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+--- Thread: Negative Reviews (/Thread-Negative-Reviews)
RE: Negative Reviews - jvoki - 11-Aug-2020
(10-Aug-2020, 21:38)ogs Wrote: @jvoki thanks for confirming @Confused's suspicion! Did the reviewer listen to the amp at all? Maybe he is just writing what "somebody said"
no, the authors have heard Devialet, but the problem is that approach it as classical electronics. They did not understand the design or function. They did not understand connectivity and full configurability. They are listening for analog input with an external DAC. They didn't test AIR. (The test is 3 years old and I think they had Devialet without core infinity.) They explain SAM incorrectly. They describe the phono module as excellent, but in the final drop it by digitizing that digital does not belong to analog and that they hear digital. The approach of their review is listening not technically with arguments and they use "poet language" therefore the google translator does not work.
it makes no sense to read these reviews.
I read several reviews of the Magico product on web soundrebels. I think I'm oriented and I know a lot of articles, reviews, construction details, history and opinion from discussion forums. Unfortunately, they confirmed the same level as the Devialet review.
I'm sorry that someone unprepared can crash the work of others.
RE: Negative Reviews - Delija - 11-Aug-2020
Yes, review is from May 14, 2017, so no CI.
RE: Negative Reviews - Sorensen - 19-Aug-2020
I could not live with my Devialet.
Too thin sounding midrange.
RE: Negative Reviews - sam1000 - 20-Aug-2020
(19-Aug-2020, 17:04)Sorensen Wrote: I could not live with my Devialet.
Too thin sounding midrange.
I think some prefer dark sound vs transparent. Nothing wrong with that. Its a personal preference. For example your Gryphon will be considered dark by some people. Stereophile reviewed your previous 140 and they did not find it thin.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/devialet-expert-140-pro-integrated-amplifier
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/gryphon-diablo-300-has-arrived-first-impressions
Here's an excerpt from a user review about Gryphon
"it is not a "just the facts" amp. So those who are looking for that sort of amp may not like the Gryphon. But for me, this is exactly the sound I was looking for. Some have said there is a slight "dark" quality to the presentation, and I thought that sounded negative. But I understand now and have come to realize that this dense, detailed, and rich smooth voice is exactly what I was looking for."
RE: Negative Reviews - BoyScout - 20-Aug-2020
(20-Aug-2020, 01:31)sam1000 Wrote: I think some prefer dark sound vs transparent. Nothing wrong with that. Its a personal preference.
+1
RE: Negative Reviews - K4680 - 20-Aug-2020
Hi, an editor of a german hi-fi magazine wrote that devialet has too little bass !! Maybe it was due to the speakers of the editor, I gave him a tip how the bass gets better (see picture). Since then I haven't heard or read anything from the writer !!
https://www.ascendo.de/unternehmen.html
https://www.aia-cinema.com
RE: Negative Reviews - Confused - 22-Aug-2020
One thing I found interesting in the SoundRebels review is that the reviver preferred the Devialet when being fed via analogue from an Ayon CD 35. The Ayon features SET tubes and has a reputation for being a fine sounding CD player, if perhaps a little warm. In my experience, the very best sound I have achieved from a Devialet has been when feeding it digitally. As an example, my Devialet does sound nice when fed from my Yamaha AVR, and is in fact slightly warmer, but to my ears it is a massive step down in terms of accuracy and realism.
This reminds me of the infamous "clinical" comment in the Hifi Pig 220Pro review. The reviewer also made the comment "just lacking that warmth I would like to hear".
It is also the case that to subjectively review an amplifier, you need speakers, and speakers vary massively in terms of tonality, warmth and so on. I can think of some occasions when I have heard a Devialet with speakers that are perhaps at the dryer, more clinical end of the spectrum. The result was good, but perhaps not to my taste. Conversely, I have heard Devialets demoed with "warmer" sounding speakers, and I have loved the results. The subjective margins between warm, clinical, realistic, and so on can be quite fine. I often wonder how much reviews like this may be influenced not just by the reviewer's subjective preferences, but also what speakers happened to be on hand for the review.
With reference to @K4680 's post above regarding the editor of a German hi-fi magazine writing that Devialet has too little bass, I spent a lot of effort comparing different amplifiers with the Blades before buying a D240. The accuracy, definition and extension of the bass was one of the aspects that eventually led me to buying Devialet, nothing I tried was better than the D240 in this regard, including some rather more expensive options. This is also backed up in objective measurements, there is not much out there that has a lower output impedance than a Devialet, which objectively is supposed to provide superior control and grip over speakers.
I guess if you do own a Devialet and wish it was a touch warmer with your speakers of choice, you could perhaps turn the treble down a bit. This might seem like a flippant comment, but my last amplifiers did not have tone controls, and I do occasionally come across a recording that is a little thin or hot, which may sound a touch "clinical" (or just plain annoying) with my system. Take 3dB or so off the treble, it sounds great again. A nice feature for lovers of warmth, or lovers of music which is very often poorly recorded, perhaps. There is a lot of music that I love that is not the best in terms of recording quality. Having being spoilt by the Devialet's flexibility in this regard, I actually think I would find it hard to swap to an amp that didn't have the option of the occasional tweak on the tone controls.
RE: Negative Reviews - Sorensen - 28-Aug-2020
The gryphon is a much better amp/dac than my old devialet 140. Gryphon is also 3 times the price of the devialet. So perhaps it's not a fair comparison.
My Gryphon amp is Very transparent sounding, and show more details in the music, but the detail don't shout at you like it did in the devialet. Vocals has got a much more live feel, with closed eyes I can really be fooled to believe the singer is in the living room with me, It's almost like a thin veil has been removed between me and the music. The gryphon is not dark sounding at all. But the gryphon is a much much more satisfying amplifier.
RE: Negative Reviews - Ozzzy189 - 29-Aug-2020
I've performed a - 2.5db alteration to the bass on my Totems, it sounds much better. SAM at 0% too. More SAM added more bass and it becomes overbearing and muddies the midrange.
RE: Negative Reviews - Delija - 29-Aug-2020
That's not problem with Devialet, but with your room and/or speaker positioning.