06-Nov-2016, 23:09
My Devialet journey started with a 200.
It came on the back of a bit of box swapping after moving house and being less happy with my hifi.
I won't go into too much background, but I'll start with my 4 box CD based Naim setup, which - despite being at the lower end of their range - was my first good hifi in years and from my POV my first 'high-end' hifi. It was also my first real experience of 'getting a new CD collection' - the extra detail and life and enjoyment from the same CDs was amazing. I loved that hifi - I loved the way it looked and sounded, and never really thought about it for years - I just played music on it. Imagine that! OK, I occasionally looked at the Naim forums, but its not half as nice as here so didn't spend too long there. They're also even more brand-fans then here!
After moving house the CD was swapped for a Chord Hugo, to enter the world of streaming, and this is where things all went a bit wrong. I just started changing stuff because the sound (even from the CD) wasn't as good as I was used to and I wasn't sure what had happened or what to do about it. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I just didnt like it any more. Had I changed? Had something broken? I certainly re-connected it all a few times, and cleaned contacts etc. Anyway, the Hugo sounded different in another way and that was OK - much more revealing and relaxing and detailed than the Naim CD. But still something wasn't quite right. So, buy more stuff I thought - that's what people do - get more expensive or 'better' electronics. So it began! Over a shortish space of time the Naim amps became Teddy Pardo, then the Neat speakers became fact.8's. Interconnects and speaker cables came and went. Things got 'messed' with. Obsessed over. Tweaked. (Although looking back nothing I did remotely touched the sides of what some people here do!).
Still, I wasn't quite getting what I wanted and was finding it pretty frustrating to the point I thought of just getting rid of it all and using headphones or going low-fi, which sort of never really disappoints. Had I met Dirac earlier, I'd probably have never box swapped at all, but you live and learn - I was a bit younger, and a lot less wise, so I just kept buying kit in the search for whatever it was that was missing, although I did learn a lot along the way. Anyway, I knew I was going to change again but couldn't really justify many more moves as I'd wasted quite a lot of money buying new and selling. I'd started to read about room effects etc, but not quite got into measurements, but understood enough to think I'd at least need tone controls in this room to get a sound I liked, and that buying kit wasn't going to do it.
Then, as if by magic, a shiny French 'pizza box' style thing caught my attention as it was getting a fair bit of press. I cant actually remember where I saw it. Maybe pinkfish. It apparently sounded great, but importantly for domestic bliss on the back of seemingly running a hifi shop out of the lounge, it looked great. That was really important at this stage. As a bonus it had adjustable tone controls, power, a cool remote and even better included a DAC and could be streamed to as a 'one box'solution. What wasn't to like?! I bought a D200 unheard - what did I have to lose at this stage?!
With high WAF it was readily accepted into the lounge and we stared in wonder before even listening. What a beauty - the forums didn't lie in that respect.
And that's pretty much where the love affair ended. It fell apart quickly - soured most notably with AIR issues, and with Deviate's cr***y customer service - stories I've probably bored people to tears with already on this very forum. But more importantly, unlike so many on here, I didn't even think it sounded that great - not anywhere near the hype anyway. I'd experienced a kind of magical 3D sound from a Chord Hugo through more basic speakers, and that just didn't happen as much with the Devialet. The bass punch never felt 'there' either (but I hadn't got that from the Hugo combo either to be fair). It felt, well, a bit flat and a bit lifeless. 'Thin' kept springing to mind. The detail could be kind of nice, but the treble seemed to grate along with it, and it needed to be loud to be enjoyable. But enjoyable isn't really the right word, as with volume came a kind of ugly, messy, headache inducing sound. OK, look, not always, it could be OK at times, but I never loved it and I blame my onset of slight tinnitus squarely at it. Or at least at the Devialet/PMC combo (some is my room too for sure, but hey, I'm blaming the 200 and there's nothing anyone can do about it). In a nutshell, I just didn't get excited that often by it, and the few tweaks I tried didn't really fix anything although they did make very slight improvements. Dirac was great, but again, it didn't get me there, and sadly my switch to Roon meant that had to go (for now anyway). Most recently the Paul Hynes seemed to have made a slight difference, but slight. Who needs slight?!
Yet despite all this somehow the 200 endured. It's seductuve looks were surprisingly hard to let go. But more to the point I'd wasted far too much cash on hifi to do another round of swapping, and other priorities were creeping to the top of the list, so I thought I'd hang onto it and at some point probably sell it. After all, i didn't even like Devialet.
Then the stupidly named 'Pro' models and upgrades started being bounded about. I was pretty obviously NOT going to be someone adding any money to the Devialet coffers, but at the same time my 200 had suddenly devalued (if I had my way they'd pay me for the AIR fiasco, and the extra kit I bought --aaaaah, nooooo, stop me, I'm over it - honest....erm.). I'd actually demo'd some alternate speakers and had a few other bits and bobs I was going to spend my money on.
