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Deviousalet's System
#1
After lurking here for a year, I was delighted to join you all in enjoying a Devialet of my own. My D400 was wonderfully easy to set up. Even AIR worked well for me right away. My two D200 both make the power-supply noise but I'll take that in exchange for the rarity of working AIR.

Thanks to you all for this great forum. DevialetChat gave me the confidence to buy a Devialet where Devialet themselves gives the opposite impression. Thanks also to the USD/CAD exchange rate and a friendly northern neighbor for a great deal.

I'm sure with a few tweaks as suggested by you folks my system will sound even better, but I'm delighted with the upgrade that the D400 makes already. I'll post pictures when I have the aesthetics in acceptable shape but for now here's what I'm enjoying listening through:

Devialet 400 (configured dual-mono: "Master/Blaster") with firmware 9.0.1, SAM and DPM on, powered by Shunyata Z-PC10 Digital power cables, driving B&W 802N speakers wired with AudioQuest Castle Rock cables, sourced from a Mac Mini ('12 quad-core i7 dual SSD running Mac OS X.11.x and Amarra Symphony with Dirac), feeding the D400 via USB (AudioQuest Jitterbug, AudioQuest Diamond, UpTone Regen), optical (Lifatec Silflex), or AIR (AudioQuest Cinnamon and Belden Cat7 ethernet cables switched through a TRENDnet TEG-S81G)

I experimented with dual D200 bi-amping vs. dual-mono D400 just for fun, but as expected from Devialet's specs. and recommendations, the dual-mono setup sounds better. Maybe if I bypassed the passive crossovers in my speakers that equation might change, but then I'd need another D200 to drive my three-way speakers.

So far I find that USB sounds best, AIR (ethernet) second best, and optical a distant third. To be fair to AIR I have an inferior ethernet cable and no ethernet filtering beyond that provided by my switch so it isn't yet a fair comparison to my USB with a top-tier cable and regeneration/filtering.

My listening space is just a 10'x14'/3x4m corner of a 23'x20'/7x6m multi-use room with 7'8"/2.3m ceilings, wood floors, and lots of glass, but at least I'm in a rural area without too much background noise (usually 35-40dB). I placed my speakers loosely using the Master Set method.

My place in the great cable debate is that because I can easily hear the difference between some cheap and good cables I pay attention to cables even as I recognize the reality of psychoacoustics, confirmation bias, and the other problems of trying to be rational in a hobby that can be anything but rational (stereo imaging is obviously magic after all). I also agree with the anger about snake-oil sales and ridiculous markups in cables and other parts of this industry.

Since connecting the 3.5mm trigger cable and enabling an input on the slave unit I've measured the power consumption of my D400 as using 18W "off", 22W in standby, 53W idle, and 54-55W playing at -45dB to -22dB volume (which produces 50dB to 85dB in my room). I disconnect my D400 from the power source when not using them because I don't hear any benefit to leaving them connected to power and so don't know why I'd waste the power.

With my room around 65ºF/18ºC temperatures of my D400 are around 28ºC (A Amp), 26ºC (D Amp), and 30ºC (Supply) for both the master and slave units.
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#2
(20-Jan-2016, 03:58)RI deviousalet Wrote: After lurking here for a year, as of today I'm delighted to join you all in enjoying a Devialet of my own. My D400 arrived this afternoon and was wonderfully easy to set up. Even Air worked perfectly for me right away. My two D200 both make the power-supply noise but I'll take that in exchange for the rarity of working Air.

Thanks to you all for this great forum. DevialetChat gave me the confidence to buy a Devialet where Devialet themselves gives the opposite impression. Thanks also to the USD/CAD exchange rate and a friendly northern neighbor for a great deal.

