Devialet Owners & Discussion Thread

[PKay]

Volume works brilliantly on ethernet using the ipad.

[Pim]

1 minute ago, Nap250 said:

I implemented Roon over with ethernet, (as WIFI had the same drop out issues) and IME the ethernet connection is much more stable and I would highly recommend it. I have an Antipodes DS Reference server which is very good but the Roon software (with a 5 year old laptop) running over ethernet is an improvement. The 200 is a very impressive unit running roon over ethernet, no drop outs with DSD or high res and a very good sound.

 

Since implementing Roon last night I would say the Devialet/Roon combo is well worth an audition for anyone interested in an all in one solution.

 

It sure sounds fantastic!

[PKay]

1 hour ago, Pim said:

 

It sure sounds fantastic!

Agreed on it sounding fantastic and far more stable as well. 

[Pim]

4 minutes ago, Nap250 said:

Agreed on it sounding fantastic and far more stable as well. 

 

On the stability; I've been playing a bit with bits and pieces and it's clear as daylight to me; every time there's a little crackle it is because I've just asked too much from my Mac mini. Like a few minutes ago I got Roon to read my iTunes playlists and it gave a little crackle. It was over in a second and played absolutely stable since. All the playlists were imported really quickly so it must be asking a bit from the processor.

[Saunter]

I spent some time today going back and forth between the integrated air driver and then using the separate air driver and JPlay.

 

There is a difference in sound. The Integrated Air driver gives a bit more bass but going through the Dev Air driver and JPlay gives a more holographic sound stage and voices are just a tad more present. I am talking small but noticeable differences. 

 

I am sticking with the Devialet Air driver through JPlay since i never had trouble with stability..

[Doctor Faustus]

Anyone have any more thoughts about Devialet amps???  Noticed a few have sold here and wondering how the new owners are finding them...

[PKay]

48 minutes ago, Toyboyo said:

Anyone have any more thoughts about Devialet amps???  Noticed a few have sold here and wondering how the new owners are finding them...

I haven't noticed too much activity on the 200 front for a while. IME Roon coupled with Devialet has provided a large benefit to SQ and functionality over ethernet. It would be great to hear of any other options/thoughts?

 

[PicoWattson]

Hard to believe this is the first posting on Devialet for over 4-1/2 years. Can anyone comment on the phono capabilities of the Devialet from real world use? Can it handle ultra-low output mc cartridges? Although having had many fine phono stages I've never critically listened to Devialet's implementation, and as much as the bouquets flow for all other functions no reviews I've trawled through give any serious thoughts on using this from a vinyl spinning perspective. Hope the initial enthusiasm for the brand still exists.

Edited July 17, 2022 by PicoWattson

[sir sanders zingmore]

3 minutes ago, PicoWattson said:

Can anyone comment on the phono stage from actual use. Can it handle ultra-low output mc cartridges? Although having had many fine phono stages I've never critically listened to Devialet's implementation, and as much as the bouquets flow for all other functions no reviews I've trawled through give any serious thoughts on using this from a vinyl spinning perspective.

I used to use my (bottom of the range) devialet 120 with a Dynavector 17d3. I thought it sounded superb. 

[PicoWattson]

Just now, sir sanders zingmore said:

I used to use my (bottom of the range) devialet 120 with a Dynavector 17d3. I thought it sounded superb.

Compared to....

[sir sanders zingmore]

2 minutes ago, PicoWattson said:

Compared to....

Just moved the discussion out of the for sale thread…

 

…compared to what I expected it to sound like I guess.
 I didn’t do any other comparisons I was very happy with the sound and was very happy that I had an all in one unit that really could do everything so well. 
 

[metamatics]

On 17/7/2022 at 5:56 PM, PicoWattson said:

Hard to believe this is the first posting on Devialet for over 4-1/2 years. Can anyone comment on the phono capabilities of the Devialet from real world use? Can it handle ultra-low output mc cartridges? Although having had many fine phono stages I've never critically listened to Devialet's implementation, and as much as the bouquets flow for all other functions no reviews I've trawled through give any serious thoughts on using this from a vinyl spinning perspective. Hope the initial enthusiasm for the brand still exists.

