I also bought a demo 120 for a great price which I then upgraded to the 220 Pro with CI. The acquisition of the 120 was already already expensive, but a significant step up in SQ and design from my former Sony surround receiver. The upgrade was much lauded, but personally I didn’t detect much change in SQ for the price of the upgrade. I would expect diminishing returns for every investment made, but wanted the new functionalities of CI and the eventual integrated Roon RAAT. In the meantime am much enjoying the Spotify Premium direct connection which is an excellent means of discovering music. Also, the upgrade process resulted in Devialet polishing up the chassis to perfection and fixing a few things from the demo model I had; it felt like a completely new unit. It’s all in all a lot amount of money, but the audiophiles on this site aren’t here for purely rational reasons!
Hello here the expiration of my purchase.
11/2016 / Buy Le120 - 4990€ less 15% action by Devialet - 4240€
12/2016 / From the Pro Upgrade back - 3500€
01/2018 / Upgrade CI - 0 €
Overall, cost me now the 220Pro CI 7740€, today the Pro 220 costs 7990€ (saving: 250€).
I can not complain at all (my last McIntosh cost a lot more), but I am very satisfied with the 220 Pro.
(13-Sep-2018, 21:26)Pim Wrote: [ -> ] (13-Sep-2018, 19:09)Sailor4W Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the advice! I must say, I am very much tempted to upgrade to the 220 Pro CI. It would make my Aurender obsolete, but I can always try to sell it. I very much like the Aurender N100H, so parting wouldn't be easy. But it also means simplifying my setup, which is a big bonus when I think of what complicated contraption I used to have 
Keep in mind that the Aurender might still give a positive improvement to sound quality even after the upgrade. So if you do upgrade, don't start counting your pennies you think you might get for the Aurender. I would mentally prepare for the cost of upgrade plus keeping the Aurender.
Another upgrade path that might give an even better increase in sound quality is the speakers. The 120 won't disappoint.
Yes, of course, speakers! I‘ll drive to the French speaking region of Switzerland this weekend to pick up a pair of Harbeth Monitor 30.1 for a few days of auditioning. I like my ATC SCM 11s, with the old gear (class AB power amp) they sounded just right, as the amp was a bit on the slow side. Now with the very fast Devialet, they lean just a tad to the bright side so that they become a bit fatiguing after extended periods of listening. The Harbeth sounds quite a bit darker, with brilliant mids. The highs are not as pronounced as with the ATCs, but still very resolving. I guess the Harbeths will be a better match for the Devialet. Yet, naturally, I need to test them in my own listening room. I am very curious comparing the ATCs to the Harbeth! So speakers: yes, of course, I keep an eye on them!
(14-Sep-2018, 08:09)alaw Wrote: [ -> ] (13-Sep-2018, 19:09)Sailor4W Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the advice! I must say, I am very much tempted to upgrade to the 220 Pro CI. It would make my Aurender obsolete, but I can always try to sell it. I very much like the Aurender N100H, so parting wouldn't be easy. But it also means simplifying my setup, which is a big bonus when I think of what complicated contraption I used to have
I've just followed the same "box reducing" path! I am lucky to have the CI upgrade, and now exclusively use Roon via Devialet Air, which I find sounds (subjectively) much better than my X100 via USB. Devialets current UPnP implementation is flawed, so I would not base any upgrade decisions on using that. When UPnP is fixed, and Devialet is finally "Roon Ready", a CI upgrade would be justifiable - though looking at the upgrade prices quoted above, I think I would personally try to buy a 220Pro CI new (or used) instead. You'll still need a music server. So you'd really just be replacing your Aurender with something else, but perhaps now placed in another room.
OK, so what you say is that streaming via CI sounds better than streaming via Aurender, right? But Devialet should first fix problems regarding streaming via its CI board? Also, I never quite understood if Devialet is now Roon Ready or not. I am a bit confused in that respect. Can you help me Inn understanding the problem? Thanks!!!
(14-Sep-2018, 08:33)alaw Wrote: [ -> ] (14-Sep-2018, 07:03)Sailor4W Wrote: [ -> ]Yes, of course, speakers! I‘ll drive to the French speaking region of Switzerland this weekend to pick up a pair of Harbeth Monitor 30.1 for a few days of auditioning. I like my ATC SCM 11s, with the old gear (class AB power amp) they sounded just right, as the amp was a bit on the slow side. Now with the very fast Devialet, they lean just a tad to the bright side so that they become a bit fatiguing after extended periods of listening. The Harbeth sounds quite a bit darker, with brilliant mids. The highs are not as pronounced as with the ATCs, but still very resolving. I guess the Harbeths will be a better match for the Devialet. Yet, naturally, I need to test them in my own listening room. I am very curious comparing the ATCs to the Harbeth! So speakers: yes, of course, I keep an eye on them!
With an X100 via USB, I also found my speakers (B&W 802D) to be a tad too bright, and I turned the Treble down -2 or -3db. Now having switched to Roon/Devialet-Air I have the Treble back at 0db and am very happy with the sound. You might want to try CI before replacing your speakers
Super suggestion! Just tried to lower the treble by -3dB and my ATCs sound already less piercing!
Devialet-Air: does it allow HR streaming, say 24/192? Sorry for the dumb questions, but I am still in the Aurender world, which, for much chagrin, does not support Roon. I‘d very much like to get a Roon Ready system. If that would be incorporated in one single box, all the better!
(13-Sep-2018, 22:24)Damon Wrote: [ -> ] (13-Sep-2018, 19:17)Sailor4W Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Damon, my apologies if I raised a question covered already in an existing thread, and thanks for the link! I am new to this forum and I still need to find my way through the various fora!
OK, very good to know that the upgrade to the 220 Pro is significant. I must say, I am leaning towards this solution. But I'll see, as I might upgrade my speakers as well, but all in good time.
