27-Aug-2015, 01:47
Nakatomi63,
I'm not sure there is a simple answer to your question. ARC and VTL make very, very fine equipment, but they will have a different character than the Devialet. Since you have a D200, I assume you like it. As for soundstage depth, that is dependant on many factors, as others have noted here. Personally, I can't see that there is any way to really know what the actual 'soundstage' should be, and I would not want to spend too much time dwelling on it. Like some others here, I've actually played on recordings, and for us, any 'soundstage' is purely artificial. On our last demo, the singer was upstairs, in another room. If she is 'front and centre' in the recording it is not because she was actually standing there. Live miked shows, or classical performances may be different.
I do think that the forum posts you referenced made a point that I found debatable: there was a line about 'tonal colors and emotion, and that being what music is all about'. I'm paraphrasing, and I may even be mixing up posts. But my point is that to me, music expresses emotion through the subtle variations in volume, pitch and timing (as well as the big changes, certainly). The Devialet reveals the subtlety of musical expression more than anything else I've heard, and it is absolutely true that I have not heard a huge range of equipment. But if your amp or system is not giving you the details, it is not giving you the emotion of the music. So, solid state, or tubes or ADH does not matter; what matters is what you get out of the system. Tube amps add too much 'extra' for me.
Everyone has their own preferences for how they like their recorded music to sound. I love the Devialet. Like Frank, I have friends who are dedicated to tubes and analogue, but their systems don't do for me what my 'little' D120 does.
I'm not sure there is a simple answer to your question. ARC and VTL make very, very fine equipment, but they will have a different character than the Devialet. Since you have a D200, I assume you like it. As for soundstage depth, that is dependant on many factors, as others have noted here. Personally, I can't see that there is any way to really know what the actual 'soundstage' should be, and I would not want to spend too much time dwelling on it. Like some others here, I've actually played on recordings, and for us, any 'soundstage' is purely artificial. On our last demo, the singer was upstairs, in another room. If she is 'front and centre' in the recording it is not because she was actually standing there. Live miked shows, or classical performances may be different.
I do think that the forum posts you referenced made a point that I found debatable: there was a line about 'tonal colors and emotion, and that being what music is all about'. I'm paraphrasing, and I may even be mixing up posts. But my point is that to me, music expresses emotion through the subtle variations in volume, pitch and timing (as well as the big changes, certainly). The Devialet reveals the subtlety of musical expression more than anything else I've heard, and it is absolutely true that I have not heard a huge range of equipment. But if your amp or system is not giving you the details, it is not giving you the emotion of the music. So, solid state, or tubes or ADH does not matter; what matters is what you get out of the system. Tube amps add too much 'extra' for me.
Everyone has their own preferences for how they like their recorded music to sound. I love the Devialet. Like Frank, I have friends who are dedicated to tubes and analogue, but their systems don't do for me what my 'little' D120 does.
Damon
Powernode, NAD M32, Cambridge CD transport, Analysis Plus, Nordost, iFi Nova, CSS Criton 1TDX, KEF C62
Vancouver, Canada
