Hifi+ 140 Pro review

[Confused]

Hi,

As a matter of interest....which JBls?

Having heard a pair of 4430 clones over the weekend at the Wigwam show I'm smitten!

Cheers...Dave

Hi Dave,

They are late 90's Danish built JBL L100's.  (not to be confused with the classic American built L100's)  See links below.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/s...5-Jbl-L100

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/s...This-Model

The photographs per the links are not my actual JBL's, but they are pictures of an identical model.  I first bought a Devialet as the amp of choice to drive the Blades, it would be hilarious if I one day try the JBL's with the 100Pro and find I prefer them to the Blades.  

But yes, @Waiski 's JBLs are somewhat bigger than mine....

I too like the 4430's.  I can imagine that if I one day make it to retirement, I wouldn't mind moving somewhere where big houses are cheap and I could spend my time collecting and restoring some of the classic JBL's.  They'd go nicely with my by then also classic Devialet 1000Pro.  I can think of worse ways of spending my time.

Nudging this thread back on topic, I was reading a review of the new ATC SCM100SE actives in the April edition of hi-fi News & Record Review.  I was particularly interested in this review because a while ago I had the chance to listen to the earlier version of the SCM100 actives.  I thought they were excellent, the midrange was exceptional, but they did sound very lean to me, which was surprising considering that they are the size of a modest refrigerator.

The conclusion to the review is interesting, to quote:

"You can hardly blame these speakers for being too revealing  - after all that's what hi-fi is supposed to be about.  Yet while many will love the ability to hear deep into a mix, others may find the SCM100SE's harder to enjoy because the expose the shortcomings of many recordings.  Those listeners may hanker for something smoother, as the debate continues whether more "musical" just means "coloured".

Those words struck me as being very relevant here.  They also remind me of the statement in the Hifi+ review "Existing Export owners should make sure their system isn’t pitched into brightness before committing to an upgrade, because they will find the amount of detail on offer an intense experience."  and the Hifi Pig 220Pro review "The detail in the portrayal of the music means that if your music had any faults then it would show them off; something as a sound-engineer I really like. Some might, however, find the sound just a little too perfect and clinical, and lacking some depth and warmth."

It's all saying much the same thing I think, and as the ATC review indicates, this is not something unique to Devialet.  Personally, I have had great results recently adding a touch of Roon PEQ whenever I find myself listening to a recording that is perhaps a little bright or harsh.  In my crazier moments, I sometimes imagine Devialet one day adding a harmonic distortion mode, which can be selected on the new remote app to add some warmth to those "in your face" recordings.  It would be fun too if the reviewers reported that they found the Devialet to sound a little too cold and clinical, or unable to portray the emotion in the music, but found that it sounded great with DHD enabled.  (Devialet Harmonic Distortion - even the TLA sounds good)

I wonder if Devialet did add something like "DHD" if it would be seen as a useful feature, as well as adding showroom appeal to the amps, or if it would just be seen a gimmick to mask the amps perceived shortcomings?  Personally, I'd love a feature like this, imagine listening to a fine well-recorded album with the Devialet running in "pure mode", it sounds magnificent and you can relax and enjoy the music.  You then listen to something with fine music, but find yourself distracted by a harsh, thin, or poor recording.  Select "DHD" (or other similar feature) and it sounds great, you can again simply relax and enjoy the music.  Why not?  Here is another thought, if Devialet come out with another upgrade, that happened to be even more detailed and revealing, how many people would simply think that the Pro has gone far enough and stick with what they have.  As I said, just a thought.

And finally, my apologies for repeatedly using the "C word" in this post, it is not really acceptable.   (clinical)