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Experiences of a new Expert Pro owner
#1
I've had my Expert Pro 140 for just over a week now and thought I'd share my experiences.

I am connecting the amp to a pair of ProAc D18s so before using the amp for the first time I used the configurator to enable SAM for my speakers.  All other settings in the configurator were left as default.  My first impressions of hearing the amp were very poor.  Not just 'wait for the burn in' level of poor but really bad.  Playing with the bass and treble controls with the remote I could either make it totally unlistenable or slightly improved, but still nowhere near expected levels.  I also felt that the bass and treble controls were making far too dramatic effects to the sound.  Something felt very wrong.

Back to the configurator.  I found the 'Tone control frequency adjustment' but had no idea what this was intended to do or what settings I should use (the 'help' info was no help at all).  My speakers have a frequency response of 30HZ to 30kHZ so perhaps these are the setting I should use in the configurator?  I set the configurator to 30HZ for treble and 20kHZ for bass and tried again.  Instantly the sound was transformed and was much more in line with expectations.  The bass and treble adjustments through the remote now make minor adjustments as expected but I am happy leaving them at 0.  Turning SAM on or off, or moving between 0% to 100% makes little difference to my ears (for my speakers).

So this raises a few questions:

1.  Is the purpose of the frequency adjustment in the configurator to as closely as possible match the frequency response of the speakers?  If this is the case, why is there no guidance telling you this?  I have asked Devialet support what the intended purpose of the frequency adjustment is and they have not really given a clear answer.  They did tell me that I need to be careful not to exceed the range of my speakers as I may damage them.  Given the huge difference these setting had on my system and the potential for damage to the speakers I really think Devialet need to improve their guidance here.  If anyone has any advice on the frequency adjustment setting I'd be very grateful if you would share with me!

2.  Reading many of the reviews saying what a huge improvement SAM made to their speakers I was disappointed not to hear the same effect.  I appreciate every speaker will be different in the effect SAM will play but has anyone else had the same experience of hearing no difference?  The Devialet support guy said he thought that with SAM activated the frequency adjustments should be greyed out.  This is not the case for me, unless somehow SAM has not been activated correctly?  Is there any way to tell?

Ok, that's my thoughts one week in.  I am now very happy with the sound but quite amazed that I've had to make 'best guess' adjustments to settings I don't fully understand to get here! 

If anyone has any clearer information on the configurator settings it would be great to hear from you.

Cheers!
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#2
1. No, the frequency adjustment is the frequency where you want your adjustment done.
2. Some hear a lot of difference with SAM and some not. I do not know if it is possible to activate SAM in an incorrect way. Seems odd
Spiral Groove/Soundsmith - jRiver/Audiophile Optimizer/Process Lasso - Devialet 1000 pro - Rockport Ankaa
Nordost Valhalla, Brahma, Frey2+ & Tyr2/Ansuz Mainz C/D8
Isoacoustics OREA/Shunyata Dark Field/Nordost QV/QK
Devialet Gemini
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#3
Thanks frejo for the quick response. I'm not concerned about the SAM 'issue' really. If the difference is subtle for my speakers it may just be my hearing not being able to notice it.

Would you mind elaborating a bit more on your answer to the first point as I don't really understand what you mean. Put simply, with the default settings it sounded pretty awful, moving them to pretty much the extremes of the configurator makes a big improvement. But what configurator settings are 'right'? How are we supposed to gauge it? Especially if it is possible to damage speakers if set incorrectly.

Many thanks for the help!
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#4
Just to be sure, are we talking about this?


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
   
Spiral Groove/Soundsmith - jRiver/Audiophile Optimizer/Process Lasso - Devialet 1000 pro - Rockport Ankaa
Nordost Valhalla, Brahma, Frey2+ & Tyr2/Ansuz Mainz C/D8
Isoacoustics OREA/Shunyata Dark Field/Nordost QV/QK
Devialet Gemini
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#5
Yes, exactly.  With those settings (if they are the default) my amp with the ProAc speakers (with SAM on or off) sounded pretty bad.  I have changed the settings to the image below (with the perhaps misguided idea that it more closely matches the range of the speakers) and the sound is much improved.  My question is, presumably these settings must be related to the speakers being used in some way, so how do we decide on the optimum settings?  It can't be just trial and error surely.

   
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#6
Hi,

I was making some cabling changes recently and could not understand why my D1000 sounds awful. On checking I realised I connected the speakers incorrectly, out of phase. Try swapping speakers cables, you never know, it may help....

Graham
Innuos Statement, D1000 Pro CI, Shunyata Denali, Alpha v2, Delta v2 and Venom NR12 power cords, Sigma v1 speaker cables, Omega USB, PMC IB2se, Townshend Isolation Podiums.

Marantz SR7012, OPPO BDP 105D, PMC OB1s (Rears), PMC Twenty C (Centre).
                                 
South East Wales, UK
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#7
(27-Jan-2021, 15:10)Carcrashboy Wrote: Hi,

I was making some cabling changes recently and could not understand why my D1000 sounds awful. On checking I realised I connected the speakers incorrectly, out of phase. Try swapping speakers cables, you never know, it may help....

Graham

Just double checked and (thankfully) they are wired correctly  Big Grin
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#8
(27-Jan-2021, 15:06)Daz Wrote: Yes, exactly.  With those settings (if they are the default) my amp with the ProAc speakers (with SAM on or off) sounded pretty bad.  I have changed the settings to the image below (with the perhaps misguided idea that it more closely matches the range of the speakers) and the sound is much improved.  My question is, presumably these settings must be related to the speakers being used in some way, so how do we decide on the optimum settings?  It can't be just trial and error surely.

This should not affect the sound quality,  certainly not when you do not use the tone controls at all. Bass and treble 0.0.
Devialet Expert 220 Pro CI, Bryston BCD-3 , Roon, Technics SL 1500C, PMC Twenty5.24. Isotek, Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital, Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro
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#9
Ok, well then if that matches the configurator (you can swap left and right) then it must be something else...
Innuos Statement, D1000 Pro CI, Shunyata Denali, Alpha v2, Delta v2 and Venom NR12 power cords, Sigma v1 speaker cables, Omega USB, PMC IB2se, Townshend Isolation Podiums.

Marantz SR7012, OPPO BDP 105D, PMC OB1s (Rears), PMC Twenty C (Centre).
                                 
South East Wales, UK
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#10
Ok, I'll try changing the settings back to the levels shared by @frejo and listen again. Maybe there was something else at play, although I can't think what other settings were changed.

However, if these settings should not affect sound quality, what are they for and why would Devialet support suggest they could damage speakers if set incorrectly?
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