A few questions for those who have switched from Devialet Expert to some other gear (and still visit devialetchat)...
1. Which Devialet Expert model did you have?
2. What made you switch from Devialet - what were you lacking and did you found it in new gear?
3. What else is better with the new gear?
4. To what gear did you switch?
5. Are you missing something which you had with Devialet?
6. What speakers do you use?
Hello Delija,
I have sold my Devialet after 7 years!
1-Devialet 220Pro/CI
2-I've always found the midrange to be understated. Treble and bass were ok.
3-Mid area, display, handling, software update
4-Aavik U-280
5-Remote control, volume control. I solved the volume control very well with Rooextend and Roodial, at the same time I can still control Roon (forwards, backwards, pause, stop)
6-AudioPhysic Cardeas
https://rooextend.com/index_de.html
1. Devialet Expert 200
2. Felt that they were losing interest in the Expert range, and becoming more of a lifestyle company than a hi-fi manufacturer.
3. Difficult comparison - I went from Devialet + speakers to active speakers.
4. Kii Audio BXT
5. No - the combination of Auralic Aries G2 and Kii is my destination system (hopefully…. !)
6. As in 4 above
1. Which Devialet Expert model did you have?
220 Pro.
2. What made you switch from Devialet - what were you lacking and did you found it in new gear?
1) Disappointed with lack of timely/functional updates. The Sweet Room fiasco was the final straw. 2) Eager to try Class A/B. 3) Eager to try new streaming solutions. 4) Wanted a solution with full MQA decoding (not as important as the other reasons). Did I find the answer in new gear: a resounding, yes!
3. What else is better with the new gear?
1) Better DAC. 2) I find the SQ better with my new gear. 3) Lumin is great at updating its hardware. As an example, it added Leedh Processing (digital volume control) as a firmware update. It also added a Roon-Only mode as a firmware update for better SQ.
4. To what gear did you switch?
1) Lumin X1 DAC/streamer, and 2) Kinki EX-M7 power amp (Lumin has Leedh Processing, which obviates the need for a preamp)
5. Are you missing something which you had with Devialet?
I loved the elegance of the one-box solution. When Devialet was a relatively new company, I loved the pace of its evolution. When the company decided to go mass market for the bulk of its products and diminished support for the Expert series, I gradually lost interest.
6. What speakers do you use?
Vivid B1 Decade (only 200 made in Rosso Red). Lovely speakers! Basically, beautiful furniture that also plays music!
Have you tried 440 Pro with your speakers?
As there are only few examples of leaving Devialet, i'd like to name amps that did NOT make me switch (i.e. still loving it).
When i switched speakers the dealer recommended a set of amps with quite different character in sound (could check them at home for about two weeks).
All amps had been in price range 6..10k€ (a valid limit according to the quality of the speakers)
Finally i have to say, they all sounded different to me but none of them made it against the single D200 then!
BTW. I'm not using analogue sources any more, just rips of all kind of digital media and i prefer listening REALLY loud
1. Did start with D200 in 2016 and added a 200 slave (used) this year
2. NOT: Aesthetix Mimas (integrated, hybrid, great headphone amp: could even drive magnetostats adequately, built-in DAC)
2. NOT: Copland CTA408+DAC215 (integrated tube amp with external tube DAC; great when listening at lower volume, great stage etc, but in the end...)
2. NOT: Exposure 5010 series (preamp+integrated DAC, dual mono power amps; relatively low priced, lots of power, unfortunately the DAC did not fit my streamer; had to use D200 pre-out or DAC215)
2. NOT: T+A 2000 R (integrated amp, no DAC) - i guess, i simply do not like the T+A sound, that is radically "neutral"/lifeless to me
2. NOT: T+A 1000/1100
5. The Expert remote with the wheel is unbeatable
6. Dali Epicon 6
(30-Oct-2022, 14:39)Delija Wrote: [ -> ]Have you tried 440 Pro with your speakers?
Not sure whether that question was for me. At any rate, no, I never tried the 440 Pro.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I went from a 200 to a 220 Pro to a 440 Pro. Making the decision to go from the 200 to a 220 Pro was fairly easy because I loved the sound of my 200 and I had a lot of confidence in what Devialet was promising with the new Pro CI series. Jumping to the 220 Pro only reinforced that, hence the addition of a 2nd one to get to the 440 Pro.
I still have my 440 Pro although, to be honest, I've given serious thought to jumping to a different platform. Perhaps the NAD M33 which has received lots of praise or maybe a jump up to Mola Mola gear which will hurt my wallet but, without doubt, please my ears. The reason I've been strongly considering jumping? Mostly disappointment in Devialet's lack of commitment and support of the Expert Pro line. Hey, all products eventually reach the point of legacy, but there's more than a few Devialet promises never kept and bugs never resolved, hence the disappointment. But being honest, I just haven't taken the time yet to seriously listen to anything else and, well, my 440 Pro still sounds pretty damn good.
I recently bought some subwoofers. My speakers are positioned in the middle of the living room, the subs up against the wall behind them. I use a 10ms delay for the speakers programmed in the Expert to integrate the lot. I can't even think of an amplifier that has the Expert's sound quality AND gives me the option to integrate subs as well as the Expert does.
Over the years I've gone from running a D170 to my Dynaudio C1's to having an Od'A and 18" Triad Inroom Platinum subs. It's quite incredible the sound quality improvements I've been able to achieve over these years whilst still using the same speakers.