Expert 500 vs Expert 400

[Redwingnine]

Recently conducted a experiment where I compared a Expert 500 (D-Premier in mono) vs. a Expert 400.  I expected the D400 to sound better than the D500.   This is with a pair of T+A Criterion speakers,  which are not a power hungry load.  

To my surprise, that was not the case.  The D500 sounded better overall with the speakers over the D400.  There is more of a sense of natural tonal response with the D500.  The D400, by comparison,  while sounding great,  sounded more like a high end stereo, while the D500 just sounded more life-like. 

I did not expect this.  Both the D500 and D400 are running 10.1 FW.   Is it strictly a matter of the extra power making the difference?

[ogs]

I do not think the difference is related to power. It has been said that a single D250 Pro (CI) sounds on par, some even say better, than a 440 Pro (CI). The 250 has the same cabinet as D-Premier with better cooling properties than 220/440 (200/400). I guess Devialet takes advantage of the cooling properties and give parts of the electronics more optimal working conditions. I do not know this though. The electronics inside the amps are supposed to be identical (220, 250 - not 140), but we don't know for sure. Or maybe someone here at DC has better hardware knowledge than me

EDIT: D-Premier and D200 does have different electronics inside so that could also account for the difference you heard.

[Confused]

@Redwingnine - As it happens, your experience is pretty much what I would expect. To my ears, the D-Premier sounded pretty much the same as the later Expert D250. My understanding is that the case (as mentioned by ogs above) and most of the electronics in the D250 were identical to the D-Premier. There are some differences, the D250 had a slightly improved power supply, and the additional "EVO" electronics that later allowed the addition of SAM etc. But the point remains, the D-Premier in practical use, sounds more or less identical to a D250, assuming you do not use SAM in the latter. With the D200, you have the same electronics as the D250, but Devialet had to tweak the firmware in the PSU due to the inferior cooling characteristics of the case, and this does seem to hold back the ultimate sound quality a little.

So listening to a D-Premier D500 is going to sound almost as good as a D800, so yes, a touch better than a D400. (Assuming SAM is omitted from the comparison)

[frejo]

I liked my D-Premier sound better than my 220pro. So I am not that surprised. But I was surprised of how good the DP sounds.