Devialet run-in time

[PhilP]

I had some 'interesting' experiences with my new Devialet 200 which I thought might relieve others concerns about poor sound out-of-the-box and hoped others might share their experiences too.

Well, when I first took a 200 home to demo I absolutely loved it - beautifully smooth, detailed sound, dynamic and extremely enjoyable to listen to. So good in fact that I immediately decided to sell off my multi-box Naim system and place an order for the Devialet. It arrived a week or so later (thanks to Paul Clark at Hi-Fi Lounge in the UK) and I eagerly plugged it in and... was disappointed. Oh dear, the sound was really thin and grainy... not at all what I expected especially as Paul said that his had sounded great out of the box. I probably shouldn't have been surprised as pretty much all the Naim kit I've ever bought has sounded rough when first used but for some reason I thought the Dev would be different.

Anyway, I let the system play for a couple of weeks (on stand-by when not playing music - playing maybe 4-5 hrs a day) and tried different sources and the sound didn't improve. There was very little bass at all - basically the sound was terrible and totally unlike the demo model that I'd borrowed.

Then we went on vacation for a week during which time the system was switched off. When we got back I ran it for maybe 8-10 hours a day for a couple of days without really listening and then sat down for a proper session and .... The sound was completely transformed - much smoother, more dynamic and now there was some real bass - what a relief

So, if your Devialet doesn't sound great out of the box then don't worry too much - it will eventually sound wonderful!

Some doubt that burn-in of electronic components actually occurs and the improvements that they many people experience after using new equipment for some time are a result of psychoacoustic adjustment to the new sound. There certainly be an element of this involved but the transformation in sound of my system was massive and could not be accounted for by psychoacoustic effects.

Now all I have to do is get rid of a slightly grainy edge on vocals and I will be extremely happy. I'm temporarily using iMac/iTunes as a source and find That Wifi AIR sounds slightly cleaner than ethernet AIR which was a surprise. Maybe I have RFI issues?

Philip

[ZincAlloy]

I had some 'interesting' experiences with my new Devialet 200 which I thought might relieve others concerns about poor sound out-of-the-box and hoped others might share their experiences too.

Well, when I first took a 200 home to demo I absolutely loved it - beautifully smooth, detailed sound, dynamic and extremely enjoyable to listen to. So good in fact that I immediately decided to sell off my multi-box Naim system and place an order for the Devialet. It arrived a week or so later (thanks to Paul Clark at Hi-Fi Lounge in the UK) and I eagerly plugged it in and... was disappointed. Oh dear, the sound was really thin and grainy... not at all what I expected especially as Paul said that his had sounded great out of the box. I probably shouldn't have been surprised as pretty much all the Naim kit I've ever bought has sounded rough when first used but for some reason I thought the Dev would be different.

Anyway, I let the system play for a couple of weeks (on stand-by when not playing music - playing maybe 4-5 hrs a day) and tried different sources and the sound didn't improve. There was very little bass at all - basically the sound was terrible and totally unlike the demo model that I'd borrowed.

Then we went on vacation for a week during which time the system was switched off. When we got back I ran it for maybe 8-10 hours a day for a couple of days without really listening and then sat down for a proper session and .... The sound was completely transformed - much smoother, more dynamic and now there was some real bass - what a relief

So, if your Devialet doesn't sound great out of the box then don't worry too much - it will eventually sound wonderful!

Some doubt that burn-in of electronic components actually occurs and the improvements that they many people experience after using new equipment for some time are a result of psychoacoustic adjustment to the new sound. There certainly be an element of this involved but the transformation in sound of my system was massive and could not be accounted for by psychoacoustic effects.

Now all I have to do is get rid of a slightly grainy edge on vocals and I will be extremely happy. I'm temporarily using iMac/iTunes as a source and find That Wifi AIR sounds slightly cleaner than ethernet AIR which was a surprise. Maybe I have RFI issues?

Philip

Hi Philip - good idea to post this for new users. I had exactly the same experience as you. It took my D200 about 2 months to come on song; at one stage I was convinced that I had a duff unit. I also wasted hours during those first few months changing interconnects, speaker cables and speaker positioning, to try and counteract the thin, grainy sound - all without success! So, best advice for new purchasers is to stick with it.

ATB, Ken

[thumb5]

Strange: my 170/200 really did sound good -- laugh-out-loud-it's-so-good -- right out of the box, and as far as I can tell it hasn't changed a bit since the first hour of running. Or it's changed so slowly I just haven't noticed. Or I have cloth ears, of course.

[Rufus McDufus]

Took a long time for me too and it took so long I wanted to try and get a replacement at some point.
One of the demo units I tried was brand new and it was great out of the box. Another was only about a week old and also superb. Mine took months to get sounding good. I've had this in the past and it's got to a stage where I want to buy the demo unit!

[f1eng]

My first D-Premier sounded just like the demo model. When I decided to go double mono the second unit didn't sound very good when I tried it on its own. My dealer changed it for another unit, which sounded good straight away.

FWIW

[Eddye]

My D170/200 took a few days to come to live, but no where near a few months.

[PhilP]

My D170/200 took a few days to come to live, but no where near a few months.

Ken and Rufus,

you must be very patient guys to wait for a few months - I would have been beating my dealer up to get me a replacement by then . Its incredibly frustrating when you know how good a Devialet can sound when you own one which sounds awful.

As Ken said, the temptation is to rush around changing everything else trying to fix the problem and nothing really helps - maybe a bit of improvement here and there but fundamentally the sound is just wrong.

Could I ask whether you are both happy that your Devialets really sound as good as you expected? The reason I ask is because although mine has improved a lot it's still not as good as the one I originally borrowed - mine has a slightly harsh/grainy edge to vocals which the demo unit didn't. I hope/expect that it will continue to improve but just want reassurance that it will, I guess.

Has anyone spoken to Devialet about poor initial sound? If so, what was their response?

I wonder if the variation is on a unit by unit basis or by build batch? Mine was built in 2014 week 2.

[f1eng]

mine has a slightly harsh/grainy edge to vocals which the demo unit didn't.

Has anyone spoken to Devialet about poor initial sound? If so, what was their response?

That was exactly how I felt about my second D-Premier, and why I had it replaced. My first and third sounded fine from the beginning.

I only mentioned it to my dealer, not Devialet.

[GuillaumeB]

My 800 units sounded fantastic straight out of the box, not a hint of brightness/harshness. I did notice that the temperatures fluctuated a lot on the first few weeks of usage though. On one occasion I recall I felt that the sound wasn't quite right but this may have been down to a multitude of reasons including listening fatigue (!).

Guillaume

[PhilP]

My 800 units sounded fantastic straight out of the box, not a hint of brightness/harshness. I did notice that the temperatures fluctuated a lot on the first few weeks of usage though. On one occasion I recall I felt that the sound wasn't quite right but this may have been down to a multitude of reasons including listening fatigue (!).

Guillaume

Hi Guillaume - thanks for setting up and running the forum!

Because the sound is so clean and punchy I usually find a strong temptation to turn the sound up really loud - which can certainly lead to fatigue!

@f1eng. I think in your position as an existing owner I would have asked for a replacement unit as well. I asked whether anyone had mentioned variations in sound out-of-the box to Devialet because I thought they might consider giving their dealers guidance about unit variability and the possible need for extended run-in to reassure customers.

Re. Vinyl
I had a great vinyl session last night - really the first time I had sat down and listened to it properly with the 200 and I was very impressed - very clean, detailed and transparent! There was no sign at all of the graininess I can still hear from the digital sources.

So all I have to do now is find a very good digital source...

Regards,

Philip