23-Jun-2021, 14:53
In posting my decision to move to a separate streamer and A/B amp on a Devialet forum, I fully expected some defense of the Devialet platform. I am still a huge Devialet fan, though!
You really can't beat Devialet for its form factor and convenience. It has terrific SQ as well. On the other hand, I am genuinely curious to try some new audio innovations (Leedh processing on all Lumin streamers) and the expected SQ from an A/B amp paired with my Vivid B1D speakers. In particular, a former Vivid distributor in the U.S. often paired Vivid with Luxman amps and found the pairing to be particularly felicitous. Then, a French audio reviewer who I know quite well sold his Luxman mono amps and replaced them with two Kinki EX-M7 amps, after extensive testing, as he found they paired well with his two Vivid speaker sets. So, it's off to the races for me! I'll keep the Devialet Expert220 Pro until I have done an adequate comparison.
Bottom line: I continue to be a Devialet fan but the audio Smörgåsbord is too enticing not to experiment!
You really can't beat Devialet for its form factor and convenience. It has terrific SQ as well. On the other hand, I am genuinely curious to try some new audio innovations (Leedh processing on all Lumin streamers) and the expected SQ from an A/B amp paired with my Vivid B1D speakers. In particular, a former Vivid distributor in the U.S. often paired Vivid with Luxman amps and found the pairing to be particularly felicitous. Then, a French audio reviewer who I know quite well sold his Luxman mono amps and replaced them with two Kinki EX-M7 amps, after extensive testing, as he found they paired well with his two Vivid speaker sets. So, it's off to the races for me! I'll keep the Devialet Expert220 Pro until I have done an adequate comparison.
Bottom line: I continue to be a Devialet fan but the audio Smörgåsbord is too enticing not to experiment!
Devialet Expert 220 Pro Kinki EX-M7 power amp tethered to a fiber-fed Lumin X1 streamer via Grimm XLRs, Vivid B1 Decade speakers in Rosso Barchetta red (only 200 produced in a limited edition), Roon Nucleus with a Samsung 860 EVO 2TB SSD, etherREGEN switch fed by a Sonore opticalModule (and Sonore-supplied transceivers and 1M optical cable) with a SOtM dCBL-Cat7 cable to my Nucleus and a DH Labs Reunion Cat8 to my Lumin T2 streamer, Keces P8 linear power supply feeding a (to come) NUC and EtherREGEN switch with an external AfterDark OCXO clock., and opticalModule (5V/1A), AudioQuest Niagara 1000 power conditioner, ASI LiveLine loom (purchased directly from Franck Tchang when I lived in France), Less Loss Firewall for Speakers and Roon lifetime license with Tidal streaming.
