Been lurking for years...FINALLY have a reason to post!
When I got my 'first' system about 6 years ago, I heard a demo of the Devialet 110 or 120 - whatever the smallest one was back then. It sounded amazing, and was out of my price range at the time. I ended up with the KEF LS-50s (white with blue speaker), a nuprime ida-16, and a 10" JL audio e-sub 110....all for about the price of the smaller devialet.
The system sounded amazing for what it was. Punched well above it's weight and brought a LOT of enjoyment.
Then in January of 2019 I picked up a Reactor 900 which I LOVE for what it is. Cranks PLENTY of sound for the garage gym...and at some point I will add another for stereo.
Back to the main system...
As we moved and had a much larger "great room", there is only so much air that two 5 1/4's can move. The sub filled in the low end, but really missed the weight in the midrange.
So about 4 weeks ago, after 2.5 hours of demo listening - mostly between the KEF Reference 3, and the new R11's. I decided the white R11's were the right fit (but man oh man, do I LOVE the look of the white Foundry edition Reference 5's with the blue uni-q)
Adding EIGHT 6 1/2's to the equation was awesome...and the 200 watt per channel IDA-16 did a great job pushing them.
BUT I've always wanted an expert pro 220...and started looked at used ones to see what was out there.
I ended up stumbling across a dealer selling their floor model Expert Pro 440's. Luckily they were only a few hours drive away, so I went for a listen.
They were hooked up to some goldeneye speaker or something, which I didn't think sounded that great...no SAM, wasn't properly set up, etc. So I didn't put too much weight in the demo.
After they agreed to a 14 day return period so I could listen at my home with my speakers...I paid in full and was out the door.
That night I got the configuration done...and the following day I got them installed.
Also pulled out my old 8-bay QNAP NAS and got ROON trial set up... (probably going to do the lifetime...lots to love about it)
I turned everything on at 4:30pm....and in the first 5 minutes I KNEW I was keeping it!
I didn't STOP listening until I looked up and it was 2:10 am!!!
A friend stopped by at 8pm "for an hour" to catch up. He ended up staying for 4 hours!
These receivers and speakers sound AMAZING!
I had to check THREE TIMES that the subwoofer was in fact OFF!!
I've settled on the SAM at 47, and not using any EQ or room correction of any kind.
Those KEF R-11s just SING!
I had 6 music lovers over that Saturday night, and all were blown away.
Lot of LOUD volume, and ZERO distortion. After hours of hard driving, they are warm, and NEVER hot to the touch.
The Devialet sound is just amazing! From detail, to soundstage, to clarity...just does it all.
One of my wife's friends was over and I played a few songs, and she was like I've heard these songs hundreds of times, but NEVER like this.
From people with no clue to people that have been in the recording studio - they ALL agree the sound is something special.
The LS-50's and the nuprime are in the master bedroom...and the e-sub 110 will be joining them, as I have a NEW JL audio Fathom 112 v2 coming for the main room!
Love the JL audio sound, and their new 18 band room correction will be great. Crossing it over at 45 hertz, so only the lowest of the low goes to it.
There you have it!
Had a permanent smile on my face since I got it! I look forward to listening to EVERYTHING on the system.
It was worth the wait! ...and I just pre-ordered the Gemini today. So excited to swap my samsung buds for those!
Let me know if you have any questions.
Oh...I guess I should add that I also got a Niagara 1200 sound conditioner - powered by a 2m Monsoon cable, and the other powercables are NRG-Z3's. LOVE the simplicity of 2 devialet boxes, 2 speakers, and a sub. Plus the NRG-Z3 fits perfectly in the 220's.
In the pic...only 1 would fit under the TV...so one is on it's side which is nice as I can see the little display. Would be AWESOME if the remote had a screen like the boxes did.
When I got my 'first' system about 6 years ago, I heard a demo of the Devialet 110 or 120 - whatever the smallest one was back then. It sounded amazing, and was out of my price range at the time. I ended up with the KEF LS-50s (white with blue speaker), a nuprime ida-16, and a 10" JL audio e-sub 110....all for about the price of the smaller devialet.
The system sounded amazing for what it was. Punched well above it's weight and brought a LOT of enjoyment.
Then in January of 2019 I picked up a Reactor 900 which I LOVE for what it is. Cranks PLENTY of sound for the garage gym...and at some point I will add another for stereo.
Back to the main system...
As we moved and had a much larger "great room", there is only so much air that two 5 1/4's can move. The sub filled in the low end, but really missed the weight in the midrange.
So about 4 weeks ago, after 2.5 hours of demo listening - mostly between the KEF Reference 3, and the new R11's. I decided the white R11's were the right fit (but man oh man, do I LOVE the look of the white Foundry edition Reference 5's with the blue uni-q)
Adding EIGHT 6 1/2's to the equation was awesome...and the 200 watt per channel IDA-16 did a great job pushing them.
BUT I've always wanted an expert pro 220...and started looked at used ones to see what was out there.
I ended up stumbling across a dealer selling their floor model Expert Pro 440's. Luckily they were only a few hours drive away, so I went for a listen.
They were hooked up to some goldeneye speaker or something, which I didn't think sounded that great...no SAM, wasn't properly set up, etc. So I didn't put too much weight in the demo.
After they agreed to a 14 day return period so I could listen at my home with my speakers...I paid in full and was out the door.
That night I got the configuration done...and the following day I got them installed.
Also pulled out my old 8-bay QNAP NAS and got ROON trial set up... (probably going to do the lifetime...lots to love about it)
I turned everything on at 4:30pm....and in the first 5 minutes I KNEW I was keeping it!
I didn't STOP listening until I looked up and it was 2:10 am!!!
A friend stopped by at 8pm "for an hour" to catch up. He ended up staying for 4 hours!
These receivers and speakers sound AMAZING!
I had to check THREE TIMES that the subwoofer was in fact OFF!!
I've settled on the SAM at 47, and not using any EQ or room correction of any kind.
Those KEF R-11s just SING!
I had 6 music lovers over that Saturday night, and all were blown away.
Lot of LOUD volume, and ZERO distortion. After hours of hard driving, they are warm, and NEVER hot to the touch.
The Devialet sound is just amazing! From detail, to soundstage, to clarity...just does it all.
One of my wife's friends was over and I played a few songs, and she was like I've heard these songs hundreds of times, but NEVER like this.
From people with no clue to people that have been in the recording studio - they ALL agree the sound is something special.
The LS-50's and the nuprime are in the master bedroom...and the e-sub 110 will be joining them, as I have a NEW JL audio Fathom 112 v2 coming for the main room!
Love the JL audio sound, and their new 18 band room correction will be great. Crossing it over at 45 hertz, so only the lowest of the low goes to it.
There you have it!
Had a permanent smile on my face since I got it! I look forward to listening to EVERYTHING on the system.
It was worth the wait! ...and I just pre-ordered the Gemini today. So excited to swap my samsung buds for those!
Let me know if you have any questions.
Oh...I guess I should add that I also got a Niagara 1200 sound conditioner - powered by a 2m Monsoon cable, and the other powercables are NRG-Z3's. LOVE the simplicity of 2 devialet boxes, 2 speakers, and a sub. Plus the NRG-Z3 fits perfectly in the 220's.
In the pic...only 1 would fit under the TV...so one is on it's side which is nice as I can see the little display. Would be AWESOME if the remote had a screen like the boxes did.
