Expert Pro sound quality

[Axel]

It's been a bit quiet on here lately so thought I'd add a few notes after a week or so with the 250pro.

I only had a day between the 200 going and 250 arriving so the sound was very fresh and I'd kept an active playlist going to make the job easier. I made some notes as I went because I'm interested in the process of listening to something new and the sensations. Er, no, not like that.

Anyway!  I won't start on day 1 because I hated it! The unit was physically cold and I couldn't play loud - maybe both made a difference - but it was thin and 'edgy'. I could definitely hear more bass texture, and more detail overall - most noticeable to me in the treble - but overall it was completely underwhelming, maybe I was just subconsciously expecting more.

Things didn't stay that way though and I felt (imagined or otherwise) waves of up and down and now feel it's more stable.

The first thing that was obvious on day 2 was bass impact. I'd never heard my facts in my room do electronics beats that hit home with impact - and certainly not with the 200. With the 250pro this completely changed and even at relatively low volume the bass 'slam' is addictive. To be honest it's what I expected from the 200 with all its hype, and I'm sorry to say I can now conclusively say I don't think the 200 is that great. The 'impact' isn't limited to bass but it's the one aspect that's won me over and would be the most likely to keep me with Devialet.

Now I was running f/w 7.x on my 200 most recently, so firmware could account for something, but I had run 9.x and then 10.x for quite a while and I never had the bass impact. Far from it, I actually had less bass 'weight' with the more recent firmwares, which is one reason why I went back to 7.

Beyond bass, overall the same things that have been repeated already - more detail, more texture, more exciting without being so fatiguing, better soundstage - all of these traits much more so at volume but still there at lower volume.

If there are SQ criticisms so far it's that in my setup, where things are on the bright side, this can be exaggerated further by the pro. Not only that, there's quite a bit of music where the increased resolution - primarily in the treble (to keep things simple) - has actually 'pitched up' and thinned out quite a few tracks I really know well. Where one 'note' if you like used to have weight and sit around frequency X, on the pro the same note is now made up of its constituent parts which is much better resolved but the overall experience to me is actually a pitch change to something brighter, hovering around frequency X plus a bit. Hard to explain, you may or may not get what I'm saying. Anyway, it means some things I was very used to don't sound the same anymore, but quite different. Sometimes that's really nice, sometimes not.

When played loud the Pro shines, in fact I had to stop myself going louder, knowing I could hurt my ears. It sounds great with the right material (in my case things that were less bright in the first place). I mean it can put a big smile on your face! Loud on the 200 often meant a headache inducing edgy mess, not so here.

I'm skipping most of my notes as I haven't got time, but in essence, so far, it's a lot better. The detail resolution in the treble and the thin-ness this can bring might (will if things stay as they are) need some fine tuning.

Volume levels seem very similar to the 200; but oddly sometimes the same level seems quieter, sometimes a bit louder. SAM settings seem to be quite different to what I was used to with f/w 7, tone settings seem similar, if anything I'm winding treble down more. I changed speaker toe-in slightly.

All in all I'm happy, let's see how things are after longer term, maybe the novelty wears off? Things also seem variable from day to day, as did the 200, so whether this is burn-in, power fluctuation or psychoacoustic I don't know, and maybe never will - unless it settles to a constant I guess.

Is it worth £3K? I'd say it depends what you think of your current setup and what you enjoy about music. I never felt the bass was right with the 200, and found the sound fatiguing. Both are a lot better so that makes a big difference. I jumped 200>250 so not sure how much extra difference that made if any. Would I have been happy if I'd bought one new at £12k? I'm not sure, I don't think my room/speakers are optimal for something at this level.

Edited to add there's a reassuring audible 'pop' from the speakers which I had with other amps but not from the 200.
Oh, and that damn chattering noise from the PSU is gone!! Ok maybe it is worth three grand.

Hopefully there'll be some more comments coming soon. It would definitely be nice to read more about SQ and less about UPS logistics.....

When you say you hear a "pop" from your speakers, is this at switch on, or off? I hear a very slight "tic" through the speakers when I turn off. The 400 never used to do this.