Is the Devialet 400 worth a try?

[Kimo]

Currently, I am running an Aqua LaScala DAC into a Pass XP-20/XA 30.8 combo. I am using an Oppo 103 with vanity HD card as a universal digital transport. I auditioned a few integrated amplifiers over the last year. I preferred none to the Pass combo, but I am thinking the Devialet might be on another level.

 

Has anyone heard enough of the above to offer any insight or opinion? The though of lowering the noise floor and going from 4 boxes to 1 is appealing.

[firedog]

I haven't heard exactly your combination, but the Devialet will for sure be a different sound. Better?

A matter of taste. You should try auditioning one somehow, just to see if it is really a consideration. I don't think it will take you long to decide whether it is something worth giving a serious audition to, or not.

Note: I like the Devialet sound.

Not everyone does.

[wdw]

Another data point...replaced a Berkeley Alpha and Alpha USB and Levinson Power amp for a pair of 400's....amazingly powerful, discreet and musical.

[jtwrace]

Might want to look into the Vinnie Rossi LIO as well.

 

Vinnie Rossi - LIO custom modular audio component

[Kimo]

I haven't heard exactly your combination, but the Devialet will for sure be a different sound. Better?

A matter of taste. You should try auditioning one somehow, just to see if it is really a consideration. I don't think it will take you long to decide whether it is something worth giving a serious audition to, or not.

Note: I like the Devialet sound.

Not everyone does.

 

I haven't been able to get a handle on the sound from the reviews. Maybe I can find a 200 for an in home audition. 400s seems to be a bit scarce.

[TubeLover]

At these prices, I would consider an in home audition of the 40 as essential. As you noted, you cannot get an entirely accurate assessment of the sound of the Devialet from reviews.

 

JC

[firedog]

I haven't been able to get a handle on the sound from the reviews. Maybe I can find a 200 for an in home audition. 400s seems to be a bit scarce.

 

No dealer near you? IMO, the basic sound of the various models is the same, with incremental improvents as you go up the scale.

[ecwl]

I think R2R DAC with Pass Labs Class A sound is very, very different than Devialet's sound. My gut feeling is that you chose your components because you like what you're hearing so I somehow doubt you'll like Devialet. Lucky for you, as a few people have mentioned, Devialet has a fairly consistent sound so unlike most other products, you can probably just go to a dealer and listen to any Devialet system and get a feel of whether it's the sound you want. While I think most products require a home trial, I think in your case a Devialet home audition may not be necessary.

I haven't heard the vanity HD card as a transport but I somehow suspect that you may benefit from a high-end USB based transport, e.g. Aurender. And on spec, your system sounds pretty awesome so why do you want an upgrade? Is there a room acoustic issue that you couldn't resolve? Then you may need some DSP or traps. Or maybe Jim Smith's Get Better Sound book. Or at least a real-time analyzer to see why you're hearing something you are not totally happy with.

[Ajax]

Currently, I am running an Aqua LaScala DAC into a Pass XP-20/XA 30.8 combo. I am using an Oppo 103 with vanity HD card as a universal digital transport. I auditioned a few integrated amplifiers over the last year. I preferred none to the Pass combo, but I am thinking the Devialet might be on another level.

 

Has anyone heard enough of the above to offer any insight or opinion? The though of lowering the noise floor and going from 4 boxes to 1 is appealing.

 

Hi Kimo,

 

Please note the Devialet 400 is actually two units daisy-chained in mono-blocks: a complete Devialet 200 “master” and a Devialet 200 “slave”. Surely the decision of whether you purchase a 200 vs 400 depends on what speakers you are driving.

 

I have the 200 driving ATOHM G1 speakers and with 200 watts of power it does so without issue. I would not see the need to purchase an extra unit at nearly double the cost unless you have incredibly inefficient speakers and want to go extremely loud.

 

The sound is sublime.

 

All the best,

 

Ajax

[Dr Tone]

What speakers are planning on driving? Are they SAMed?