I'm sure with a few tweaks as suggested by you folks my system will sound even better, but I'm delighted with the upgrade that the D400 makes already. I'll post pictures when I have the aesthetics in acceptable shape but for now here's what I'm enjoying listening through:

Devialet 400 (configured dual-mono: "Master/Blaster"), driving B&W 802N speakers uni-wired with Soundlink Red Dragon cables, sourced from a Mac Mini ('12 quad-core i7 dual SSD running Mac OS X.11.x and Amarra Symphony with Dirac), feeding the D400 via USB (AudioQuest Jitterbug, AudioQuest Diamond, UpTone Regen), optical (Lifatec Silflex), or Air (Belkin Cat 7 ethernet cables switched through a TRENDnet TEG-S81G)

Hi deviousalet 

Welcome to the world of Devialet ownership  Smile. Glad to hear that the setup was plain sailing - even air Tongue.

All to do now is lay back and enjoy the music.


David
1. NUC6i5SYH running ROON ROCK > ROON/AIR > Ethernet > Devialet 1000pro Core Infinity> Wilson-Benesch ACT Speakers,
or, as alternative, 
2. Wyred4Sound MS-2 Server, Devialet 1000pro Core Infinity, Theta Jade CD Transport, Pure 702ES Tuner, Wilson-Benesch ACT Speakers, misc cables

                                       UK
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#3
Enjoy your Devs! Luckily there are more people with the Air playing in the right way. They're the ones that will no be complaining about Air.

If you will find the time it would be nice to make a proper signature.
■ Devialet 1000 Pro & Roon Lifetime ■ Dynaudio Sapphire ■ Streacom fanless HTPC-SSD (W8.1) ■ Sonos  Connect (+Magna Ultimo mod) ■ Qobuz Studio  Qnap TS 219 P II ■ v.d. Hul The Revolution LS cables ■ PS Audio Quintet ■ picture: Sony VPL-HW65ES & LG-OLED65C9
Amsterdam NL
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#4
Thanks for the kind words. I am enjoying the music tremendously. This evening a good friend and I lay back and soaked it in. Now another friend is bringing a pint (of ice cream in this case) for listening session #2. Excellent music & friends: what could be better.
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#5
I got a bargain on an AudioQuest Cinnamon Ethernet cable so tried that out and found it to sound noticeably better than Belden Cat7. The AQ ethernet now connects my D400 and ethernet switch, with Belden still connecting my Mac Mini to the switch. USB still sounds slightly better than AIR, but only slightly.
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#6
I found a bargain on two Shunyata Z-PC10 Digital power cables, which do indeed make a noticeable improvement over the stock power cables.
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#7
Can you detail the perceived improvement?

Thanks Smile
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#8
In brief: when powered through the Shunyata Z-PC10 Digital cables my system sounds fuller, richer, and more dynamic with decreased harshness and no real downside.


The fullness or richness is the greatest improvement and is most noticeable with voices, which sound more full-throated and authentic. I listen to a lot of acoustic singer/songwriter music recorded in small rooms, and that now sounds even more intimate because the vocals aren't distanced by the relative thinness of the stock cables sound (in comparison only). I wouldn't qualify the sound as having more bass. I don't think that any instrument sound goes lower and the change is as noticeable on both frequency ranges of every instrument. The difference is more noticeable in subtraction (going back to the stock cables) than in my memory of familiar pieces. I'm not hearing everything anew as when I got my D400. When switching back to stock cables strings lose a bit of realistic bloom and resonance, piano sounds like a smaller version (say baby grand instead of concert grand), and synthetic percussion loses some slam. This is true across all frequencies, volumes, and with all music that I've tried so far.

Second to the increased fullness I notice a decrease in digital hardness. I say digital because although I use exclusively digital files I do get annoyed by a harshness, glare, or some such problem that annoys me in many digital systems but not in the analog systems that I've heard (even cheap ones with many other problems). I'm not the one to compare vinyl to anything else but I greatly appreciate a decrease in whatever hardness annoys me after listening for a while to my system (listening fatigue). I've tried filtering this out via other means, with success in USB cables and tweaks to that effect. I've also tried a Furman IT Reference 20i power conditioner which has digital filtering. I liked that filtering but disliked the decreased dynamics that I felt was a limitation of the Furman. These Shunyata cables do a better job at the filtering I want while actually increasing the dynamics.