@Sailor4W
No problem at all. I wasn't criticizing you for the question. Because the big upgrade move, to the Pro series generally, was done in the fall of 2016, those threads are older, and they can be hard to track down easily.
Believe me, I understand the dilemma. For me, the D120 was a difficult expenditure, and so was the upgrade. Not that it was threatening my retirement, but in terms of what I imagined spending, it was double.
Do search for some threads that discuss the sound quality change with the Pro; to many of us (but not all) there is a real change in sonic character. Personally, I was astounded by the improvement out of the box. Others were also surprised but not pleased. I'm not familiar with ATC speakers, though the dealer down the road from me has them, so I can't offer anything about how well they mesh. But detail and tone across the frequency range were notably improved for me. However, the Pro series was, for me, much more critical about cables; I had to fuss with things to tune the sound of the Pro, whereas the Expert amp, though amazing, did not reveal the same differences- it didn't require the same fussing with other bits of the system.
I agree with @Pim on the Aurender. I'd keep it for a while if you do upgrade. It might be an ideal companion to either system.
I won‘t let the Aurender go! I am really attached to this cute box. Whatever I combined it with, it never had a glitch and integrated itself perfectly into any system. I‘ll sell my DAC, pre-amp and that crappy power amp. All those boxes are now stacked in the attic and are waiting to find a new home.
(14-Sep-2018, 18:55)Sailor4W Wrote: [ -> ]...
Also, I never quite understood if Devialet is now Roon Ready or not. I am a bit confused in that respect. Can you help me Inn understanding the problem? Thanks!!!
As I understand it, Roon Ready implies firstly supporting Roon's RAAT streaming/control protocol and secondly passing Roon's certification program. At the moment Devialets are not Roon Ready by that definition. The plan is for the Core Infinity board to support RAAT which should lead to CI-equipped Devialet Expert amps to be Roon Ready in due course. "Due course" could reaslistically mean some time in the next several months -- hopefully --though Devialet's software schedules have been notoriously unpredictable.
The confusion perhaps arises because Experts can be used together with Roon already, using Devialet's AIR streaming/control protocol over wired or wireless networks. To add to the confusion, there are two ways of setting that up: either using Devialet's AIR application/driver on a PC or Mac (which makes the Expert "look like" a built-in audio device to Roon and other applications) or using Roon's built-in implementation of AIR. The consensus, I think, is that using Roon's built-in AIR is more reliable (robust) than Devialet's AIR app. It has the benefit that on/off and volume controls are integrated into Roon's UI, which is really handy.
I hope that helps to dispel the confusion.
Ian
(14-Sep-2018, 21:31)thumb5 Wrote: [ -> ] (14-Sep-2018, 18:55)Sailor4W Wrote: [ -> ]...
Also, I never quite understood if Devialet is now Roon Ready or not. I am a bit confused in that respect. Can you help me Inn understanding the problem? Thanks!!!
As I understand it, Roon Ready implies firstly supporting Roon's RAAT streaming/control protocol and secondly passing Roon's certification program. At the moment Devialets are not Roon Ready by that definition. The plan is for the Core Infinity board to support RAAT which should lead to CI-equipped Devialet Expert amps to be Roon Ready in due course. "Due course" could reaslistically mean some time in the next several months -- hopefully --though Devialet's software schedules have been notoriously unpredictable.
The confusion perhaps arises because Experts can be used together with Roon already, using Devialet's AIR streaming/control protocol over wired or wireless networks. To add to the confusion, there are two ways of setting that up: either using Devialet's AIR application/driver on a PC or Mac (which makes the Expert "look like" a built-in audio device to Roon and other applications) or using Roon's built-in implementation of AIR. The consensus, I think, is that using Roon's built-in AIR is more reliable (robust) than Devialet's AIR app. It has the benefit that on/off and volume controls are integrated into Roon's UI, which is really handy.
I hope that helps to dispel the confusion.
Ian
Thanks, Ian, for the explanation!
So, in essence, the CI-equipped Devialets are not yet Roon-Ready in its strict sense? Which means one needs an external Mac/PC to run Roon, correct? And Roon can be controlled remotely via the AIR app, correct too?
And I take it that full Roon readiness is not quite guaranteed to be implemented on the Devialets?
Hi
Roon always requires a separate server to run the Roon Core, ideally something like a small dedicated PC or it can be run on more powerful Network Attached Storage units.
The Roon Ready name means that the player (amplifier) can communicate with the core by RAAT which seems to be the most reliable network streaming option.
Roon currently can work with Devialet experts (CI or not) using its own inbuilt AIR driver.
Devialet have confirmed that they are working on implementing RAAT for CI equipped devices so they will be fully Roon ready sometime in the future, supposedly this year.
Cheers
Chris
@
Sailor4W -- to expand a little on what @
Chris Marshall said above:
There are three main parts to the
Roon system architecture:
- the Core, typically a Mac or PC, which co-ordinates the whole system
- (one or more) Controls, typically a computer, phone or pad that runs the Roon UI and allows you to interact with Roon
- (one or more) Outputs, which are devices capable of playing music -- such as a Devialet Expert
So for a minimal system you'd use an Expert as the output device and a Mac or PC as the core and control. You can add phones/pads to provide additional controls, and/or other output devices as needed.
If you're using Roon, the Devialet AIR application is of very limited use. The Roon UI (on the Control device(s)) does everything you'll need.
You're right that it's not 100% guaranteed that the CI-equipped Expert Pros will become Roon Ready. However Devialet have stated publicly that it is the top priority on their roadmap. At an
event held at Oxford Audio Consultants in July, they said they'd been working on RAAT actively since May and expect it to be released by the end of the year.