02-Apr-2021, 04:11
Hello
CAH here from AudioResurgence.com
I wrote the review on the Expert Pro 220 and someone dropped me a message through my website earlier today pointing me at this thread.
I’m surprised at some of the skepticism and suspicion my review has provoked, so let me just get a few of the easy points responded to, pretty much in the same order as they appear above -
Audio Resurgence is just a personal blog that I started a couple years back for fun. I don’t advertise or promote it nor do I seek to make any revenue from it.
Not all of the reviews are written by me, some of the old reviews were written by friends of mine when I was a member of the Wisconsin Audio Society about a decade ago.
My initials are CAH. My first name is Carl, the rest of it is no big secret but I don’t feel it’s necessary to splash my full name around the internet. These are not scientific papers I’m submitting to a journal for peer review. If anyone wants to call me and take issue with anything I say then my cellphone number is at the top of each page.
Yes, I registered on this forum a while back after spending a lot of time reading up on Devialet gear. I registered under the username ‘rooze’. That’s the username I use on many of the audio forums I participate in such as Audiogon, Audio Circle, Audio Asylum etc. So if anyone wants to dig into my sordid audio past I’m sure you’ll find plenty material with which to discredit my reputation
Tube Lover - guilty as charged. I’ve also owned lots of SS gear over the 40 plus years I’ve spent in the hobby. I owned a couple of the early Tact amps with room correction, and later a Lyngdorf TDAi 2200, which I thought was a good piece of kit that I regretted selling.
There’s repeated mention of “the ASR review” - I’m unfamiliar with what that is. Is the inference here that I’m associated with it in some way, because you’ll need to elaborate if that’s the case?
@Damon “What an interesting bit of audio commentary. I'm not going to attack CAH for his summary of the sound. But I did read his review, and then snoop around a bit on the web site. A few things stand out for me; things that make me a bit cautious about this review.” - I’ll try to address your concerns but please, if there’s anything I miss then let me know.
I can’t comment on why Stereophile and the others came to different conclusions than my own, I just don’t know.
“.... the Devialet didn't hold our interest, musically. That is a curious one. “
You’re correct. I apologize for truncating my description of how it sounded to the point where it made little sense. What I’d tried to get across, but used too few words to do so, was that to me the Devialet came across in a positive way initially, but its presentation seemed artificial after a while, and quickly became difficult to listen to. I used the word ‘phaseyness’ to describe some aberration in the way the unit projects images unnaturally within the soundstage. What I didn’t make clear was the fact that this perception of phase anomaly varied in degree literally from track to track. It was that which triggered the Sonic Holography comparison, since i found SH to behave in exactly the same way. With Carver’s gear, on certain tracks the illusion of holographic imaging would be quite profound, then on the next track it might be barely noticeable. My Devialet unit seemed to follow a similar pattern.
Again, I should point out that I do have a hearing sensitivity to frequency and phase anomalies, though it doesn’t manifest on Q-Sound recordings. I’m not sure why that is. I should also have elaborated more on how I found the sound to be reminiscent of early Class D amp technology. It just sounded overtly digital, in the bad sense of the word, hence it didn’t hold my interest, musically.
“I suspect this site is a one-man operation. I get the sense that he buys equipment, either new or used, as an avid audio hobby guy, and then writes reviews to post on his own website. “ -
Exactly correct. Though why I’m suddenly feeling self-conscious about my choice of pass-time I have no idea.
“Finally, I was interested to see the tabs for 'account details' and a shopping cart icon in the upper right corner of the web page.” -
Yes, I’d much rather move something along without having to pay eBay fees. Is this problematic?
———-
@ogs
“And the image he uses for the amp's rear is from a 250 Pro, not the 220.”
-My apologies. I took a bunch of photos of the unit but all I could find when I came to write the review were my shots of the top display panel. I’ll take another look for the photos when I have some time.
@ICUDoc
“A pretty unimpressive website!
And the review borders on the absurd.”
- Thanks for your honest and forthright critique.
“Who would audition a component, using the (amazing) Waters' Q-sound CD, then complain about "phaseyness"!!?? The whole POINT of Q-sound is to use phase differences to project sound in different ways. Is CAH a moron”
I promise it wasn’t the only recording I played through the Devialet. It’s one of many go-to recordings I use to get a quick handle on a component, as I’m intimately familiar with what sits where in terms of Q-Sound effects, etc.
Moron? That’s a little personal isn’t it?
If I can add anything else I’d be more than happy to do so.
