Any weekend tweaks?

[Rufus McDufus]

Ah I could be wrong about the base. I must check up to see if it is indeed metal. It struck me plastic would be not very good for heat transfer.

[edit] I just tested it quickly with a magnet. Chromed body is magnetic, black base isn't and definitely feels plasticky. The interesting thing is I asked a Devialet rep the other day if any components had changed over the years on the devices and he said no. I want one with a metal base because I put mine on Stillpoints, which I feel are probably less effective at transmitting vibration when placed on a plastic base.
[double edit due to beer-oriented mistake] You mentioned aluminium alloy which could well be non-magnetic depending on what it's alloyed with. I'll double check in the morning...

[Manoet]

Ok, I see. Everything on these container-wise should be, according to all prtinted materials 100% aluminum alloy. Top is CNC'd from a solid billet of aluminum while bottoms are cast aluminum. Of course aluminum is not magnetic, nor is chrome plating. However, and we're finding this a LOT with the Expert series, nickel is. And aluminum cannot be chromed except when plated first in copper then nickel and then colored chromium... a 3-layer minimum requirement for aluminum. The light magnetism found in the upper cabinet is from a heavy layer of nickel 'sandwiched' between a light coating of copper and colored chromium plating. Here again a healthy sonic improvement could've been achieved with an anodizing process using no plating and eliminated any/all internal magnetic interference from the enclosure. The likes of high-end anodized aluminum components which are legend compared to absolutely ZERO other chromium-plated aluminum enclosures anywhere in the world (far as I know) save for Devialet and for many, many SQ reasons. Someone at Devialet wanted chrome R-E-A-L-L-Y badly to overcome sound engineering advice with other gigantic, obvious and bona-fide reasons to not use it... regardless of costs which would've decreased dramatically with anodizing. Sad they've put a shiny aesthetic and/or the desire to be different in that respect out ahead of SQ. I'm convinced many here, myself included, would be flat-out gape-jawed in a side-by-side SQ comparison of an off-the-shelf chrome-plated and a bead-blasted/anodized unit. Just think... better sound and no fingerprints... all for less money. Where do I sign!?! Except we know they'd charge extra for less labor and better SQ. Nobody makes their hifi enclosures magnetic intentionally or on purpose... NO ONE! Well, ok, save for one. Saddens me to believe I own a $10k machine with potentially $15k - $20k of SQ that can't get out from under half a kg of magnetic clownsuit!

[brit]

Ok, last in series. Last time someone asked if RCA's and/or coax jacks were replaceable like the binding posts. At the time I didn't know for sure but guessed not. Turns out that is correct. These are not only soldered but soldered "thru-the-board" on opposite side of PCB. This means they are installed thru PCB then soldered from the back-side. And that PCB is one of the 1st installed before many others are piled on and all in a very specific order. Lots of parts have to come out before the digital boards! As you can see, I removed the outer retaining nut from the rear access panel on one jack and confirmed they are indeed one-piece and a no-go for easy replacement. Same goes for phono jacks. Replaceable, yes but certainly not within my echelon of warranty-retaining tweaks. Also and identical to the OEM binding posts, 100% of these too proved to be magnetically attracted indicating a heavy nickel plating under the gold. Those planning on a binding post swap later will get a much better idea of fitment from this pic. As I said initially when I did this its a VERY fiddly/fidgetty tight space with little-to-no finger wriggle room for tightening retaining nuts in that small space where they reside behind rear access cover. And those nuts are 'tight' ALL THE WAY ON!! You could do worse than stacking as many plastic washers as will fit between inside access panel wall and nut. Leave just enough threads exposed for nut to be snugged with only ONE full thread protruding out the rear of the nut after tightening. It'll be a L-O-T easier and faster to R&R than running those nuts all the way forward to tight at 1/16 of a turn at a time like I did. You'll thank me BIGTIME for this, 'cept if you do it this way initially you'll never know the nigh-on hour of HELL you avoided! Next time mine are removed it'll be done for sure. Could've done it today but like I said, they're tight all the way on which also means they're also tight all the way off and I was in a hurry to get back to listening. If I ever have to return the unit to Devialet again it'll be done for sure after it comes back.