I hear no downside, although as always a fuller sound can be perceived as a decrease in detail. However that's adjustable in my system through SAM, Dirac, etc. and I hear no loss of detail with that in mind (more the opposite in fact, although an increase in detail is not the greatest of the changes). To clarify my perception if I want ultimate detail I hook up my KEF LS50 not my B&W 802 speakers because the single co-incident drivers lacks bass but emphasizes detail (Phantoms do both, but with other problems). I prefer the full-range balance and hear as much or more detail through my full-range speakers with the Shunyata cables as with the stock cables. I do prioritize resolution and detail over "musicality" or whatever others hear on the opposite side of that spectrum, so if I heard any lack of detail I wouldn't be happy. I say that all just because the byproduct of the increased fullness is as close to a negative as I've heard in these cables.

As for the magnitude of the change: it is not as big a difference as changing speakers or anything like that, nor as much as equivalent speaker or USB cable upgrades, but more than the changes to the master-slave link cables that I've tried so far, and greater than the difference between using USB vs. AIR inputs.

The Shunyata Z-PC10 are built to fit under the Devialet cable cover and they do so. They fully insert into the power inlet of the Devialet with a solid grip (they take more force than stock cables to insert) but there is some wiggle room (as there is with the stock cables) and the additional weight of the Shunyata cables pulls their connector down a bit within the inlet (whereas the stock cables don't). The Shunyata are stiffer than the stock cables but not inconveniently stiff at all (unlike other power cables from Shunyata and others that I've handled). The wall plug (US P15 in my case) is inconveniently large but on par with most other high-end power cables that I've seen so not a concern unless you need to plug them into a cheap power strip or other device with close-spaced outlets. The Shunyata cables have a nice black braided sheath so will wear to fuzz but not scrape, and look as good to me as thick cables can (and the Z-PC10 are thinner than most other high-end power cables I've seen). The annoying buzz of my Devialet power supplies didn't change for the better or worse, and I can measure no difference in power consumption or power supply temperature (as expected for properly-made cables).

I haven't heard any other upgraded power cables in my system so can't compare to Synergistic Research or the many others out there (unless someone wants to lend me some). I don't know if the Shunyata digital filter is reducing dynamics but the cable overall improves them so I couldn't find that downside unless I had an unfiltered (or better filtered) cable of equivalent quality. Other than wishing to filter out that remaining touch of harshness I had no complaint about my stock power cords and wouldn't cry if I had to go back, but the Shunyata cables make a cost-effective upgrade to me (I paid under half of retail). I got my cables second-hand but new and I've not noticed any change in sound (burn in) during the two days I've been testing them. I'll update this if I notice any change over time, but the initial improvement over the stock cables is clear enough that I'm done with A-B testing them.

I hope that usefully answered your question about my detailed perception of the improvement. If you prefer to read specific changes within a piece of music I can try that or whatever else would help, but this was my best imitation of the professional reviews I enjoy.
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#9
Great power cable. I use a Z-PC 10 Analog power cable on the D200 and I fully agree with you on the positive effect it has n the sound. Tried an Alpha Digital too, but that doesn't fit under the cable cover and it was no major upgrade aft the Z-PC 10.
Aurender N10 - Kharma Enigma Signature AES/EBU - Devialet 400 - MIT SL-Matrix 28s - Audio Physic Virgo 25 Plus - IsoAcoustics Gaia II - AudioQuest Diamond RCA-AES between Master and Companion - Silent Angel Bonn N8 - AudioQuest Diamond Ethernet cable - Keces P3 with Hifi-Tuning Supreme 3 Silver fuse - GigaWatt 16A automatic circuit breaker - Vibex One 6 Cu - Shunyata Research ΞTRON Alpha Digital and ΞTRON Z PC-10 powercords - Qobuz 24 bit Studio

The Netherlands
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#10
Did you hear any difference between the Alpha Digital and Z-PC10 Digital?
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