Sound.

For the sound impressions I worked similar to a few of my recent reviews. I have taken my time and simply used the V226 instead of going through my standard review routine of focusing on an extended critical analysis. I find that when I listen casually, I often more readily notice those aspects that most clearly characterize what I am reviewing. These are more important than tiny nuances that might or might not be relevant to anyone else listening to the same setup. My descriptions therefore end up being uncharacteristically (for me) generalized. That is not because I have not done a proper job of reviewing, it’s just that I did the review slightly differently and did not always make notes while listening. This is in every way a down-to-Earth, real-world review that I hope gives a good idea of what you get with the V226.

For listening I used a wide variety of different gear. IEMs include the Final A8000, DITA Audio Dream XLS, Empire Ears Wraith and 64 Audio U18s. Earbuds were the Astrotec Lyra Collection, FiiO FF3 and the high-impedance (300 Ohm) TGX Ear Serratus. For headphones I was unfortunately limited to only the HD650. The transport was generally my MacBook Pro (2020), although I did use the V226 briefly for gaming with my PS4.

To quote Violectric:

“The roots of the headphone amplifier circuitry can be found in its praised and award-winning predecessors: the V200, V280 and V281. At its core, the DHA V226 features a similar natural but smooth and pleasing sound.”

The terms “natural”, “smooth” and “pleasing” capture the sound of the V226 very well, although I would add one extra term: “musical”. This is where I think Violectric have done an exceptional job. The V226 is a joy to listen to and worked with every headphone, IEM and earbud I tried. The result was always music as it in my opinion should be, thoroughly enjoyable.

There is a particular balance here that I think Violectric aimed for, and succeeded in achieving. The technical performance of the V226 is very good with a natural transparency that does not overdo things and push into a more analytical or clinical sound. The foundation seems to be ‘nice neutral’ (i.e., a high-quality neutral) with an added bit of warmth for smoothness and musicality. Although it never feels like distinct colour is added. It is subtle and means the V226 pairs well with everything. It allows you to drift away comfortably with the sound of your favourite headphones and I think the V226 will be very popular because of it. It’s easy to love and has the technical performance to impress.

The HD650, in this case paired with 4.4mm balanced Eletech Inferno aftermarket cable, is a great illustration of this. I found its pairing with the V226 to result in a warm and enveloping sound that was utterly gorgeous. Especially the warm and organic bass, and luscious mids felt like a comfort blanket. Every time I listened, I would get lost in the soundscape. Not that it extended very far, it is the HD650 we are talking about after all, but it was incredibly ‘smooth’ and ‘pleasing’. There was also a great sense of realism to the vocals, which further increased the intimacy of the experience. As a music lover audiophile, this type of presentation is exactly what I am after.

This sense of realism was also very noticeable with the Serratus. These high-impedance earbuds already have great timbre and a naturalness that makes the music more tangible, and the pairing with the V226 once again worked like a charm. The V226 tames the lower treble lift a little to where it becomes less noticeable and helps the Serratus balance a bit better in my opinion. The overall result is tremendously musical and again I found myself instantly lost in the music.

The Wraith in turn are IEMs much closer to neutral, but with an incredibly well-done timbre and imaging. They present a grand soundstage and the result is once again absolutely gorgeous. There is such a wonderful naturalness and smoothness to the V226 that allows classical music to flow like velvet and helps to convey the emotions of the music in the most delicate and tangible manner. It reminds me of why I previously used the V380 as the source for my Masters of Classical Music with the Vision Ears VE5.

Every other pairing I tried resulted in much the same impressions. The V226 is genuinely natural, smooth, pleasing and musical, without forgoing any technical performance. Again, you could push for a more revealing and detailed sound with higher clarity, but it would come at a cost of what I think makes the V226 so special…

…sorry, I had to pause writing there for a second. I was listing to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and L’Estate, Presto started. This is exactly why these days I prefer “casual” listening for my reviews. All of a sudden, I got goose bumps and every thought stopped while I was swept away in the music. I don’t think a more analytical amp could be present L’Estate with this much emotion and such velvety smoothness, sweeping me away in the music. Utterly gorgeous!

I wish I had the opportunity to try it with a dedicated DAC to see how much that would affect the performance of the amp. Unfortunately, I don’t and so I will leave the discussion about the DAC to others who are better equipped for doing so.

Conclusions.

The Violectric DHA V226 is a wonderful amp, DAC and pre-amp. It offers excellent technical performance combined with a natural, smooth and thoroughly enjoyable sound. It is easy to love and highly versatile thanks to a combination of high power, extremely low noise and a number of different headphone out options. This means the V226 will drive virtually anything from the most sensitive IEMs to high-impedance headphones. Build quality is excellent and the size is small enough to make it very practical for those who are short on desk space. At its price of €1,399, I feel the V226 offers excellent value and I am actually hoping to save up for one.