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Bought a second D200 to go along with my D400
#1
My logic was that this enables me to use the D200 in a separate system (upstairs with my Quads, which don't need too much power), and on occasion, downstairs with my larger B&W 800. The D-800 cannot be split up like this. 

I have a question regarding the configuration of three D-200s. The Configurator clearly allows hooking up three D-200s. I assume this will result in a 600W/channel amplifier. Since the B&Ws can be bi-amped, can I use one D-200 (the master) for the midrange/treble units with SAM turned off, and the bottom two D-200s (one companion, one full) with SAM turned on, giving me 400W/channel for just the bass drivers. It seems like this should work. 

Has anyone tried a configuration like this? I am including a picture of what the Configurator shows me. The only gotcha is the weird SPDIF to AES-EBU connection. I don't have a cable that will do this, so I have to find one (e.g, Amazon?). 

- Sridhar 

   
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#2
Not only should it work but you should also be able to set a high pass filter for the stereo/upper range amplifier. SAM doesn't work above 150Hz so you might be able to turn that off. It might turn SAM off on all of them though.

The only concern would be that you're not giving the speakers the same power for upper and lower range so I would think that they will end up having a lower volume on the upper.
                                                    Lifetime Roon, Mac mini, int. SSD, ext. HDD, tv as monitor, key board and track pad on bean bag as remote,Devialet 200, Od'A #097, Blue jeans speaker cable,                                     
                                                                                                                                                                            Dynaudio C1 MkII.
                                                                                                                                                                              Jim Smith's GBS.
                                                                                                                                                                        Northern NSW Australia.
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#3
The SPDIF-AES connection was initially recommended by Devialet even for connecting two amps. Devialet provides instructions for terminating your own cable that way on their support site. At this point many other companies make such cables, or you can buy an RCA/AES adapter to try it out. You'll find much information about such things on this forum if you look for it.

I tried bi-amping my B&W 802N, but preferred the sound of using my D400 in dual-mono. I thought about what you're trying, but thought that to get real gains in sound quality I'd have to bypass the B&W crossovers (using the Devialet filters as an active crossover) and use all three D200 in stereo mode (to drive the tweeter, midrange, and bass sections). I'm interested in what you find though, so please keep us posted.
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#4
(15-Aug-2016, 12:00)deviousalet Wrote: The SPDIF-AES connection was initially recommended by Devialet even for connecting two amps. Devialet provides instructions for terminating your own cable that way on their support site. At this point many other companies make such cables, or you can buy an RCA/AES adapter to try it out. You'll find much information about such things on this forum if you look for it.

I tried bi-amping my B&W 802N, but preferred the sound of using my D400 in dual-mono. I thought about what you're trying, but thought that to get real gains in sound quality I'd have to bypass the B&W crossovers (using the Devialet filters as an active crossover) and use all three D200 in stereo mode (to drive the tweeter, midrange, and bass sections). I'm interested in what you find though, so please keep us posted.

Ignoring the question of bi-amping, what if I just want to strap together 3 D200s to make a 600 W/channel amplifier? It seems relatively simple to configure this, except for the question of where I draw the speaker outputs. Normally, we draw each channel from one of the amplifiers, but when we have three, do we leave the  middle one out?
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#5
I think it is worth noting that a D400 will sound better than a D200, and not just because of the extra power. Devialet claim much lower distortion figures fore the dual mono, and in my experience the dual mono's sound far more detailed. So with your proposed set up you have the advantage of the D400 dedicated to bass duties, which is almost certainly a good thing. The down side is that using a sole D200 for just the higher frequencies could well in theory give an inferior performance when compared with a D400 running full range. In effect you are using the less detailed / higher distortion amp on the delicate mid range frequencies. It would be good fun trying this stuff though, and who knows might just yield some good results. One observation I would make is that I have seen a couple of Devialet bi / trip amp systems, and in each case they have been made up of multiple D400's.
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#6
(15-Aug-2016, 21:52)Confused Wrote: I think it is worth noting that a D400 will sound better than a D200, and not just because of the extra power.  Devialet claim much lower distortion figures fore the dual mono, and in my experience the dual mono's sound far more detailed.  So with your proposed set up you have the advantage of the D400 dedicated to bass duties, which is almost certainly a good thing.  The down side is that using a sole D200 for just the higher frequencies could well in theory give an inferior performance when compared with a D400 running full range.  In effect you are using the less detailed / higher distortion amp on the delicate mid range frequencies.  It would be good fun trying this stuff though, and who knows might just yield some good results.  One observation I would make is that  I have seen a couple of Devialet bi / trip amp systems, and in each case they have been made up of multiple D400's.

Yes, I'm also considering investing in a second companion D200 to make it two D400s, so I can effectively biamp two D400s for my B&W 800Ds (as well as to use in two separate rooms). I assume all that is needed for biamping is to hook at four of them together using SPDIF (except for AES to SPDIF for the first pair) and then connect midrange/treble using the first two, and the bass drivers with the second two. This might actually sound better than a D800, given the inherent advantages of biamping.
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#7
This will be a very interesting thread. Looking forward to your findings Sridhar.
                                                    Lifetime Roon, Mac mini, int. SSD, ext. HDD, tv as monitor, key board and track pad on bean bag as remote,Devialet 200, Od'A #097, Blue jeans speaker cable,                                     
                                                                                                                                                                            Dynaudio C1 MkII.
                                                                                                                                                                              Jim Smith's GBS.
                                                                                                                                                                        Northern NSW Australia.
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