Violectric V850 Balanced DAC (Good Condition/Germany/OBM/Original Owner/Black)

Hello Fellow Audiogoners!

With the new year approaching, my digital front end has undergone some pretty drastic changes. I am slowly moving away from USB and other digital connections and going straight to Ethernet/wireless audio. I just have too many boxes to justify another box, so, with great reluctance, I am selling this wonderful piece of equipment.

Purchased new from the Violectric distributor in the US. I have the original invoice/manuals/all accessories. My unit has black faceplate and gold feet. It is made in Germany and its very spartan appearance disguises its stunning build quality. When you see it and handle it in person, the front fascia, the buttons all have a wonderful tactile quality that exudes understated elegance.

The unit can be adjusted to 240v or 120v by simply opening up the cover and flipping a dip switch. So worldwide shipping is available. Please see pictures where I have pointed to discolorations from the plastic from my headphones on the top of the chassis. I used this in my headphone setup and only noticed it after a year. The front face is perfect. Thus I am giving it a 7/10 only because I am very particular about how I rate my gear. It functions perfectly.

Now, why would anyone want this DAC in a world of quad-DSD, 20 billion FPGA taps, mega-scalers etc? Well, let me just say that a good friend of mine who has a DAC, let’s call this DAC “Devon”, and for fun, he brought his “Devon” over for a listen. Now the “Devon” is great, it has lights, coloured balls, and you can peer inside like some audiophile voyeur. But in a head to head, it was surprisingly close. On the AES/EBU, I actually preferred my V850 to that on the “Devon.” The Violectric does 24/192, and that is it. So DSD is downsampled to 24/192, and it still sounds great. This is a DAC for those of you who march to their own drummer and don’t chase the numbers. Sometimes the measurements add up to good sound, sometimes they don’t.

Shipping within N. America is free. PayPal is included in the price, and worldwide shipping can be subsidized to an extent, please ask. The weight and measurements of the unit are up for reference only, Audiogon shipping tends to skew towards to expensive end. The current MSRP is USD 1930 without the remote option. Asking $1050.

Thanks for looking. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

K.