We Loved:

The way it effortlessly drives most headphones

Reference sound without sounding cold and lifeless

We Didn’t Love So Much:

I honestly cannot fault this DAC/Amp

Elevator Pitch Review: Don’t want to get lost in a DAC/Amp that has too many features hidden in menus? What about needing a headphone amp that can easily drive your collection without sounding lifeless and boring? Well, the DHA V226 is just that, it’s simple and solid yet gets on and does what it’s designed to do without fuss. This is solid German engineering at its best, with enough features to be functional without being confusing, backed up with a powerful and dynamic sound signature. 

This DAC/Amp does a wonderful job of delivering effortless sound to your headphones of choice – something that I appreciated greatly during my time with it. 

Price: £1230

Oscar Stewart

SUPPLIED BY ELECTROMOD

SUPPLIED SPECIFICATION

• Analogue stereo inputs, unbalanced via RCA
• 1 digital input, USB-C with up to 32 bit and up to 384 kHz for PCM signals, DSD 64 256
• 32 bit DAC with typical 130 dB dynamic range and -115 dB THD+N
• +/- 18 dB Pre-Gain for a perfect match of the DHA V226 between source and headphones
• Volume control with Alps RK 27 attenuator, big 38 mm massive aluminium knob
• 4 powerful amps offering 3500 mW Pmax into 100 Ohm and 23 V RMS into 600 Ohm
• Delayed coupling of the headphones to the amp after power-on
• Headphone path and line-out path individually switchable
• Headphone outputs: 1 x 4-pin XLR, bal. / 1 x Pentaconn, bal. / 1 x ¼” jack, unbal.
• Line stereo outputs: unbalanced via RCA
• 1 toroidal transformer, > 22.000 uF filter capacity