Hi everyone,
I have been building my sound system since the 80s, as budget and domestic space considerations allowed, aided and abetted by Noel Cloney, a great Irish Hi-Fi Dealer based in Dublin. Every 5-6 years I have improved either my speakers or amplification or source. For example my speakers progressed from KEF Carinas, EPOS Es11 , Rodgers LS6 , Ruark Crusader II, ProAC Response 2.5 and now ProAc D40/R. I listen to Rock Pop Opera and Classical and try and attend 4-5 live concerts every year.
Speakers ProAc D40/R (120 x 21 x 34cm)
Amp: Devialet D200
Cables: Nordost Flatline 2 -speaker, Nordost Red Dawn -line, Shiva Power.
Sources:
60% of music from iTunes with ALAC 16/44 & 24/96 , 30% Tidal 16/44 HiFi managed by ROON using AIR and yesterday RAAT (Roonbridge) over Ethernet from remote Apple iMac (10.11.4, El Capitan)
5% of music from 24/192 or DSD via ROON
5% of music Analogue Linn LP12 turntable from 1983 ( Valhalla, Nirvana Ittok vii) Ortofon Red 2M
I also use a Toshiba MT11 video projector with Yamaha cinema decoder and D200 in bypass mode using D40R as Main speakers, no centre (with good main speakers I have not found using a Centre speaker necessary)
Listening Room: 2 Interconnected Victorian house rooms of a good size, total L 8.6m W 5.2 m H 3.3m -volume 152cu m.
I have measured main room resonances at 49Hz and 70Hz, suspended wooden floor, carpeted.
After ten very happy years with my previous system, based on ProAc Response 2.5 floor standers driven by an excellent Classe CAP-100 100W Integrated Amp (Stereophile A rated in its day) using a Benchmark DAC1 as D/A converter, I decided to upgrade my speakers to the newer ProAc D40R, which were a big improvement.
The ProAc sound is very musical, real and transparent to my ears (like the Devialet sound!) while the D40s are still relatively slim and “wife friendly”. Even so, after a year I concluded that the ProAcs could benefit from more power than the Classe amp could deliver.
In 2011 I was very impressed listening to D-Premier driving Wilson Sophia’s in 2011 - the best sound I had ever heard.
But the price was too high for me. Looking at the circuitry it was clear that Devialet could and would eventually bring out cheaper models once R&D cost had been amortised.
So once the D120/200 range was launched and when SAM was ready for the D40s, I auditioned one for a week at home. Wow! The D200 was a substantial improvement in clarity and transparency, making the Classe sound euphonic and coloured by comparison. SAM also made a great difference to the already excellent bass of the ProAc D40Rs. The slight mid bass emphasis in my room was moved down towards the lower bass making, for example, drums sound more impulsive and real. I bought my D200 in December 2014.
I am very, very, happy with my current system. I am especially enjoying my older classical and opera tracks which are much more involving and musical than ever before. On the other hand, I notice the awful compression on modern pop and rock more than before. Home cinema or blu-ray concerts sound awesome even without any subwoffer ( I tested a B&W subwoffer and it made no real difference.)
I feel no great need to upgrade to dual mono, but the option is open to me with the D 200. Cloney Audio will certainly let me audition that configuration at home when the time (and money !) comes.
Generally AIR over ethernet works very well for me, but I have just moved to the RAAT streaming protocol via ROONBRIDGE (1.2) on an old laptop connected to USB at the moment. For the first time I can stream 24/192 and DSD64 to the D200 in bit perfect (Purple ROON Indicator) fashon. ROON is the perfect way for me to combine my ITunes libraries and Tidal.
Finally last week I heard an extended demo of MQA on Bluesound sources, using NAD Master Series Amps and BMW 804/s3 speakers at Cloney Audio and I was really impressed with the marvellous sound. Vocals especially and general sound stage imaging was really obviously better compared to the same tracks I listened to a while later on my (superior) D200/ProAc D40R system. It doesn’t really matter why the sound was better - remastering etc. I want that sound for my system :-) I have already logged a request to Devialet that they add MQA decoding to the D200. It is an upgrade I would be willing to pay several hundred euro for.
Happy Listening one and all.