Cheers
CAH
CAH here from AudioResurgence.com
I wrote the review on the Expert Pro 220 and someone dropped me a message through my website earlier today pointing me at this thread.
I’m surprised at some of the skepticism and suspicion my review has provoked, so let me just get a few of the easy points responded to, pretty much in the same order as they appear above -
Audio Resurgence is just a personal blog that I started a couple years back for fun. I don’t advertise or promote it nor do I seek to make any revenue from it.
Not all of the reviews are written by me, some of the old reviews were written by friends of mine when I was a member of the Wisconsin Audio Society about a decade ago.
My initials are CAH. My first name is Carl, the rest of it is no big secret but I don’t feel it’s necessary to splash my full name around the internet. These are not scientific papers I’m submitting to a journal for peer review. If anyone wants to call me and take issue with anything I say then my cellphone number is at the top of each page.
Yes, I registered on this forum a while back after spending a lot of time reading up on Devialet gear. I registered under the username ‘rooze’. That’s the username I use on many of the audio forums I participate in such as Audiogon, Audio Circle, Audio Asylum etc. So if anyone wants to dig into my sordid audio past I’m sure you’ll find plenty material with which to discredit my reputation
Tube Lover - guilty as charged. I’ve also owned lots of SS gear over the 40 plus years I’ve spent in the hobby. I owned a couple of the early Tact amps with room correction, and later a Lyngdorf TDAi 2200, which I thought was a good piece of kit that I regretted selling.
There’s repeated mention of “the ASR review” - I’m unfamiliar with what that is. Is the inference here that I’m associated with it in some way, because you’ll need to elaborate if that’s the case?
@Damon “What an interesting bit of audio commentary. I'm not going to attack CAH for his summary of the sound. But I did read his review, and then snoop around a bit on the web site. A few things stand out for me; things that make me a bit cautious about this review.” - I’ll try to address your concerns but please, if there’s anything I miss then let me know.
I can’t comment on why Stereophile and the others came to different conclusions than my own, I just don’t know.
“.... the Devialet didn't hold our interest, musically. That is a curious one. “
You’re correct. I apologize for truncating my description of how it sounded to the point where it made little sense. What I’d tried to get across, but used too few words to do so, was that to me the Devialet came across in a positive way initially, but its presentation seemed artificial after a while, and quickly became difficult to listen to. I used the word ‘phaseyness’ to describe some aberration in the way the unit projects images unnaturally within the soundstage. What I didn’t make clear was the fact that this perception of phase anomaly varied in degree literally from track to track. It was that which triggered the Sonic Holography comparison, since i found SH to behave in exactly the same way. With Carver’s gear, on certain tracks the illusion of holographic imaging would be quite profound, then on the next track it might be barely noticeable. My Devialet unit seemed to follow a similar pattern.
Again, I should point out that I do have a hearing sensitivity to frequency and phase anomalies, though it doesn’t manifest on Q-Sound recordings. I’m not sure why that is. I should also have elaborated more on how I found the sound to be reminiscent of early Class D amp technology. It just sounded overtly digital, in the bad sense of the word, hence it didn’t hold my interest, musically.
“I suspect this site is a one-man operation. I get the sense that he buys equipment, either new or used, as an avid audio hobby guy, and then writes reviews to post on his own website. “ -
Exactly correct. Though why I’m suddenly feeling self-conscious about my choice of pass-time I have no idea.
“Finally, I was interested to see the tabs for 'account details' and a shopping cart icon in the upper right corner of the web page.” -
Yes, I’d much rather move something along without having to pay eBay fees. Is this problematic?
———-
@ogs
“And the image he uses for the amp's rear is from a 250 Pro, not the 220.”
-My apologies. I took a bunch of photos of the unit but all I could find when I came to write the review were my shots of the top display panel. I’ll take another look for the photos when I have some time.
@ICUDoc
“A pretty unimpressive website!
And the review borders on the absurd.”
- Thanks for your honest and forthright critique.
“Who would audition a component, using the (amazing) Waters' Q-sound CD, then complain about "phaseyness"!!?? The whole POINT of Q-sound is to use phase differences to project sound in different ways. Is CAH a moron”
I promise it wasn’t the only recording I played through the Devialet. It’s one of many go-to recordings I use to get a quick handle on a component, as I’m intimately familiar with what sits where in terms of Q-Sound effects, etc.
Moron? That’s a little personal isn’t it?
If I can add anything else I’d be more than happy to do so.
Cheers
CAH
