Get a separate phono stage. You'll be glad you did!

[Greg]

Alright Gang,

Here's the latest. I may have fully lost my mind on the audio front, but I just got the Allnic H-7000V phono stage (http://allnicaudio.com/?page_id=1811&ckattempt=1) and hooked it up to my Expert Pro-1000 (I had a 250 and added another one a few months ago) and LP12 with Ortofon Windfeld Ti cartridge and Sabrinas.

So this post admittedly has to be taken with a grain of salt given the phono stage I bought costs almost as much as a new Expert Pro 250, so yes, you'd think it would sound better than the internal phono stage. However, the Allnic is nowhere close to being burned in (only about 15 hours or so) and it is light years ahead of the internal stage. Soundstage depth, clarity, detail, all are substantial improvements. One of my biggest complaints of the internal phono stage (in addition to the noise of course) was that it never properly captured the sound of a piano. Piano always sounded tinny and artificial. That's been fixed. It now sounds like someone rolled a baby grand into the living room.

I'm writing this to spread the word about choices for vinyl lovers and the Expert Pro. If you are looking to improve the sound of your vinyl, I highly recommend getting an external phono stage as opposed to going dual mono. The addition of the external phono stage is far more significant than adding the second Expert Pro. 

Now a few warnings in doing so. My regular audio dealer and my turntable specialist were both concerned that I would get a ton of hum from the Allnic as it is all tubes and it is surrounded by RFI coming from digital sources, including the Expert Pro. In fact, my turntable specialist demoed a Heron phono stage next to a 220 for another client and he said the amount of hum coming off the Heron made it unusable with the 220. So I don't know if the 250s are better shielded, the Allnic is better shielded or a combo of both. If you are looking at adding a valve-based phono stage or preamp and have it sit next to an Expert Pro, definitely audition it in close proximity before purchasing. Of course, I didn't do that, but I also got lucky in my choice.

I'll also say that the noise floor still exists with the Allnic, however, I can't hear it unless I turn the Expert Pro up to +0.0 dB and I have never listened to my records at that level (I don't think I'd be able to listen to anything after doing so if I did!). However, I've noticed that the Allnic's noise floor is decreasing as it continues to get broken in.

Lastly, regarding the choice to go dual mono, I'm still glad I did so. As I've mentioned before, it would take a ridiculous amount of gear to get close to what's packed into the Expert Pro and I still think it is an all-around excellent solution to get the biggest variety of audio sources into the smallest package with the highest quality sound. Even in looking at other high-end integrateds, there's always some type of limitation compared to the Devialet and it's usually the requirement of additional gear to get the same results.

So in short, I'm really glad to see that the folks at Devialet are at least trying to analyze the phono stage issue, but if you are truly looking to get the best out of your records, I think you will be far happier going with an external dedicated phono stage. The right piece of kit will make a world of difference.

+1 from me on this. I completely share your approach and have done the same myself albeit I use a Longdog Audio MCJ3 Hybrid Phono Amplifier which uses a Jfet amplifier stage and a valve output stage. This amp is located immediately alongside my 250 Pro C/I and there is no sound interference such as hum or buzz etc. Furthermore, the noise floor from the Devialet is now considerably reduced to the point of total listener comfort. No hiss is audible unless the volume is turned up beyond the highest of listening levels and even then, the ear needs to be close to the speaker.

I have no expectation that Mathieu Pernot and Devialet will ever sort out their noisy phonostage. It’s probably a non starter because all components in the Devialet have to be packed in together so closely when it is well established that phono amps need space around components to ensure quiet sound presentation because of the very low signal values involved. Sadly, Mathieu has already declared that hiss recordings sent to him by punters and members here that he has analysed are in his opinion, within acceptable noise levels. That to me is completely wrong, but what can you do to convince him or Devialet  otherwise?

Like me, you have found a proper solution. I completely love my vinyl playback through the Longdog and D250. So much so, in the last three months, my streaming activity has been almost non existent. My vinyl playback sounds the best. All my listening mates agree. For me, vinyl remains the primary source for quality music listening. Oh, and just to be clear, my streaming system is first class using roon.