I use my devialet expert 200 dedicated to vinyl playing , Having had phono stage’s in the $1000 range in the past years . Have used MC/MM and cure a Nagaoka MP200  ,recently I get clipping on the db display near the volume , however clipping was not audible  .  I did call devialet (australia help centre) to ask why this is happening and all my settings were correct, My own thoughts were probably different mastered records and a high gain cartridge which a Devialet engineer did say . Expert 200 will be with me for a very long time . 

[jt301]

I use a Benz micro ruby z  cartridge with a devialet 400 and it sounds good to me. However I listen primarily to digital and yes, I know how crazy that makes me sound.

I just don’t see someone who’s really serious about vinyl and analogue buying a devialet amp.

[PicoWattson]

Thanks for both those impressions. Using a Benz Micro Ruby Z would seem to be to be on the North side of serious. I now listen to digital also primarily however can't abandon spinning vinyl from my carefully culled but still extensive collection. I also derive holistic mental benefits from the all encompassing record playing experience, much like swapping the automatic daily driver for the manual convertible on a fine day's drive through the hills.

[Yamaha_man]

I had the 1000 pro infinity core and found they lacked gain.

[derekcohen]

On 17/07/2022 at 5:56 PM, PicoWattson said:

Hard to believe this is the first posting on Devialet for over 4-1/2 years. Can anyone comment on the phono capabilities of the Devialet from real world use? Can it handle ultra-low output mc cartridges? Although having had many fine phono stages I've never critically listened to Devialet's implementation, and as much as the bouquets flow for all other functions no reviews I've trawled through give any serious thoughts on using this from a vinyl spinning perspective. Hope the initial enthusiasm for the brand still exists.

 

I use a Supex 900 Mk IV into a Devialet 120 Expert. Early on, when I first used this amp, there was a very faint tapping or flutter sound. It turned out to be the wifi module hunting for a signal. What I did was to switch off "Auto WiFi Standby" on the Configurator, and there was silence. No hum, no flutter, just silence.  The Supex has an output of 0.2 V. That is about as low as any MC cartridge can go.  I've had a few integrated amps with dedicated MC capabilities, and the Devialet is excellent. 

 

Regards from Perth

 

Derek

[KRSDarwin]

A few months ago I acquired a Devialet Expert Pro 1000 to replace a very enjoyable and powerful Musical Fidelity M6si with 2 Musical Fidelity 550K Superchargers bi-wired to Paradigm Persona 7Fs. 
 

I chose to have a go at the Devialet for 2 main reasons, it’s a closer ‘technical age’ to the speakers (this is a sneaking theory of mine rather than a validated theory) and because I can bi-amp with the Devialet (which Paradigm recommends for the Personas). It didn’t hurt that I thought the amp looked glorious and are a slimline form. 

Initially I had the Devialet out while setting up and some Hi-Fi friends had a listen. Now they are more tucked away. They can run hot, but not too bad. 

The results in the digital domain (streaming and cd) have been outstanding. I love the added clarity, weight and bass tautness. Everything has weight - treble, midrange and bass. Nothing seems overshadowed. The way I describe it it’s like seeing a gearbox, there is an overall sound (the case which you can see) but you can also see (hear) inside at the same time all the individual gears and oil moving in it. Somewhat surprisingly it was ‘I was made for loving you’ by Kiss which first gave rise to this visual impression of what I was hearing. All music sounds great, including jazz, classical, rock, and electronic. 
 

I feel my speakers are now free to do everything they are capable of, without restraint. I use SAM but can’t say I hear a lot of difference between off and on. 
 

The Devialet remote is nothing short of a tactile masterpiece. A knob twiddle’s dream. It’s hard to leave the volume control alone. 
 

I also have a Clearaudio Concept with Aluminium MC cart going into the Devialet. While records sound very good , there is 2 issues. They never sound better than the digital (which in my last system they sometimes did) and I still have some dreaded cone wobble on some recordings (though I appear to have eliminated most of this with the subsonic filter). 
 

The other ‘drawbacks’, I’m not so interested I the SNA classifieds anymore as I am very happy where I am at and there doesn’t seem so much to play with. I also feel a bit sad that my records no longer can outperform my digital. 
 

There are still things to do and challenges. My room has issues (as quite deliberately it is part of our lounge room living space). Integration with my AVR can be improved and I suspect I can improve my Nucleus+ and TT performance. Nevertheless, I have reached a simplified, easy to control, incredibly detailed and effortlessly powerful main system which I love listening to. 