 

Trying a 200 at home will give you all the information you need. In fact you might find it powerful enough or maybe the 250 would be enough, both allow for an easy upgrade to 400 or 800 later.

[Kimo]

All, thanks for the responses. My current speakers are probably not that well known Alta Celestes FRMs. They are an amazing monitor that might respond well to more power. I do not want to purchase mono blocks, and I really don't want to switch to an A/B Pass amp. Hence, I started to look in other directions.

 

I can find a few 200s, so I will try to get a demo and report my findings.

[monteverdi]

I have a D250 and really like it its transparent sound. Before I had lower end DCS, old Pass Labs and Kharma amps but there was much more of a sonic signature. I am using Devialet's cross over functions for my self designed loudspeakers and that improves the sound a lot compared to the D250 and passive crossover.

If you what a simpler system why not consider active loudspeakers which now have a builtin digital crossover and dedicated amplifiers and thus can be much more optimized for the specific drivers. Devialet makes Phantom but there many more to consider. I find the Avantgarde Acoustic Zero quite interesting as the Kii three but I have not heard any of these yet.

[Kimo]

 

I have considered ATC speakers in the past, but never got to hear the bigger models that interested me. That being said, I am not sure that I will be able to find a dome tweeter to match the Raal ribbon, and I know I likely won't match the bass response I am getting from the Altas with that from another monitor.

[wouterk]

On ATC - I have been using the ATC 50 Tower - actives: sound great, neutral, relaxed with plenty of detail, phase coherency and full bodied across the range. Admittedly they are not 'super fast'. I am still very pleased after 6 years of daily use.

[mav52]

Here's a review of your speakers with Pass amps and he used a Devialet 120 but them is added Pass Labs Xs300 monos and the sound was "an eye opener"

Alta Audio FRM-2 Speakers – Reviews | TONEAudio MAGAZINE

[Nyal Mellor]

ATC50 and the Devialet 200 are a great match. We have that combo in our SF Bay Area showroom. I haven't found anything that sounds better driving the ATC that the Devialet

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Allan F]

Another data point...replaced a Berkeley Alpha and Alpha USB and Levinson Power amp for a pair of 400's....amazingly powerful, discreet and musical.

I could be wrong but I thought a pair of Devialet 200's combined to make a 400.

[Dr Tone]

I could be wrong but I thought a pair of Devialet 200's combined to make a 400.

 

You are correct.

[wdw]

I could be wrong but I thought a pair of Devialet 200's combined to make a 400.

Picky...picky. Actually a 200 and the addition of a Companion (200 without remote) becomes the 400....is still a pair making the 400.

Nevertheless, the reviews by Jeff Fritz, Positve Feedback, R. Harley, et.al are worth reading if considering the D's. They are quite a unique piece of audio gear. The remote is driven by a radio signal so is omni-directional...a big comfortable dial on the table not a line of sight shot from the typical remote.

[Allan F]

Picky...picky. Actually a 200 and the addition of a Companion (200 without remote) becomes the 400....is still a pair making the 400.

It may be picky to you but, IMO, there is a big difference between "a pair of 400's" and a pair of Devialet 200's that make up a 400.

[wdw]

Sheesh..... the world before and after lawyers.....this true, takes two to make a 400 and the pair are 400's so the colloquial expression is a pair only to to advise there are two pieces involved...Sheesh!

[Dr Tone]

Sheesh..... the world before and after lawyers.....this true, takes two to make a 400 and the pair are 400's so the colloquial expression is a pair only to to advise there are two pieces involved...Sheesh!

 

A pair of 200s is a 400. Singular. Because they are paired together they aren't called 400s, they are still a pair of 200s.

[wdw]

doh! You must be a lot of fun at parties!

[Dr Tone]

doh! You must be a lot of fun at parties!

 

There you go, you got the plural right in parties!!

[odelay]

Far be it from me to break up the party... or parties?... but wondered how the DAC of their Devialet stacks up. Has anyone compared the Devialet DAC to another DAC?