Devialet 250 vs 400 Monoblocks

[f1eng]

I believe the difference between the 250 and 200 is the cost of the casing.
The new units have a very much simplified and cheaper to manufacture case. The more complex case has better heat sinking, so the power output, and I presume ability for sustained high power running, is better, everything else is the same, AFAIK.

Hi Frank,

Are you saying the innards of a 200 and 250 are identical but because of the better case the 250 can deliver more power? Isn't there a bit more powerful amp in the 250 too? I can see how the 250 case would cost more but a bit more aluminium and a few extra hours in a CNC machine shouldn't cost 9 grand.

I think the only difference is the case, and yes the improved heat sinking is why it can produce more power, as far as I understand.
Don't forget the case is the most expensive part of most hifi, CNC machining is much cheaper nowadays than in my day, so I am a bit out of date for sure.
When I worked in the business the case was the most expensive part of an amp, followed by the power transformer.
And manufacturing cost was about 10% of retail.
About 10 years ago, just as a matter of interest,  I got an estimate from one of our machine shops to make a batch of 10 cases and knobs like my Goldmund Mimesis 22 preamp. He had a really good look round, was shocked by how beautifully but expensively made it was and said 10 off would cost about £70,000 at their normal rates...
I did hear a rumour that one of the new Devialets had 1 less of the digital sections than another, but I thought that was 120 to 200 and the 200 and 250 had identical PCBs.

I would be surprised if the electronic boards cost more than a few hundred quid in volume production.

Most people who have never worked in engineering are surprised by the big difference between manufacturing cost and retail, but in fact the vast bulk of the money spent in industry is in the R&D, design and tooling phases, not least to make sure the manufacturing costs are not excessive.

About 10 years ago when we were idly discussing the change from 6-cylinder to 8-cylinder engines in the BMW M3 during a slack period in the paddock one of the BMW racing engineers told me it was to cut cost. The 6-cylinder engine was designed by motorsport for performance (it is half a McLaren F1 engine) and cost, on its own, almost as much as a complete 5-series to manufacture. The V8 was a version of a mass produced engine and cost a tiny fraction of the 6 to make.
The manufacturing cost of a car is, again, around 10% of the showroom price. They spend more per car on marketing it than making it...