(18-Aug-2015, 18:21)octaviars Wrote: [ -> ]But is the grass grener on the other side?
In this review Jeff Fritz compares the D400 to other amps he has tested in his system with Magico Q7 speakers.
http://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php...ifier-dacs
[url=http://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/528-devialet-400-mono-integrated-amplifier-dacs][/url]
An interesting review. This sounds like just what I'm looking for!
SAM is a big factor I think. I know some prefer not to use it, and indeed it is not available for some speakers. For me, I really like the improvement SAM brings, so in considering an alternative, I have to consider how much better an amp would need to be in other areas for me to ditch Devialet & SAM for one of those alternatives.
I'm sure that as technology progresses, something will come along one day that will be superior, maybe even some kind of killer "must have" product. Who knows? There are many signs of what might be available one day, or even what's out there now, such as Linn's Space Optimisation and other room correction systems. (Although you could use these with a Dev) I'm sure the very existence of Devialet SAM and the Phantom has got many manufacturers thinking, and maybe planning. Not long ago, hifi was a very purist thing, even the existence of a tone control was (and still is by some) considered horrific. I think the potential of technology and modern electronics will challenge this view and lead to many interesting things one day.
In the meantime, it's fun looking around, but I can't see anything tempting me away from Devialet for some time yet.
Although thinking about it, I do have a thing for green LED's. This started with a Musical Fidelity CD player I bough many years ago, it too had green LED's and was by far the best thing I could find for the money at that time. I am genuinely convinced that any product with green LED's will sound better. A giant amp a with green a LED display? I might have to check it out.
Looks like it might need more than a couple of screws to wall mount vertically.....
(18-Aug-2015, 20:36)Confused Wrote: [ -> ] (18-Aug-2015, 18:21)octaviars Wrote: [ -> ]But is the grass grener on the other side?
In this review Jeff Fritz compares the D400 to other amps he has tested in his system with Magico Q7 speakers.
http://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php...ifier-dacs
[url=http://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/528-devialet-400-mono-integrated-amplifier-dacs][/url]
An interesting review. This sounds like just what I'm looking for!
SAM is a big factor I think. I know some prefer not to use it, and indeed it is not available for some speakers. For me, I really like the improvement SAM brings, so in considering an alternative, I have to consider how much better an amp would need to be in other areas for me to ditch Devialet & SAM for one of those alternatives.
I'm sure that as technology progresses, something will come along one day that will be superior, maybe even some kind of killer "must have" product. Who knows? There are many signs of what might be available one day, or even what's out there now, such as Linn's Space Optimisation and other room correction systems. (Although you could use these with a Dev) I'm sure the very existence of Devialet SAM and the Phantom has got many manufacturers thinking, and maybe planning. Not long ago, hifi was a very purist thing, even the existence of a tone control was (and still is by some) considered horrific. I think the potential of technology and modern electronics will challenge this view and lead to many interesting things one day.
In the meantime, it's fun looking around, but I can't see anything tempting me away from Devialet for some time yet.
Jeff Fritz also test the SAM and what he wrote in this article is the main reson I got my first 200.
Quote:Because the Devialet 120 with SAM sounded so good with the diminutive S1s, I figured I’d try it with Magico’s enormous Q7s, a pair of which sat in the background in my room. I’ve struggled a bit to find appropriate amplification for the Q7s. I’ve tried numerous amplifiers, and up to this point the best partner for them had easily been Gryphon’s Mephisto -- which costs $57,000. Nothing else I’d tried had been as satisfying.
Until now.
Would you believe that the best match I’ve heard for the $185,000/pair Magico Q7 is the $6495 Devialet 120? I know -- hard to fathom.
G,
It looks like a promising product but with 4800 EUR per phono and dac respectively it will add considerable cost and how good will this add ons be? They better be close to perfect to warrant that cost.
Anyway I will lend it an ear when I get the opportunity to listen. Iit looked pretty impressive on its dry demo in Munich.
/Mike
(18-Aug-2015, 20:36)Confused Wrote: [ -> ]SAM is a big factor I think. I know some prefer not to use it, and indeed it is not available for some speakers. For me, I really like the improvement SAM brings, so in considering an alternative, I have to consider how much better an amp would need to be in other areas for me to ditch Devialet & SAM for one of those alternatives.
It's interesting but in my own setup pressing the SAM button is not a "night and day" change although it depends massively on the material being played of course.
With electronic/dance music I love it. No complaints whatsoever, it's genius.
With other music genres I find it can add a slight artificiality or unnaturalness to the sound, again it depends a bit on the music so I can't generalise here. This makes me wonder if all the additional processing in the DSP isn't affecting things (in a very subtle way of course!). With dance music the timbres of the electronic instruments are a bit more basic shall we say...
My default mode is generally to leave SAM "on" and at 100% but experimenting with switching SAM off has been interesting, to say the least.
Anyway I'm not complaining, far from it. It's great to be able to switch it on and off.
Guillaume
(18-Aug-2015, 22:18)Mikeeo Wrote: [ -> ]It looks like a promising product but with 4800 EUR per phono and dac respectively it will add considerable cost and how good will this add ons be? They better be close to perfect to warrant that cost.
Well the DAC module is based on the Kalliope and has identical specs... the Kalliope costs €23,500 and has had rave reviews.
Anyway I'm not trying to sell the thing, I just think it's an interesting product. I think we are going to see more of these integrated offerings, for e.g. Aavik U-300, Dartzeel LHC-208 (also sounds interesting and just reviewed in this month's HFN)...
This can surely only be a good thing for Devialet owners since it keeps the pressure on Devialet to continue innovating
in the Expert line.
Guillaume
It definitely looks interesting but I must have drunk too much of the Devialet kool-aid because my first impressions were "old school, big iron, been there already". If I wanted my hi-fi to make a statement, that would do it very nicely. But -- dare I say it -- however good it sounded, I think I might miss the flexibility offered by the Devialet (warts and all).
i am very intrerested in the dartzeel line. and ive heard it plays fantastically well with another brand im interested in - evolution acoustics
(19-Aug-2015, 13:34)completeluxury Wrote: [ -> ]i am very intrerested in the dartzeel line. and ive heard it plays fantastically well with another brand im interested in - evolution acoustics
The LHC-208 gets a reasonably good review in HFN (84%) getting praise for its sound quality but falling a little short on functionality, particularly on the streaming front (UPnP? but no streaming services although software updates plan to address this). Power-wise it seems to sit somewhere between the 200 and 400 but at £13,500 it's heading towards 800 territory price-wise. I don't see it posing too much of a threat but it would certainly be interesting to hear it. The looks might be a bit garish for some.
Guillaume