Devialet vs Everything Else

[Drifter]

Pulled the trigger today.
Love the "low noise floor" of class D and decided to stay with the technology.

Out -> Devialet 440 PRO Ci (owned for 6 years)
In -> Mola Mola Tambaqui and Kaluga monoblocks (should be here next week)

[zoran_pavlovic]

Suppose, you had opportunity to listen to Mola Mola and Kaluga. Can you share your opinion/ comparison vs Devialet’s 440 pro?
Or your decision was based on the attitude of the management of the company towards Expert line of products?
Thanks
Zoran

[mdconnelly]

Pulled the trigger today.
Love the "low noise floor" of class D and decided to stay with the technology.

Out -> Devialet 440 PRO Ci (owned for 6 years)
In -> Mola Mola Tambaqui and Kaluga monoblocks (should be here next week)

I, also, would very much like to hear about that comparison.   While I haven't heard any of it, all that I read about the Mola Mola gear has me drooling over it.   I'm quite curious how the Mola Mola Kula stacks up to the Devialet 440 Pro.

[finix]

I once looked into the Mola Mola Kula but never managed to buy it or give it a try. If you look inside the Kula, you will see a Hypex Ncore module. I already had a few Ncore amplifiers and they don't sound bad, even very good, but I don't know whether you need a Kula to listen to an Ncore amplifier. The Kula is definitely a very good amp, but I wouldn't expect a star-studded sound. Mainly because you can get the NCore amplifiers much cheaper.

As far as the expectations of the Devialet pro are concerned, I can't understand you. What are they supposed to change or improve? Other manufacturers only update their devices every 10 years or so and then only with a new design. What I would like for my Expert 220 pro would be an OTA configuration!

[mdconnelly]

While Devialet certainly promised more than they gave with the Pro CI update, what I would primarily like to see are improvements and bug fixes to the configurator - ideally done locally rather than via a website.

[Drifter]

So the Tambaqui and Kaluga monoblocks have arrived and I had a quick 30 min test.
Keep in mind these are brand new so I'm not sure if and how the sound will change over time.

Very early physical/usage impressions:
- The Mola Mola app is pretty good. It connects to the Tambaqui via bluetooth, finding and connecting to the DAC in two seconds. The app allows you to configure and rename the four inputs, activate and deactivate the headphone output, update the firmware, change gain, speaker phase, playback volume etc.
- Build quality of the units is fantastic. I like the fit and finish.The volume level is easy to ready on the Tambaqui's screen.
- The units are all ⅓ size of a full sized component so they don't take up a massive amount of space.
- The remote is a solid aluminium wand. It allows you to power on/off the devices, change input and volume. The Devialet still has the upper hand as far as remote is concerned, just a pity that it is a finger print magnet. I also battled to keep the amps clean - even though I dusted them 3 times a week, walking past them when the sun's rays shone through the window onto the amp highlighting the fine layer of dust which drove me mad. The one 220PRO amp (that I bought used) had some fine scratches on the top surface. My OCD suffered with the shiny finish of the Devialet. 
- The Roon integration is definately more stable than with the Devialet. Roon detected the Tambaqui immediately on the network. Controlling the song selection via the Roon app on my iPhone results in an immediate start of the next selected track. I sometimes battled to get the Devialet to not stutter which required a complete restart of the router and amp and when I got it going, selecting the next track skipped the first few seconds of the track.

Listening impressions:
- There is A LOT of power. The Kalugas are rated at 400W into 8ohm. They definitely seem to have more control over the Vivid Giyas.
- I have never heard the Giyas go so low. The bass definitely goes deeper, the Devialet did not go that deep (no SAM) but where it was lacking in depth, it was tight and clean.
- The background is super quiet. Small sounds and background noises in the mix are more easily discernible. 
- Male vocals are definitely richer. One of my favourite tracks is The Fairfield Tour - These Bones and the baritones' voice is strong, rich, powerful and big.
- Female vocals tonality sound on par with the Devialet.
- Soundstage width and imaging accuracy is on par with the Devialet.The extra power on hand definitely pushes the sound further into the room making vocals more intimate and giving it more of a "being there" sensation. 

I will post more thoughts / impressions as I spend more time with the DAC / amp.

[Drifter]

So with this post I conclude the Devialet chapter in my hifi journey journal. I have had a request or two to share my final thoughts, so here goes ....

I was drawn to Devialet when I first saw it at my local hifi dealer's shop window around 2014. Then a few years later a non-tech friend brought around his newly acquired D-Premier so that I can help with creating and loading a config file. This shiny bathroom scale was a Swiss army knife amp that sounded amazing, my interest was piqued. Another few years and plenty of saving later and I became the proud owner of a 120 eventually upgraded to a 220PRO Ci. Another year later I added a second 220PRO Ci picked up on the local hifi classifieds.

When it was launched, the Devialet was unlike anything I have encountered before and still to this day the Devialet is up there with the best of all-in-one amps.

