Devialet run-in time

[ZincAlloy]

I had some 'interesting' experiences with my new Devialet 200 which I thought might relieve others concerns about poor sound out-of-the-box and hoped others might share their experiences too.

Well, when I first took a 200 home to demo I absolutely loved it - beautifully smooth, detailed sound, dynamic and extremely enjoyable to listen to. So good in fact that I immediately decided to sell off my multi-box Naim system and place an order for the Devialet. It arrived a week or so later (thanks to Paul Clark at Hi-Fi Lounge in the UK) and I eagerly plugged it in and... was disappointed. Oh dear, the sound was really thin and grainy... not at all what I expected especially as Paul said that his had sounded great out of the box. I probably shouldn't have been surprised as pretty much all the Naim kit I've ever bought has sounded rough when first used but for some reason I thought the Dev would be different.

Anyway, I let the system play for a couple of weeks (on stand-by when not playing music - playing maybe 4-5 hrs a day) and tried different sources and the sound didn't improve. There was very little bass at all - basically the sound was terrible and totally unlike the demo model that I'd borrowed.

Then we went on vacation for a week during which time the system was switched off. When we got back I ran it for maybe 8-10 hours a day for a couple of days without really listening and then sat down for a proper session and .... The sound was completely transformed - much smoother, more dynamic and now there was some real bass - what a relief

So, if your Devialet doesn't sound great out of the box then don't worry too much - it will eventually sound wonderful!

Some doubt that burn-in of electronic components actually occurs and the improvements that they many people experience after using new equipment for some time are a result of psychoacoustic adjustment to the new sound. There certainly be an element of this involved but the transformation in sound of my system was massive and could not be accounted for by psychoacoustic effects.

Now all I have to do is get rid of a slightly grainy edge on vocals and I will be extremely happy. I'm temporarily using iMac/iTunes as a source and find That Wifi AIR sounds slightly cleaner than ethernet AIR which was a surprise. Maybe I have RFI issues?

Philip

Hi Philip - good idea to post this for new users. I had exactly the same experience as you. It took my D200 about 2 months to come on song; at one stage I was convinced that I had a duff unit. I also wasted hours during those first few months changing interconnects, speaker cables and speaker positioning, to try and counteract the thin, grainy sound - all without success! So, best advice for new purchasers is to stick with it.

ATB, Ken