Does Devialet produce "alive" music?

[Antoine]

Alve, I think your friend may have been referring to class D (since you also mention active speakers and certain modules he used) or DSP crossovers where you mention digital processing. Class D in a way could be viewed as ‘digital’ but it’s not perse. Devialet uses class A/class D hybrid (not in series) amplification (ADH) with the DAC being the direct input of the ADH stage. If you or your friend likes to learn more about ADH which again is not class D or class A followed by class D (they work in tandem) there’s some whitepapers about the technology which is Devialet proprietary. You can easily find them using Google.

And to answer your question I too feel I can reproduce a very live and engaging reproduction in my system but I agree with others who mentioned the Devialets are very transparant to everything including the recording. Besides the room, speakers, speaker setup, and power supply the source is equally important (a MAC Mini in your case? Get rid of it! ). Also none of us have heard your friends system.

It is very much of a hassle but you could try to get his or parts of his system in your room to check whether it’s the Devialet is “at fault” or put your Devialet in his system. Of course, everything does sound different/different brands of devices do have different characters and you may like the presentation of one device more over another.

[Alve]

The much liked Expert firmware 7.3 had a bit more of "in the room" presentation of some recordings.  I ended up liking the 10.1.0 better as it was less coloured, but it was not quite as holographic as 7.3. That aligns with f1eng's view that colouration is part of the puzzle here.
None of these old versions can be used with the CI however so this is a moot point really. I find current CI firmware to sound more like 10.1.0 than 7.3. The CI clearly sounds better to me than the old, but I wish for a firmware that has better imaging ("in the room" and holographic is part of the imaging thing). So the Expert amps does sound "live" in my system, but there is some room for improvement.

Thanks a lot for sharing, I’m not saying dev does not sound good, it does. Just that when you can clearly hear a voice “in the room” that makes my hair rise and now this feeling is not as I would like it to have.

[ogs]

Thanks a lot for sharing, I’m not saying dev does not sound good, it does. Just that when you can clearly hear a voice “in the room” that makes my hair rise and now this feeling is not as I would like it to have.

In the old days (around 1970-80) it was 'common knowledge' among audio circuit designers that the distortion spectrum of an amp was part of it's character. Modern designs like ADH in Devialet does not follow this thinking (same as most other amp designs of today). This distortion graph from Stereophile's test of the D-Premier is a good illistration:
   
Note that 3rd, 5th, 7th etc distortion is dominant while 2nd, 4th, 6th etc is generally lower. With the old thinking it should be 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th etc for the amp (or circuit) to sound neutral. That was all analog design.

The new switching amps are different, but it is important to remember that Devialet also differs here as ADH (Analog Digital Hybrid) contains a pure class A analog voltage amplifier in parallel with the switching amp (it is rumoured that Devialet considered a tube stage for the class A amp, but abandoned the idea). The graph shows distortion is very low in level. Many will argue that at these low levels, distortion is not a factor any more. Others disagree and feel that a low distortion tube amp, which typically has the classic distortion spectrum, will sound more "in the room".
There are of course many other factors that may be more important than the distortion spectrum.

[Stino]

Devialet amplifiers indeed do have a very low distortion rate. There are many more amps with low distortion rate, but not that low as the D.

There is an interesting interview on darko.audio with the chief designer of MBL. He says somewhere, if I am not mistaken, that it is not that difficult to get distortion low nowadays. And that amps with similar technical specifications can sound very different. He gives some nice examples.

Thus, as suggested above, it seems like a great idea to take your Devialet to your friend's house and try it out. Then you are sure and may find some ease of mind!!

[Alve]

Devialet amplifiers indeed do have a very low distortion rate. There are many more amps with low distortion rate, but not that low as the D.

There is an interesting interview on darko.audio with the chief designer of MBL. He says somewhere, if I am not mistaken, that it is not that difficult to get distortion low nowadays. And that amps with similar technical specifications can sound very different. He gives some nice examples.

Thus, as suggested above, it seems like a great idea to take your Devialet to your friend's house and try it out. Then you are sure and may find some ease of mind!!

I will definitely try devialet in my friends system. Thank you for the advice.

[Damon]

As many of us I do have lots of audiophile test recordings and I did not get realistic live present vocals/voices on any of them. Somehow, the instruments sound more real and present, like drums, guitars, but not vocals. 

I'm in sort of a detached phase about hifi and music, so that is colouring my mood here, but I think part of the problem, or a factor here, is the 'test record' approach. If all we do is put on one test cut after another, we end up not listening to the music. And all our listening becomes critical and searching and ... desperate somehow. I know because I've done it. I have friends who do nothing but this. There is no possible route to any kind of satisfaction this way. IMHO, of course. Certainly it drives my wife crazy. 10 seconds of this one, fuss with the cables, 10 seconds of the same song, then 20 seconds of something else. Fuss around, break something, find something else to adjust, knock over wine glass, change power cables, find new 'test cut'. Ack. See new avatar pic. That is what happens.

A few weeks ago, I went to a system demo of Wilson audio, with DCS and new Audio Research amps etc. The cabling alone was probably $30K in a system that I'd guess was bumping $220,000.00. Was it amazing? Well, yes, but not in a 'knock you off your feet' sort of way. Big, smooth, deep; all good things. A knowledgeable friend, with a wonderful system, commented that it sounded 'a bit boring'. Was it 'alive' or lifelike? Yes, and no. It was wonderful reproduction, but it did not sound like a piano, or Diana or somebody else's double bass was in the room. It just reproduced the recording, and did a great job of it. A big room, filled with people and sound.

As others have said, the recording quality, and mastering, is so important. An mp3 at 320 whatever units they use can sound great. If a system makes every recording sound the same, then it is not giving you the truth. But that may also be a great way to listen if you get more enjoyment.

[Alve]

(null)

what speaker you used? My 1000Pro + GT1, SAM at 100%, when I closed my eyes I feel like the person in front of me and singing! Feels scary true.

This is a good answer thank you.

[mdconnelly]

@Alve - have you heard the sound you seek in your room with your speakers? I ask simply because there are so many factors that can influence sound quality. As a previous poster noted, the room itself can play a huge factor. I would agree that if you take your Devialet over to your friend's house, I think you'll find that the Devialet is far from being the issue.

[maxijazz]

I would take Devialet to you friend, use his source and speakers, and see, if the presence is there.

[dylanttt]

I have a 400 and 3 months ago added a pair of Vincent SP-T800 mono blocks to the highs and mids and left the 400 to drive the lows. everything improved.