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Dual-Amp
#1
Not sure whether this makes sense or not, but I have noticed that the configurator of the Dual Mono, up to the D800, was allowing each unit to be configured as a stereo unit, and to output on two pairs of wires, with a high-pass resp low-pass filter for each (left resp right) channel.
Has anyone tried to use his pair of Devialet as a double dual-amp config ? Does it make any sense to do this ?
I also noted that this feature had been removed from the D900 config. Any idea why ?
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#2
A self response here : I have asked the exact same question on a French forum where a very high level specialist is active. His answer was :
"On the issue of the bi-amplification with Devialet, their integrated filter entailed phase rotations incompensables when I tried to use it. Consequence was an inconsistency in tones and image. They work much better bridged as dual mono, despite the presence of the speaker crossover."
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#3
OK, I can chip in with a response also. I did discuss this with Matthieu Pernod, Devialet's Chief Engineer, at a dealer event a while ago. Without going into a huge amount of detail, his view was that if you were to consider a bi-amp set-up with two D250's vs a D800 dual mono, then the D800 would almost certainly be best. The reason is that the dual mono set up is not just about power, but the different configuration of dual mono versus a single stereo set up offers a number of other other improvements, not least lower distortion. So his view was that in most cases the SQ deficit of going away from dual mono would not be made up for by the benefits of a bi-amp set up. He then mentioned that you could of course bi-amp with two D800's, OK, I get the point, but that is a rather complex arrangement, not to mention very pricey.

I can add my own opinion also. There are two basic ways of bi-amping. One is to keep your speakers crossover, and simply connect two amps to the bass / mid + treble terminals as appropriate. This affords some benefit. Another way is to remove / bypass the speakers crossover (or at least some of it for three way designs) and mimic the characteristics of the crossover electronically with custom high and low pass filters. This has the potential to be far superior to simple bi-amping with the crossovers in place. However, it would be very difficult to get absolutely right, so unless you are prepared to put a massive amount of skill and effort into this, probably best to stick with dual mono and enjoy the tunes!
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
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#4
(25-Mar-2016, 11:20)Confused Wrote: OK, I can chip in with a response also.  I did discuss this with Matthieu Pernod, Devialet's Chief Engineer, at a dealer event a while ago.  Without going into a huge amount of detail, his view was that if you were to consider a bi-amp set-up with two D250's vs a D800 dual mono, then the D800 would almost certainly be best.  The reason is that the dual mono set up is not just about power, but the different configuration of dual mono versus a single stereo set up offers a number of other other improvements, not least lower distortion.  So his view was that in most cases the SQ deficit of going away from dual mono would not be made up for by the benefits of a bi-amp set up.  He then mentioned that you could of course bi-amp with two D800's, OK, I get the point, but that is a rather complex arrangement, not to mention very pricey.

I can add my own opinion also.  There are two basic ways of bi-amping.  One is to keep your speakers crossover, and simply connect two amps to the bass / mid + treble terminals as appropriate.  This affords some benefit.  Another way is to remove  / bypass the speakers crossover (or at least some of it for three way designs) and mimic the characteristics of the crossover electronically with custom high and low pass filters.  This has the potential to be far superior to simple bi-amping with the crossovers in place.  However, it would be very difficult to get absolutely right, so unless you are prepared to put a massive amount of skill and effort into this, probably best to stick with dual mono and enjoy the tunes!

Hello, Confused. A bit off topic - then even I am having a pair of loudspeakers which are very easy to drive, the SQ will be much improved if I go from stereo to mono (like D200 to D400)? 1 + 1  greater than 2?

I am using D200 to drive a pair of Vivid V1.5.
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#5
G51 - 1 + 1 greater than 2? Well, not quite, depending on how you look at it, the laws of diminishing retunes are in play here. However, even with easy to drive speakers there are good reasons why a D400 should sound better that a D200. A couple of old threads linked below cover the topic and pick up the views of many:

http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?tid=2122

http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?tid=1192
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
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#6
Instead of addition (1+1=2) it might be more accurately seen as division: the specifications of a single Devialet are divided either between two speakers with a D200/D250 or just one speaker with dual-mono D400/D800.

When driving only one speaker (dual-mono) the power can double (or more) but there are also many other benefits. Channel separation (and thus soundstage, imaging, etc.) is improved since the entire unit is driving one channel (left or right) rather than both. The DAC can use its multiple channels to reduce distortion rather than drive multiple channels. The entire signal chain is focused to one channel, and thus improved.

At least that's one way of seeing it. Hearing the difference is a much better metric, so read the above threads or audition one for yourself.
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