I'm a guitar tech and use one of these for nuts on pots, switches etc.  Maybe this could this be used to undo/tighten the nuts that hold the WBTs? It's certainly the right size. 

Hi Axel,

Looks like a very useful gadget, where did it come from?

David

Hi David,

I picked it up from a luthier supplier years ago, but you can still get them on eBay. Just look under guitar tools.

Cheers,

Al.

Hi Al,

Many thanks, will look to get my hands on one.


David

[NickB]

Ok, I see. Everything on these container-wise should be, according to all prtinted materials 100% aluminum alloy. Top is CNC'd from a solid billet of aluminum while bottoms are cast aluminum. Of course aluminum is not magnetic, nor is chrome plating. However, and we're finding this a LOT with the Expert series, nickel is. And aluminum cannot be chromed except when plated first in copper then nickel and then colored chromium... a 3-layer minimum requirement for aluminum. The light magnetism found in the upper cabinet is from a heavy layer of nickel 'sandwiched' between a light coating of copper and colored chromium plating. Here again a healthy sonic improvement could've been achieved with an anodizing process using no plating and eliminated any/all internal magnetic interference from the enclosure. The likes of high-end anodized aluminum components which are legend compared to absolutely ZERO other chromium-plated aluminum enclosures anywhere in the world (far as I know) save for Devialet and for many, many SQ reasons. Someone at Devialet wanted chrome R-E-A-L-L-Y badly to overcome sound engineering advice with other gigantic, obvious and bona-fide reasons to not use it... regardless of costs which would've decreased dramatically with anodizing. Sad they've put a shiny aesthetic and/or the desire to be different in that respect out ahead of SQ. I'm convinced many here, myself included, would be flat-out gape-jawed in a side-by-side SQ comparison of an off-the-shelf chrome-plated and a bead-blasted/anodized unit. Just think... better sound and no fingerprints... all for less money. Where do I sign!?! Except we know they'd charge extra for less labor and better SQ. Nobody makes their hifi enclosures magnetic intentionally or on purpose... NO ONE! Well, ok, save for one. Saddens me to believe I own a $10k machine with potentially $15k - $20k of SQ that can't get out from under half a kg of magnetic clownsuit!

Thank you so much for explaining why my Devialet 400 sounds so rubbish with my existing system, we could all do with more insight like yours and I am absolutely certain that your design credentials are better than the Devialet expert designers.

[Rufus McDufus]

I'm still erring on the side of the bottom cover being plastic. I'll try and check tomorrow.
It's funny, I think I had a conversation with a distributor in the UK regarding materials last year or so and he mentioned a fairly esoteric amp maker (I can't remember who) who is convinced that aluminium is a poor choice for enclosures. His amps are largely perspex-enclosed!

[ErikM]

I loose track of things but did you hear any improvement switching out the binding posts??

[Manoet]

Rufus, I totally respect your position to wait, see and confirm for yourself and anyone/everyone who ever had a doubt or question about something they've seen or heard on the internet should do likewise.

ErikM, Far greater improvement than the sum total of time, effort & money normally yield. Post #53 at that thread.

NickB, thank you but I'm really no designer tho I struggle with the absurdities of a bad or ill-motivated design. Form shouldn't follow function... it should demand it!

[Rufus McDufus]

Manoet - you're right! It is metal. I should never have doubted! It's not totally obvious and the inside of the base has what look like injection moulding 'discs' at different intervals. It does definitely ring if you tap it in the right place though, and the dead giveaway is a little lug at the front which has been milled away very slightly exposing silver.

I also took a look at the binding posts - yes I can see they're pretty straightforward to swap but just need the right-shaped spanner to tighten the nuts on the inside as they're quite close to each other.

I took the opportunity to torque the bolts on the case too with my Wera torque driver - I tend to set it to 1Nm per bolt. I haven't sat down to listen to hear if different torques sound better or not.

[Mikeeo]

Can anyone confirm if black versions of the amp sound better than chrome assuming neither nickel or chrome for the surface treatment?

/Mike

[NickB]

Can anyone confirm if black versions of the amp sound better than chrome assuming neither nickel or chrome for the surface treatment?

/Mike

Black is better as the music has a darker timbre