After a full weekend spent with the Mola Mola system I have concluded that they are here to stay. Are they better that the Devialet 440? In terms of functionality the Tambaqui is pretty bare bones. Sure it is a Roon streamer, DAC and pre but it has no power amp section. Only 4 inputs, no phono stage, no dedicated sub out , a very simply green LED display, ⅓ sized utilitarian  grey housing and a very basic remote - so from a functionality and design perspective the Devialet has it beat. Listening to the Tambaqui and Kaluga amps though make you quickly forget the lack of bells and whistles.

So does it sound better that the 440 in my system? The answer is a definite Yes. Is it a marginal improvement? A resounding No.
The background is more quiet, there are oodles of extra detail, the midrange is fuller, bass goes deeper, the soundstage is larger, the Kalugas sound more powerful by a healthy margin, the Roon integration is simply faultless and it is nice being able to make changes directly in the app without having to create and load a new config file.
Is it completely better than the Devialet? No, I still prefer the Devialet remote and the bass from the 440, while it did not go so low, was slightly leaner and faster.
There are plenty of similarities also, both offer the Class D benefits of a neutral tone, plenty of power, small form factor and letting you experience the recording warts and all (many of my hifi friends don't like honesty preferring a smoother more veiled sound).

Here is hoping that Devialet refocusses efforts on what started it all, the Expert line. Who knows, someday my path might again cross that of Devialet

Happy listening chaps.

[winiar560]

So with this post I conclude the Devialet chapter in my hifi journey journal. I have had a request or two to share my final thoughts, so here goes ....

I was drawn to Devialet when I first saw it at my local hifi dealer's shop window around 2014. Then a few years later a non-tech friend brought around his newly acquired D-Premier so that I can help with creating and loading a config file. This shiny bathroom scale was a Swiss army knife amp that sounded amazing, my interest was piqued. Another few years and plenty of saving later and I became the proud owner of a 120 eventually upgraded to a 220PRO Ci. Another year later I added a second 220PRO Ci picked up on the local hifi classifieds.

When it was launched, the Devialet was unlike anything I have encountered before and still to this day the Devialet is up there with the best of all-in-one amps.

After a full weekend spent with the Mola Mola system I have concluded that they are here to stay. Are they better that the Devialet 440? In terms of functionality the Tambaqui is pretty bare bones. Sure it is a Roon streamer, DAC and pre but it has no power amp section. Only 4 inputs, no phono stage, no dedicated sub out , a very simply green LED display, ⅓ sized utilitarian  grey housing and a very basic remote - so from a functionality and design perspective the Devialet has it beat. Listening to the Tambaqui and Kaluga amps though make you quickly forget the lack of bells and whistles.

So does it sound better that the 440 in my system? The answer is a definite Yes. Is it a marginal improvement? A resounding No.
The background is more quiet, there are oodles of extra detail, the midrange is fuller, bass goes deeper, the soundstage is larger, the Kalugas sound more powerful by a healthy margin, the Roon integration is simply faultless and it is nice being able to make changes directly in the app without having to create and load a new config file.
Is it completely better than the Devialet? No, I still prefer the Devialet remote and the bass from the 440, while it did not go so low, was slightly leaner and faster.
There are plenty of similarities also, both offer the Class D benefits of a neutral tone, plenty of power, small form factor and letting you experience the recording warts and all (many of my hifi friends don't like honesty preferring a smoother more veiled sound).

Here is hoping that Devialet refocusses efforts on what started it all, the Expert line. Who knows, someday my path might again cross that of Devialet

Happy listening chaps.

All good but think you're missing just one LITTLE  point : Devialet expert 440 pro cost £13400 in UK Brand new

Mola mola kaluga monos £6000 each times 2 = £12000
Tambaqui  £10000
Complete cost pre and monos =£22000 

Taking the above (personally) I think it should be compared with Devialet expert  1000pro if I'm honest to be more fair comparison. 

Also taking you could get now a second hand Devialet  expert  1000 for way less than £10000 in (UK) Devialet  being a better value sound per pound.

Just my though.

Happy listening.

[finix]

The most important thing is that you like it and you could afford it and I don't want to be a spoilsport because I don't own the devices and haven't heard of them, but these are souped-up NCore modules.

The NCore modules aren't bad but I wonder if they're really worth the money? If it were an in-house development, I could still understand the price, but they are cheap modules that have been pimped with larger capacitors.

Am I making a mistake in my thinking?

Still a very cool setup but I am wondering about the price!

[zoran_pavlovic]

The most important thing is that you like it and you could afford it and I don't want to be a spoilsport because I don't own the devices and haven't heard of them, but these are souped-up NCore modules.

The NCore modules aren't bad but I wonder if they're really worth the money? If it were an in-house development, I could still understand the price, but they are cheap modules that have been pimped with larger capacitors.

Am I making a mistake in my thinking?

Still a very cool setup but I am wondering about the price!

 What kind of modules are built into Devialet ? I have just read on Devialet’s web site about their ADH architecture but nowhere to read about which modules they utilize? 
Btw, it seems to me as well that Mola Mola are way overpriced, but also, reading many opinions on YT, they made probably the best sounding D class amplifiers.