Devialet 120 and Denon AVR

[k1282]

Hi,

I am considering buying a Devialet 120 as I heard them at my local Hifi Dealer and was amazed by the stereo sound they produced. I am also going to test them in my own home coming weekend hoping to experience the same.

The reason I want to go with a Devialet is that I am totally not happy with the Stereo capabilities of my 5 year old AVR by Denon (Denon 3311). I am happy with the Denon 3311 with regards to Movie Sound Quality in Dolby and DTS mode, which delivers a great 5.1 sound experience.

Given that situation I am now considering using the Devialet as a power amp for stereo 2.0 only. This will apply to my CD player, Pro-Ject Turntable and Google Music/ Tidal lossless streaming. All other input signals coming from PS4, XBMC/RaspPi and TV can/should still be managed by Denon 3311.

Given this setup and the limited number of connectivity options of the Devialet 120 vs 200 I have the following question:
- Can my preferred setup be realized with the Devialet 120 without too much hassle?
- Will there be a noticable quality loss when connecting the Devialet via analog cable to the Pre-Outs of the Denon?
- Can I still use the Devialet remote for adjusting volume although volume management will be set to "passthorugh" in the Devialet settings?
- Is there another option I should consider?

Regards
Kian

[listener]

As I can see it, the D-120 has Phono plus 2 digital SPDIF in and 2 digital optical inputs. A default input and volume at start can be set or pass-through per input. Once pass-through has been choosen for an input, there is no volume control any more for the choosen input.

Another option is D-200, one more in- or out (analogue or digital), one more digital AES and a more flexible phono.

[k1282]

hi listener,
I dont see how this answers my questions above.

Or are you actually saying that using passthrough will render the devialet remote useless?

[markush]

Yep - you can either user the Devialete remote to controll the volume or active bypass / passthrough then volume control will be handled by the AV-Receiver.

[completeluxury]

I have my d400 set up in my theatre room, i use it to power my front speakers and feed the subs. While watching movies all volume control comes from my integra receiver (input set to pass through - fed via dual RCA's)

You still have an AES input and 2 RCA which gives you 3 connection inputs for your CD player and turntable to plug directly into the devialet which you would control directly through the remote.

edit - and movies sound awesome for me using the pre-outs.

[tyefighter]

Not too sure on what you have but from my understanding this is how i would do it (depending on possible output from CD player)
TT to the Line In phono
Tidal to USB?
CD to digital coax or if not then optical in

the other stuff i would input into the Denon and have the 2 channel digitally outputting via the optical to the D120

dunno if thats what you were asking but i hope its been of some use

[k1282]

@completelux
your suggestion only works with a le200. however i am looking for a le120 which does not have AES for instance

@tye
thanks for the response. it would work like that, however i have concerns regarding the sound quality when conneting tidal streamer via USB vs RCA or TOSLINK. Do you think there would be noticable SQ differences?

I did not understand zour Denon statement though:
would you use the Toslink OPtical for connecting to the Denon AVR? WOuld that actuallz work? I have dedicated pre out RCAs at my Denon which I would use for connecting to the 2 RCA connections (next to the Phono RCAs) on the Devialet

[thumb5]

Hello Kian,

The two RCA connectors next to the phono inputs on the 120 are digital inputs and can't be used as analog inputs (unless I have missed something!).  If your Denon AVR gives you a digital output you could use that into an optical or coax digital input rather than stereo analog to the 120, as tyefighter said.  Otherwise I think you'll struggle to find enough inputs on the 120 to connect all your sources.

The USB input is generally reckoned to be pretty good - I don't use it myself but it came out well in a poll of preferred digital inputs.  Some on the forum prefer it to AIR from a sound quality point of view.

If you haven't already found it, you might want to have a play around with the Devialet configurator at http://en.devialet.com/configurator/advanced.  That will let you test out what combinations of inputs and outputs are supported.

Hope that helps/clarifies.

Ian

[tyefighter]

@tye
thanks for the response. it would work like that, however i have concerns regarding the sound quality when conneting tidal streamer via USB vs RCA or TOSLINK. Do you think there would be noticable SQ differences?

I would try and keep to the digital route with USB or Toslink over RCA so that the signal only gets converted via the Devialet
what are you using for your Tidal streamer?

the Denon only has one digital output as far as i can see with the Toslink right?

[Confused]

I am not quite sure what you are trying to achieve here. If you want to use the Devialet for the front stereo channels for a 5.1 set up, you need two analogue RCA inputs for your turntable, and another two RCA inputs for the front channel pre-outs from your Dennon. The D120 does not have the inputs for this, the D200 does. If you are not trying to use the Devialet for the front channels in 5.1 mode, then yes, you should be able to run a stereo digital out from the Dennon to the Dev to cover your various needs. What are you using as the source for your streaming?