Devialet Reviews

[Antoine]

Just as an FYI, the Rednet 3 does have toslink interfaces but they're not S/PDIF compatible (they're for ADAT).

[ogs]

I thought they sounded decent when I demo'd them and would probably have considered selling my Expert and going Phantom, if:

a) Devialet hadn't upset me to the point I lost faith in the brand around that time
b) Spark wasn't dire and/or they embraced the use of external players (RoonReady anyone)
c) They had some alternate finishes
D) there weren't reports of stability issues.

I've been trying to find a way to use Phantoms without Dialog/Spark. I think Dialog lacks flexibility and for Spark... Your four points are just right.
Vincent Brient has said he would try to change code in the FPGA to enable L and R on separate toslink outputs on his reclocker. I'd have to buy it (or place a firm order), but Vincent would not charge me if he could not make it work. The Phantoms could then stay in 'Solo' mode and I'd use optical inputs with wifi, ethernet and PLC disabled. What I do not know is if the  remote can control volume of two Phantoms in solo mode.  The 69bit volume control of the Totaldac is of course good enough so I'm not without a volume control if the Devialet remote does not work. The Totaldac solution is definitely high-end, but rather pricey so I am still looking. USB from a microRendu and something to produce L+R optical is the goal

Interesting idea. Maybe something like a miniDSP box would be able to do that slightly less expensively?

Or a bit more expensive but perhaps one of the 'hot topic flavour of the month' boxes like a Rednet 3?  It has something like 8 toslink outputs although not sure what controls they have for LR breakout - it's pro gear though so I'm sure they'd be able to give you a quick answer.

MiniDSP has a USBStreamer board with 10 channels over USB. I am not sure this will work with a microRendu even if it is XMOS based. I have already sent a request to miniDSP.
Rednet is also interesting. I'll ask them. Maybe two of the toslink ports can be reprogrammed to transmit SPDIF? The best would be if Devialet let us decide left or right channel for Phantoms in solo mode in addition to a setting to fix the volume level. Now the Phantoms will default to a 'safe' level of '35' on a power cycle. Hoping Devialet would do anything a user requests is futile so I'd have to temporarily connect Spark to each unit after a power cycle to set the volume. I have a feeling I will end up using Dialog. Maybe toslink from a Mutec driven by the microRendu....

[Silvertouran]

Like I've said since I bought mine, i wish Devialet had just stuck a single RCA Phono connector on the rear so it would act just like a Monobloc power amp and could be fed from a conventional Analogue Preamp. That way you could just hook them up as stereo if desired. I think this would appeal to a lot of people, especially ones who don't care much for streaming services and would do away with the need for the Dialogue.

[ogs]

Like I've said since I bought mine, i wish Devialet had just stuck a single RCA Phono connector on the rear so it would act just like a Monobloc power amp and could be fed from a conventional Analogue Preamp. That way you could just hook them up as stereo if desired. I think this would appeal to a lot of people, especially ones who don't care much for streaming services and would do away with the need for the Dialogue.

This would be possible to do. Two separate AD converters, one for each channel, with toslink output. The AD should have analogue  input level control and some sort of meter or clipping indicator. Most cheap devices are 16 bit 48kHz. For proper quality one should look at ADL's Stratos or similar

[daveyjung]

So I was reading some of the comments to this review and came across this:

Froehlinger Jean-Marc says:
August 29, 2016 at 10:29 pm
Hi Steve, if you want to go next step with the Phantoms you really should try to optimize the electrical power supply, if not allready done. I changed everything which comes originaly with the combo and it’s a huge step in definition with a good main block and cords. I have spend around 1k more on these parts and it’s really not excessive for the final difference. 
Thanks a lot for your job on the site, I’m reading it two or three times every day. Maybe I will send you a few pictures some day, as I’m also taking (and selling) some pictures. 
Regards, 
Jean-Marc.

Reply

• Steve Huff says:August 30, 2016 at 8:09 amOh I had already done that long ago Thank you!

I have skimmed over this concept in some of the comments in the Phantom forum here, but what exactly is this guy talking about? $1000 for "a good main block and cords" to improve the definition? What would be an example product?

[MightyMart]

A comment from "Mono and Stereo" on the issue of Devialet being true high-end or not. I must say there are some good points here.

http://www.monoandstereo.com/2015/02/dev...ution.html

[DelaneyB]

A comment from "Mono and Stereo" on the issue of Devialet being true high-end or not. I must say there are some good points here.

http://www.monoandstereo.com/2015/02/dev...ution.html

Says nothing really......

[MightyMart]

A comment from "Mono and Stereo" on the issue of Devialet being true high-end or not. I must say there are some good points here.

http://www.monoandstereo.com/2015/02/dev...ution.html

Says nothing really......

Like I said, it was merely a comment and not a review. But yes, I think it really did tell us something. It brought up the issue of what is a true high-end gear and what isn't.

So, what do we think - are Devialet amplifiers a true high-end product?

[Damon]

From my perspective, Devialet is one of many outstanding, hi-end musical products. But it is not the sound that suits everybody. The same could be said for different types of tweeters, or crossover designs, or dynamic vs electrostic/ panel speakers. We just like different things. One box, or a bunch of boxes.

Is there a 'line' between hi-end and not-quite-hi-end? I would not have though so. Stereophile lists a whole range of products that they feel are worthy of buying and owning, and which will give great sound reproduction.

One point that I disagree with is the reviewers statement that the Devialet is, "like a derivate (sic?) of class D sound". Upon sitting down in the store for the first time to listen, I expected it to sound electronic at least, or similar to many other amps; after listening my reaction was the exact opposite. I still think it is a revealing, truthful and emotional musical reproduction system.

My own 'class D sound' expectation comes from having used a few class D bass amps; I never really liked them, even the products I wanted to like. They just didn't give me the sound at source (standing in front of the bass amp) that I wanted to hear. Mind you, I didn't go for some vintage Ampeg amps either... talk about a wealth of tubes in those old things.

Oh, one other thing; I wish people would stop calling it a 'lifestyle' product. Its just a box that is big enough to hold the parts inside, and so fits into a smaller space than a stack of boxes on a fancy shelves. Fewer cords, too.  I'd happily go for a less glossy finish, but that doesn't matter too much. Wouldn't we say that, from the perspective of some audio gear geeks, that McIntosh, or D'Agostino amps are 'lifestyle' products? Just a different kind of showing off, perhaps.

It is totally fair if the reviewer isn't convinced by the Devialet approach, or sound, or casework. I didn't see a reviewers name, or a statement of preferred products, and they've published this kind of commentary before, IIRC.

OK, back to work.

[Damon]

Ooops. Just realized I was reading and responding the the link that MM posted.I missed the original review and post. My apologies... all that typing and still off-topic. Sigh.