Expert 1000 Pro

[Dr Tone]

OK, nearly time to head off to Oxford!  Being as I am a human being, not a piece of laboratory equipment, I thought it would be useful to state my 'expectation bias' up front, regarding what I am expecting the 1000 Pro to sound like.  I can recall a couple of demonstrations of dual mono (500 and later 800) versus the 240 /250 in relatively short demos at Oxford Audio.  In both cases I found the dual mono to be better, perhaps no surprise there, but not a massive leap.  One way of looking at it is the D240/250 is a decent piece of kit and happens to be good enough to drive the Blades well, so how can it be a MASSIVE improvement?  I did have a weekend home demo of a companion, and this convinced me of the benefits of going dual mono, a decision I have never regretted since.  Basically at this level, small improvements are impressive, and one man's 'wow that's amazing' is the next mans 'there is a small discernible improvement', even when they are hearing the same thing.

So what is my 'expectation bias' expecting today?  To be honest, a small discernible improvement', but nothing spectacular.  For me, the D800 is already a fine match for the Blades, and somewhere up there with the better amplifiers in the world, so something small would be good. An epic leap in SQ?  I don't think it's possible.  So this should put whatever I post next into context, it should be an interesting day.  

Oh, and as a tiny little teaser.....   If all goes to plan, I should also be listening to a non Devilalet option with the Blades today.  This is not one of the current forum favourites, such as the Gryphon, Aavik or whatever, but something interesting nevertheless.....

You get lost on the way home?