14-Dec-2016, 13:33
It's unfortunate you can't audition both as little people have compared the two directly and opinions seem to differ. Of course without a single doubt an audition would provide you the best answer. We have kerkhoff who prefers the 400 over the 220 but somewhere else on the forum someone wrote that he found the 220 Pro a great equal match for the 400 and chose the 220 Pro (can't find that post). We also know from the poll I started (http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?tid=3761) that at this moment we have 43 to 1 people who prefer the Pro over their previous Expert model though 5 of those 43 have one or more caveats.
We also have a group of around 20 people who clearly and unanimously found the 250 Pro better than the 400. (http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?tid=3752) Why this is significant is that I feel that these people, as Devialet 'outsiders', are likely more objective about it than an owner. Of course the 250 Pro is not a 220 Pro and I wouldn't be able to tell if these two differ in performance much.
I think Damon is right about the digital edge he hears being because of something in his system. The Sonos he uses as a source for example is not really the best out there. I myself would surely not attribute it to the Pro in general and if one could say anything I think it would be that the Pro is incredibly transparant. To me and in my system at least it is; in a a different topic I already wrote: the Pro is more clean, detailed and transparent (in the good way) in the upper mids and highs while at the same time sounding more fluid, refined and musical. In short it's more class A and analog sounding, less digital. No digital edge or brightness, rather the opposite it's rich and perhaps a tad warm sounding.
Good luck with this difficult choice!
We also have a group of around 20 people who clearly and unanimously found the 250 Pro better than the 400. (http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?tid=3752) Why this is significant is that I feel that these people, as Devialet 'outsiders', are likely more objective about it than an owner. Of course the 250 Pro is not a 220 Pro and I wouldn't be able to tell if these two differ in performance much.
I think Damon is right about the digital edge he hears being because of something in his system. The Sonos he uses as a source for example is not really the best out there. I myself would surely not attribute it to the Pro in general and if one could say anything I think it would be that the Pro is incredibly transparant. To me and in my system at least it is; in a a different topic I already wrote: the Pro is more clean, detailed and transparent (in the good way) in the upper mids and highs while at the same time sounding more fluid, refined and musical. In short it's more class A and analog sounding, less digital. No digital edge or brightness, rather the opposite it's rich and perhaps a tad warm sounding.
Good luck with this difficult choice!
PS Audio P3, Shunyata ΞTRON Alpha Digital and HC/Furutech power cables, Paul Hynes SR7EHD-MR4, DIY Roon Server & Roon Endpoint running AudioLinux Headless, Phasure Lush^2 USB cable, Audioquest Diamond RJ/E ethernet, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Mutec MC-3+ USB, Shunyata ΞTRON Anaconda Digital XLR AES/EBU, Devialet Expert 250 Pro CI, Nordost Tyr Reference LS cables, Von Schweikert VR-5 SE Anniversary Edition, Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0, JL Audio Fathom F112. More detail here.
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