08-Nov-2015, 21:51
Thinking back to what I heard when I added a companion to my 200, the main change I remember is a sense that there was more of the things the 200 is good at: detail, balance, and musical "flow". Strangely, given that on the face of it you're "just" doubling the power available to each speaker, I found this quite noticeable even when listening at very low volumes. Like octaviars I think the change is worth the money I spent.
As to whether it will cure the sibilance/brightness you've described: hard to say, but "smoother treble" is not the first thing that comes to my mind when describing the upgrade to dual-mono. Having re-read your thread about brightness, you mentioned that you hear it through headphones as well as through the loudspeakers. That suggests the 400's additional "grip" over the PMC 23s won't help tame the brightness you're hearing. But who knows; dual-mono might bring different benefits in different systems.
My advice, for what it's worth, is that if you're not entirely happy with the sound of your system at the moment, you'd be better off trying to sort that out first before upgrading to a 400. Of course, if you can listen to a dual-mono set-up in your room first, and you like it, that's a different matter. Otherwise it is a fairly expensive gamble.
You also said in the other thread you were experimenting with power cables. Did you come to any conclusion about whether they helped? Although I'm generally a bit of a "cable sceptic" I did play around with different power cables at one point and thought I heard some differences in sound so maybe there could be some "tuning" to be done there. (If you fancy experimenting, you might want to get in touch with Mark at Sablon Audio, as I believe they developed a version of the Petit Corona cable specifically for the Devialet amplifiers.)
Do other people also find the system too bright? You mentioned that you had some tinnitus which may be exacerbating the problem.
Why not let us know some examples of things that sound to bright to you, and some things that sound good -- maybe some of us can listen on our systems and come to a consensus about whether the brightness is in the recording?
Sorry I seem to be asking more questions than giving answers
Hopefully some food for thought, anyway.
As to whether it will cure the sibilance/brightness you've described: hard to say, but "smoother treble" is not the first thing that comes to my mind when describing the upgrade to dual-mono. Having re-read your thread about brightness, you mentioned that you hear it through headphones as well as through the loudspeakers. That suggests the 400's additional "grip" over the PMC 23s won't help tame the brightness you're hearing. But who knows; dual-mono might bring different benefits in different systems.
My advice, for what it's worth, is that if you're not entirely happy with the sound of your system at the moment, you'd be better off trying to sort that out first before upgrading to a 400. Of course, if you can listen to a dual-mono set-up in your room first, and you like it, that's a different matter. Otherwise it is a fairly expensive gamble.
You also said in the other thread you were experimenting with power cables. Did you come to any conclusion about whether they helped? Although I'm generally a bit of a "cable sceptic" I did play around with different power cables at one point and thought I heard some differences in sound so maybe there could be some "tuning" to be done there. (If you fancy experimenting, you might want to get in touch with Mark at Sablon Audio, as I believe they developed a version of the Petit Corona cable specifically for the Devialet amplifiers.)
Do other people also find the system too bright? You mentioned that you had some tinnitus which may be exacerbating the problem.
Why not let us know some examples of things that sound to bright to you, and some things that sound good -- maybe some of us can listen on our systems and come to a consensus about whether the brightness is in the recording?
Sorry I seem to be asking more questions than giving answers
Hopefully some food for thought, anyway.
Roon (Mac Mini), Wilson Benesch Full Circle, Expert 1000 Pro CI, Kaiser Chiara
Warwickshire, UK