[KRSDarwin]

It's been 4 months since the post above and my Devialet Expert Pro 1000s continue to perform superbly and I am truly enjoying the music they produce through the Persona 7Fs. 

 

I feed into the Devialets the following sources:

 

Master unit

• Streaming (Qobuz and Tidal using Roon) by ethernet (my prime listening) 
• Nucleus+ (streaming Qobuz and Tidal using Roon and hard drive) by USB cable
• Sonos (streaming spotify and accessing hard drives) by optical
• Turntable (Clearaudio Concept with Alumium MC cartridge) by RCA using RAM
• TV (for home theatre) by RCA
• CD (Oppo) by coaxial 

Slave unit

• SACD (Oppo) by RCA
• Nucleus+ (streaming Qobuz and Tidal using Roon and hard drive) to Topping D10 to concert to Spdif then to Devialet by coaxial

I understand the Devialets have an ADC for analogue signals received (Turntable, SACD) and then have a DAC to drive the speakers (which I bi-amplify and get great results). 

 

Notwithstanding the level of musical enjoyment I am obtaining I can't help wondering whether there any advantage in adding either a high quality phono stage or a high quality DAC (for streaming or CD). On the one hand my brain says added components just put more between you and the music and why go to the expense to increase the quality of the analogue signal when the Devialets just convert (in the case of a phono stage) or re-convert (in the case of a DAC) the signal to digital. On the other hand maybe the increased quality in the increased quality out.

 

I did email Devialet who were very responsive. They claim their system was very neutral and that gains could be had, some customers did this and it was a matter of personal preference.

 

I thought I would consult SNA Devialet owners to hear of their setups and experiences and whether they have any views on the above issue.

 

Cheers

 

[Guest]

@KRSDarwin, suggest you join 

https://devialetchat.com/index.php

and post the same thing there.  There are many more Devialet users there and many of them are helpful and will exchange ideas with you.

[PKay]

1 hour ago, KRSDarwin said:

It's been 4 months since the post above and my Devialet Expert Pro 1000s continue to perform superbly and I am truly enjoying the music they produce through the Persona 7Fs. 

 

I feed into the Devialets the following sources:

 

Master unit

• Streaming (Qobuz and Tidal using Roon) by ethernet (my prime listening) 
• Nucleus+ (streaming Qobuz and Tidal using Roon and hard drive) by USB cable
• Sonos (streaming spotify and accessing hard drives) by optical
• Turntable (Clearaudio Concept with Alumium MC cartridge) by RCA using RAM
• TV (for home theatre) by RCA
• CD (Oppo) by coaxial 

Slave unit

• SACD (Oppo) by RCA
• Nucleus+ (streaming Qobuz and Tidal using Roon and hard drive) to Topping D10 to concert to Spdif then to Devialet by coaxial

I understand the Devialets have an ADC for analogue signals received (Turntable, SACD) and then have a DAC to drive the speakers (which I bi-amplify and get great results). 

 

Notwithstanding the level of musical enjoyment I am obtaining I can't help wondering whether there any advantage in adding either a high quality phono stage or a high quality DAC (for streaming or CD). On the one hand my brain says added components just put more between you and the music and why go to the expense to increase the quality of the analogue signal when the Devialets just convert (in the case of a phono stage) or re-convert (in the case of a DAC) the signal to digital. On the other hand maybe the increased quality in the increased quality out.

 

I did email Devialet who were very responsive. They claim their system was very neutral and that gains could be had, some customers did this and it was a matter of personal preference.

 

I thought I would consult SNA Devialet owners to hear of their setups and experiences and whether they have any views on the above issue.

 

Cheers

 

IMO and experience I would stick with the Devialet DAC. I ended up selling my Meitner MA1 Dac and have been fine with the internal Dac. You should have a look at Clay’s reclocker 

.

 

I think that would give you a much better improvement. 

Edited March 12, 2023 by PKay

[wikeeboy]

1 hour ago, PKay said:

IMO and experience I would stick with the Devialet DAC. I ended up selling my Meitner MA1 Dac and have been fine with the internal Dac. You should have a look at Clay’s reclocker 

.

 

I think that would give you a much better improvement. 

 

Having been a past Devialet tragic, i wouldn't use anything other than the internal DAC. Using an external DAC negates one of the Devialet's main strengths which is a super short signal path from input to output.