But then I saw a few posts by people far more sensible than I - I can't remember who exactly, but for now let's call him Pim and apologies if it was someone else - suggested looking at the situation logically.
Well, it took a while to come around, but I did manage to sit and have a cold, hard, look at the situation. I pondered it for a good while. The upgrade scheme had hit 200 owners hard. While pleased for 120 owners, it quickly became clear that used 200's and used 120's were now priced about the same (obviously, thanks Devialet). The deal just somehow seemed to be a lesser one for 200 owners. If I sold my 200 now I'd get about £3,000 i thought. Maybe £3,500 at a push and with effort. Then what? Could I really afford to throw money away? Not really actually, now wasn't a great time.
By now more than a few positive reports had drifted in about the Pro's, some coming from people who - despite having never heard their systems, or know anything about them - I sensed they were more balanced about Devialet in general. It got me thinking. But I still couldn't come to terms with upgrading to a 220.
So, I started to form a cunning plan.
There was a way I would get something out of Devialet, whether they liked it or not, just using the tools they'd given us via the upgrade scheme.
I had four potential plans.
1. Sell my 200 or part-ex it against a 120, pocket the change and put it towards the upgrade. Last year that would have been an easy one, and would have saved me about a grand, but now the 'change' would be very little . As a funny aside, one dealer had an ex-dem 120, and I was working on a deal to part-ex my 200 for the 120, and then upgrade. When it finally came to the price? I was offered giving them my 200 PLUS me giving them nearly £2K on top! For an ex-dem 120! Needles to say i didn't go ahead, and to be fair that was by far the worst deal I came across during my search.
2. As above against a used or ex-dem 200. The clincher here, amazingly, is buying a used or ex-dem 200 from a dealer entitled you to a discounted upgrade. Go figure! Anyway, apparently I wasn't the only one doing this, and had a couple of good offers.
3. Sell my 200 or part-ex it against a D-Premier, and upgrade that to a 250Pro. Now this one really struck a chord with me. It seemed like it was really a 'best bang for my buck' type deal (free copper base plate!!!), as I probably wouldn't have to spend much more than upgrading my 200, but I'd come out with a better amp overall. Moreover as I never wanted two boxes it would give me a chance to have the best 'one box' Devialet out there.
4. Just forget about it and keep the 200, or flog it and move on.
And so I (...to be continued....
)
[I know, I know, a hell of a laborious first post for a system thread, and I can only apologise, but that's my journey so far, and since I've never had a 'system thread' despite lurking here for ages, it seemed like it might be a good place to get it all out.]
It came on the back of a bit of box swapping after moving house and being less happy with my hifi.
I won't go into too much background, but I'll start with my 4 box CD based Naim setup, which - despite being at the lower end of their range - was my first good hifi in years and from my POV my first 'high-end' hifi. It was also my first real experience of 'getting a new CD collection' - the extra detail and life and enjoyment from the same CDs was amazing. I loved that hifi - I loved the way it looked and sounded, and never really thought about it for years - I just played music on it. Imagine that! OK, I occasionally looked at the Naim forums, but its not half as nice as here so didn't spend too long there. They're also even more brand-fans then here!
After moving house the CD was swapped for a Chord Hugo, to enter the world of streaming, and this is where things all went a bit wrong. I just started changing stuff because the sound (even from the CD) wasn't as good as I was used to and I wasn't sure what had happened or what to do about it. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I just didnt like it any more. Had I changed? Had something broken? I certainly re-connected it all a few times, and cleaned contacts etc. Anyway, the Hugo sounded different in another way and that was OK - much more revealing and relaxing and detailed than the Naim CD. But still something wasn't quite right. So, buy more stuff I thought - that's what people do - get more expensive or 'better' electronics. So it began! Over a shortish space of time the Naim amps became Teddy Pardo, then the Neat speakers became fact.8's. Interconnects and speaker cables came and went. Things got 'messed' with. Obsessed over. Tweaked. (Although looking back nothing I did remotely touched the sides of what some people here do!).
Still, I wasn't quite getting what I wanted and was finding it pretty frustrating to the point I thought of just getting rid of it all and using headphones or going low-fi, which sort of never really disappoints. Had I met Dirac earlier, I'd probably have never box swapped at all, but you live and learn - I was a bit younger, and a lot less wise, so I just kept buying kit in the search for whatever it was that was missing, although I did learn a lot along the way. Anyway, I knew I was going to change again but couldn't really justify many more moves as I'd wasted quite a lot of money buying new and selling. I'd started to read about room effects etc, but not quite got into measurements, but understood enough to think I'd at least need tone controls in this room to get a sound I liked, and that buying kit wasn't going to do it.
Then, as if by magic, a shiny French 'pizza box' style thing caught my attention as it was getting a fair bit of press. I cant actually remember where I saw it. Maybe pinkfish. It apparently sounded great, but importantly for domestic bliss on the back of seemingly running a hifi shop out of the lounge, it looked great. That was really important at this stage. As a bonus it had adjustable tone controls, power, a cool remote and even better included a DAC and could be streamed to as a 'one box'solution. What wasn't to like?! I bought a D200 unheard - what did I have to lose at this stage?!
