1000 Pro Review

[GuillaumeB]

The review sounds pretty positive to me. I'm inclined to agree that with certain source material it isn't necessarily straightforward to tell the difference between different models and mono/stereo in the Devialet range, provided basics such as the speakers are being driven adequately in each case (Magico  Q7 mkII, hrrrm).  This is a particular problem for me as I tend to like a lot of not-necessarily well-recorded music. Sure with fantastic quality recordings the difference with a 1000Pro and 200 should be pretty obvious.

I thought the same on all counts. I often wonder if my facts could do with a bit more power even though they're efficient I just sense something might be lacking there. Still I've got nothing more powerful to compare but was also surprised the 200 was good enough for him.

More surprising was Devialet sending him a 200 to compare to a 1000Pro. Why not send an 800?  Is the difference really that subtle that they need to compare it against a lowly stereo model?

Another key question is, he was clearly in direct contact with Devialet tech suppprt (I'm sure all reviewers get well treated in that respect - from any brand) so if USB really is the weakest input, why don't they suggest reviewing with AIR, or AES? I guess possible answers are; they don't agree USB is weak, they don't trust AIR enough, or a combo of both. It did say he used the Oppo too but I didn't catch what was played from it.

So a positive review, but anyone with a 200 reading it wouldn't exactly rush out and panic buy a 1000pro - at least not for the types of music we listen to. Maybe he's more honest, or should I say just less 'excitable' in his writing style than some (which would be a refreshing change tbh - if you read anything on CA by individuals or staff you get the impression angels float down from heaven at every cable change).

The Magico Q7 mk2 speakers are extremely sensitive at 94db and have a fairly flat impedance with no severe dips (unlike my Sasha 2!), so from that alone one could deduce that they don't need huge amounts of power to perform well. Possibly the 120 is all you need!

The input issue is a funny one really. You have Devialet using USB themselves at shows so one could be forgiven for thinking that Devialet don't think it really matters. In fact I am fairly confident about that. At one point they did seem to recommend the AES input a lot but that was a while ago now. It's a shame that they don't make more of AIR 3 but perhaps the occasional dropout doesn't make for great editorial copy and it's just safer to recommend USB...

As to the differences between the 200 and the 1000 PRO like many on here I would have expected a much bigger reported jump in performance. Certainly in my experience going from 800 to O d'A was pretty profound, from a musicality and enjoyment perspective. But it's interesting that Jeff is reporting on this from an outsider's perspective and his reference is the Soulution. Perhaps when you are outside looking in it just doesn't seem such a big deal going from 200 to 400 etc, it's still the same Devialet house sound.

Guillaume