220 Pro Ci vs 250 expert

[Confused]

No disclaimer for pedantry needed, the details matter, because Devialet themselves take the position that the two products are functionally identical and the differences are in power margin.

https://help.devialet.com/hc/en-us/artic...rt-250-Pro

So on paper it would seem that, for those people who (like me) don't listen at very high volumes, and think the 220 case is amply pretty enough, they should be able to save a big chunk of change by buying the cheaper option, and enjoy the same sound.

But - this is apparently not the case, and there is a very real and significant sonic improvement with the 250 Pro, and it is effective not just at high volume levels. I was sceptical myself, but I can hear what others have reported on this forum.

I would say "functionally identical" is rather different to your original comment that the "electronics are the same". As an example, my D800 Expert was functionally identical to my current 1000 Pro, prior to it having the CI board installed, but we know the electronics are different. I also note that the above link is to some words from Oceane Turpin, who is part of the customer support team, not the design team as such. I think it is also fair to say that some of Oceane's technical explanations in the past were, shall we say, a little eccentric. (although she is possibly the most charming person in all of France)

That said, this all reminds me a little of Mathieu Pernot's words at the OAC Expert Pro launch. He made a comment that the two most important things were power and volume control and that the theoretically ideal amplifier would have "infinite power". Obviously nobody needs "infinite power", but Mathieu did go on to explain why power was important, even when you do not need it all. I do not think I fully understood all of his explanation, but it was related to accurately reproducing transients and similar.

All I am saying here really is that there are some very real technical explanations and reasons to explain what you were hearing during your comparison.