With high WAF it was readily accepted into the lounge and we stared in wonder before even listening. What a beauty - the forums didn't lie in that respect.
And that's pretty much where the love affair ended. It fell apart quickly - soured most notably with AIR issues, and with Deviate's cr***y customer service - stories I've probably bored people to tears with already on this very forum. But more importantly, unlike so many on here, I didn't even think it sounded that great - not anywhere near the hype anyway. I'd experienced a kind of magical 3D sound from a Chord Hugo through more basic speakers, and that just didn't happen as much with the Devialet. The bass punch never felt 'there' either (but I hadn't got that from the Hugo combo either to be fair). It felt, well, a bit flat and a bit lifeless. 'Thin' kept springing to mind. The detail could be kind of nice, but the treble seemed to grate along with it, and it needed to be loud to be enjoyable. But enjoyable isn't really the right word, as with volume came a kind of ugly, messy, headache inducing sound. OK, look, not always, it could be OK at times, but I never loved it and I blame my onset of slight tinnitus squarely at it. Or at least at the Devialet/PMC combo (some is my room too for sure, but hey, I'm blaming the 200 and there's nothing anyone can do about it). In a nutshell, I just didn't get excited that often by it, and the few tweaks I tried didn't really fix anything although they did make very slight improvements. Dirac was great, but again, it didn't get me there, and sadly my switch to Roon meant that had to go (for now anyway). Most recently the Paul Hynes seemed to have made a slight difference, but slight. Who needs slight?!
Yet despite all this somehow the 200 endured. It's seductuve looks were surprisingly hard to let go. But more to the point I'd wasted far too much cash on hifi to do another round of swapping, and other priorities were creeping to the top of the list, so I thought I'd hang onto it and at some point probably sell it. After all, i didn't even like Devialet.
Then the stupidly named 'Pro' models and upgrades started being bounded about. I was pretty obviously NOT going to be someone adding any money to the Devialet coffers, but at the same time my 200 had suddenly devalued (if I had my way they'd pay me for the AIR fiasco, and the extra kit I bought --aaaaah, nooooo, stop me, I'm over it - honest....erm.). I'd actually demo'd some alternate speakers and had a few other bits and bobs I was going to spend my money on.
But then I saw a few posts by people far more sensible than I - I can't remember who exactly, but for now let's call him Pim and apologies if it was someone else - suggested looking at the situation logically.
Well, it took a while to come around, but I did manage to sit and have a cold, hard, look at the situation. I pondered it for a good while. The upgrade scheme had hit 200 owners hard. While pleased for 120 owners, it quickly became clear that used 200's and used 120's were now priced about the same (obviously, thanks Devialet). The deal just somehow seemed to be a lesser one for 200 owners. If I sold my 200 now I'd get about £3,000 i thought. Maybe £3,500 at a push and with effort. Then what? Could I really afford to throw money away? Not really actually, now wasn't a great time.
By now more than a few positive reports had drifted in about the Pro's, some coming from people who - despite having never heard their systems, or know anything about them - I sensed they were more balanced about Devialet in general. It got me thinking. But I still couldn't come to terms with upgrading to a 220.
So, I started to form a cunning plan.
There was a way I would get something out of Devialet, whether they liked it or not, just using the tools they'd given us via the upgrade scheme.
I had four potential plans.
1. Sell my 200 or part-ex it against a 120, pocket the change and put it towards the upgrade. Last year that would have been an easy one, and would have saved me about a grand, but now the 'change' would be very little . As a funny aside, one dealer had an ex-dem 120, and I was working on a deal to part-ex my 200 for the 120, and then upgrade. When it finally came to the price? I was offered giving them my 200 PLUS me giving them nearly £2K on top! For an ex-dem 120! Needles to say i didn't go ahead, and to be fair that was by far the worst deal I came across during my search.
2. As above against a used or ex-dem 200. The clincher here, amazingly, is buying a used or ex-dem 200 from a dealer entitled you to a discounted upgrade. Go figure! Anyway, apparently I wasn't the only one doing this, and had a couple of good offers.
3. Sell my 200 or part-ex it against a D-Premier, and upgrade that to a 250Pro. Now this one really struck a chord with me. It seemed like it was really a 'best bang for my buck' type deal (free copper base plate!!!), as I probably wouldn't have to spend much more than upgrading my 200, but I'd come out with a better amp overall. Moreover as I never wanted two boxes it would give me a chance to have the best 'one box' Devialet out there.
4. Just forget about it and keep the 200, or flog it and move on.
And so I (...to be continued....
)[I know, I know, a hell of a laborious first post for a system thread, and I can only apologise, but that's my journey so far, and since I've never had a 'system thread' despite lurking here for ages, it seemed like it might be a good place to get it all out.]
