I haven't tried with my updated to 800 but with the D-Premier I tried all those things.
The "flavour" of the other DAC I tried faithfully came through via the analogue inputs, and at first I used my Goldmund Ph2 phono stage into an analogue input.
My view is that if you prefer a coloured DAC the Devialet analogue input will allow you to enjoy the colour, but begs the question whether a Devialet, which I consider the most transparent amp I have heard, is a logical choice for somebody who prefers a bit of added colour in their hifi.
To be honest I don't listen to my LPs much and hate doing component comparisons so I did not spend much time comparing the phono input with the Ph2, the Devialet is certainly quieter than the Ph2 or any analogue RIAA stage. Measurements show it is the most accurate fit to the RIAA curve Stereophile have ever seen, so I use the built in phono stage, one box less...
Again, it doesn't look like the Devialet adds any noise of FR shaping to the phono input. Anybody who likes the better sense of space added by a bit of noise, or the colour of a RIAA stage with tailored frequency response may well prefer a different phono stage but, again, this begs the question "why buy a transparent amp if you prefer a coloured one?"
IMHO
Edit,
oh I also compared 96kHz and 192kHz sampling in the ADC via the configurator. If there was a difference it was minute and the recommended 96kHz was better, so I settled on that.
The "flavour" of the other DAC I tried faithfully came through via the analogue inputs, and at first I used my Goldmund Ph2 phono stage into an analogue input.
My view is that if you prefer a coloured DAC the Devialet analogue input will allow you to enjoy the colour, but begs the question whether a Devialet, which I consider the most transparent amp I have heard, is a logical choice for somebody who prefers a bit of added colour in their hifi.
To be honest I don't listen to my LPs much and hate doing component comparisons so I did not spend much time comparing the phono input with the Ph2, the Devialet is certainly quieter than the Ph2 or any analogue RIAA stage. Measurements show it is the most accurate fit to the RIAA curve Stereophile have ever seen, so I use the built in phono stage, one box less...
Again, it doesn't look like the Devialet adds any noise of FR shaping to the phono input. Anybody who likes the better sense of space added by a bit of noise, or the colour of a RIAA stage with tailored frequency response may well prefer a different phono stage but, again, this begs the question "why buy a transparent amp if you prefer a coloured one?"
IMHO
Edit,
oh I also compared 96kHz and 192kHz sampling in the ADC via the configurator. If there was a difference it was minute and the recommended 96kHz was better, so I settled on that.
Devialet Original d'Atelier 44 Core, Job Pre/225, Goldmund PH2, Goldmund Reference/T3f /Ortofon A90, Goldmund Mimesis 36+ & Chord Blu, iMac/Air, Lynx Theta, Tune Audio Anima, Goldmund Epilog 1&2, REL Studio. Dialog, Silver Phantoms, Branch stands, copper cables (mainly).
Oxfordshire