 

With regards to the analogue side, although the phono is good if you're after better than average, using an external phono can provide improvement over the internal phono.

 

Absolutely second @PKay suggestion above.

[Phill451]

I’m much more at the entry level for Devialet, using a expert pro 140. As far as phono stages go I toggle between the internal phono and a graham slee era gold V. It is a tussle but I think the external phono is marginally better.

 

I agree with other comments about the need for an external dac, seems too complicated and somewhat unnecessary.

[KRSDarwin]

Thanks all for the insights and recommendations.  

 

@PKay and @wikeeboy and @Snoopy8, I have ordered the Gieseler USB Reinigen and am looking forward to giving it a go.

 

Cheers

[PKay]

8 hours ago, KRSDarwin said:

Thanks all for the insights and recommendations.  

 

@PKay and @wikeeboy and @Snoopy8, I have ordered the Gieseler USB Reinigen and am looking forward to giving it a go.

 

Cheers

Please let us know how you like it. 

[KRSDarwin]

Howdy @PKay and @wikeeboy and @Snoopy8, while the following report is also posted on the Reclocker discussion thread referred to above I thought the main elements were worth repeating here for Devialtet owners to consider.

 

I acquired (in a very friendly and easy transaction) and inserted the well built and quality feel Reclocker between my Nucleus+ and Devialet Expert Pro 1000 (driving Paradigm Persona 7F speakers in bi-amp configuration) using AudioQuest Cinnamon USB A to USB B cables connecting into and out of the Reclocker. I powered the Reclocker up and let it sit for a while and warmed up my system while I cued up my Test Music playlist using Roon. I know the music in this list very well.

 

The difference was apparent to me from the start. The slightly parched (but very clear) sound that I had derived from the Nucleus+ was now honeyed to give a greater naturalness to ‘You and Your Friend’ (Dire Straits). To me it was more analogue, and this to a very digital recording. There was no sense in losing clarity, just gaining naturalness. Imaging expanded like a balloon with a little more air breathed into it, there was a sense of slightly more space within the recording.

 

The reinforcement of natural sounding instruments was emphasised in the next track, ‘Jazz Variants’ (The O Zone Percussion Group) – if you haven’t heard this track do yourself a favour and have a listen. Simply all of it sounded more lifelike. I then played the opening of ‘The Four Seasons: Spring’ (Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Iona Brown) and the tinkle was less piercing but still clear and distinct. Similarly the brass in ‘Caravan’ (Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers) traded its stonking honking with a beautiful brassiness. On it went, consistent improvements from instruments on all tracks. The only odd one was ‘Bad Guy’ (Billie Eilish: When we fall asleep, where do we go?), the naturalness of the bass meant the heavy bass notes felt closer, not congestion but like pickets in a fence being larger than they were before so the gaps shrank.

 

When I came to the human voice in ‘Keith Don’t Go’ (Nils Lofgren Acoustic Live), ‘First We Take Manhattan’ (Jennifer Warnes: Famous Blue Raincoat), ‘Halo’ (Beyonce), ‘No Aphrodisiac’ (The Whitlams, Eternal Nightcap), ‘Spanish Harlem’ (Rebecca Pidgeon), “’Crucify Your Mind’ (Rodriguez: Cold Fact), ‘Calling All Angels’ (Train: Live), ‘The Rose’ (Bette Midler), ‘I Was Made for Loving You’ (Kiss: Dynasty) and others I found that the voice had retreated ever so slightly as against the music but had traded with more nuanced pronunciation in which you could hear greater detail in breathing, sibilance and inflexion.

 

The above should be understood in the context of my system which I view as highly revealing (which I like and seek out) and capable of very good audio fidelity. I feel my system and my knowledge of it allows me to hear subtle but important changes and increments in quality. My descriptions (to the extent they are prosaic) are not intended as hyperbole but rather a way to try and communicate the essence of the improvements and differences I heard in a way that can be understood.

 

In my system the streaming by Ethernet direct into the Devialet was the undisputed king and superior to the Nucleus+ by USB cable (and Spdif) into the Devialet because the Nucleus+ was ever so slightly more sterile. With the Reclocker in place the Nucleus+ now definitely delivers the best sound, and that’s saying something.

 

For me, was the Gieseler Reinigen USB Reclocker a worthwhile addition to my system? A definite yes.

 

Thanks

Edited March 15, 2023 by KRSDarwin
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