Mark
I have been building my sound system since the 80s, as budget and domestic space considerations allowed, aided and abetted by Noel Cloney, a great Irish Hi-Fi Dealer based in Dublin. Every 5-6 years I have improved either my speakers or amplification or source. For example my speakers progressed from KEF Carinas, EPOS Es11 , Rodgers LS6 , Ruark Crusader II, ProAC Response 2.5 and now ProAc D40/R. I listen to Rock Pop Opera and Classical and try and attend 4-5 live concerts every year.
Speakers ProAc D40/R (120 x 21 x 34cm)
Amp: Devialet D200
Cables: Nordost Flatline 2 -speaker, Nordost Red Dawn -line, Shiva Power.
Sources:
60% of music from iTunes with ALAC 16/44 & 24/96 , 30% Tidal 16/44 HiFi managed by ROON using AIR and yesterday RAAT (Roonbridge) over Ethernet from remote Apple iMac (10.11.4, El Capitan)
5% of music from 24/192 or DSD via ROON
5% of music Analogue Linn LP12 turntable from 1983 ( Valhalla, Nirvana Ittok vii) Ortofon Red 2M
I also use a Toshiba MT11 video projector with Yamaha cinema decoder and D200 in bypass mode using D40R as Main speakers, no centre (with good main speakers I have not found using a Centre speaker necessary)
Listening Room: 2 Interconnected Victorian house rooms of a good size, total L 8.6m W 5.2 m H 3.3m -volume 152cu m.
I have measured main room resonances at 49Hz and 70Hz, suspended wooden floor, carpeted.
After ten very happy years with my previous system, based on ProAc Response 2.5 floor standers driven by an excellent Classe CAP-100 100W Integrated Amp (Stereophile A rated in its day) using a Benchmark DAC1 as D/A converter, I decided to upgrade my speakers to the newer ProAc D40R, which were a big improvement.
The ProAc sound is very musical, real and transparent to my ears (like the Devialet sound!) while the D40s are still relatively slim and “wife friendly”. Even so, after a year I concluded that the ProAcs could benefit from more power than the Classe amp could deliver.
In 2011 I was very impressed listening to D-Premier driving Wilson Sophia’s in 2011 - the best sound I had ever heard.
But the price was too high for me. Looking at the circuitry it was clear that Devialet could and would eventually bring out cheaper models once R&D cost had been amortised.
So once the D120/200 range was launched and when SAM was ready for the D40s, I auditioned one for a week at home. Wow! The D200 was a substantial improvement in clarity and transparency, making the Classe sound euphonic and coloured by comparison. SAM also made a great difference to the already excellent bass of the ProAc D40Rs. The slight mid bass emphasis in my room was moved down towards the lower bass making, for example, drums sound more impulsive and real. I bought my D200 in December 2014.
I am very, very, happy with my current system. I am especially enjoying my older classical and opera tracks which are much more involving and musical than ever before. On the other hand, I notice the awful compression on modern pop and rock more than before. Home cinema or blu-ray concerts sound awesome even without any subwoffer ( I tested a B&W subwoffer and it made no real difference.)
I feel no great need to upgrade to dual mono, but the option is open to me with the D 200. Cloney Audio will certainly let me audition that configuration at home when the time (and money !) comes.
Generally AIR over ethernet works very well for me, but I have just moved to the RAAT streaming protocol via ROONBRIDGE (1.2) on an old laptop connected to USB at the moment. For the first time I can stream 24/192 and DSD64 to the D200 in bit perfect (Purple ROON Indicator) fashon. ROON is the perfect way for me to combine my ITunes libraries and Tidal.
Finally last week I heard an extended demo of MQA on Bluesound sources, using NAD Master Series Amps and BMW 804/s3 speakers at Cloney Audio and I was really impressed with the marvellous sound. Vocals especially and general sound stage imaging was really obviously better compared to the same tracks I listened to a while later on my (superior) D200/ProAc D40R system. It doesn’t really matter why the sound was better - remastering etc. I want that sound for my system :-) I have already logged a request to Devialet that they add MQA decoding to the D200. It is an upgrade I would be willing to pay several hundred euro for.
Happy Listening one and all.
Mark
iTunes & TIDAL HiFi --> ROON on iMac --> ROON RAAT over Ethernet --> D440 Pro--> ProAc D40R floorstanding speakers (SAM)
Also: Linn LP12/Ittok turntable Cables: Nordost Shiva power, Nordost Flatline2 speaker cable
Also: Linn LP12/Ittok turntable Cables: Nordost Shiva power, Nordost Flatline2 speaker cable
Dublin, Ireland
