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Which Devialet?
#1
New member here so be gentle with me.  Rolleyes

I am considering a number of options into upgrading my current setup at the moment which is:

Synology DS212 NAS -> Linn Majik DSM -> Kudos Cardea Super 20's.

As it stands I have been pursuing the Linn options of either adding a power amp to my existing set up or buying extra boxes (and upgrading the speakers) and moving to an Active system via Linn's Exakt option.  It sounds great but is expensive and also moves away from my ideal of sticking to a max of 2 boxes (assuming I go with Akurate as an upgrade).

I'll admit something, hence the reason for the post, I know absolutely nothing about Devialet apart from the universally glowing reviews that I have read.  If you folks would be kind enough to answer the following questions I'd appreciate it:

1 - Which is the 'best' Devialet option to buy with a budget of around £7k, assuming I retain my current speakers?

2 - Will I be able to use my NAS as a UPnP server to stream music through the Devialet?

3 - Do any of them have Qobuz integrated?

4 - What's the dedicated iOS app like (is it 'Air'?).

5 - Is there any facility for integrated internet radio as standard?

6 - Purely subjectively how would you describe the Devialet 'sound' as opposed to Linn?  I am a long term Linn user and like the sound but just feel that their amps are their weakness.

7 - Is there anything else, good or bad, that I need to look out for particularly if buying dem or second hand?

Thanks in advance for the help.
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#2
Best wait until the new Pro line is released. Then decide to either buy a new Pro one or a second hand one from the current line depending on the improved features or sound quality of the new models.
Devialet Expert 200 (FW 7.1.3) / Magnepan 1.7i / Rel T5 / Foobar (WASAPI event 24bit) / AIR 3.0.1 public beta (best Air 3.x.x SQ by far)
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#3
(01-Jul-2016, 20:49)Cylob Wrote: Best wait until the new Pro line is released. Then decide to either buy a new Pro one or a second hand one from the current line depending on the improved features or sound quality of the new models.

Thanks - what's the timeline for the release?  Failing that which one of the current line up is worth my looking at?
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#4
Asking for the timeline of Devialet releases is a good game around here, but they announced the new Expert 1000 today so should announce others "soon". The new Expert series should sound better and be more efficient, but we don't yet know prices or specs. for the lower models. I recommend waiting at least a few weeks to know more about the new series or let the prices of the old series fall. Only buy a Devialet for current features, never for what's promised in the future (their amps are great but their marketing is unreliable to dishonest). In the mean time I'll try to answer your questions:

1 - The best Devialet will be the farthest up the line you can afford, and used models are cheaper of course (and likely cheaper as soon as the new models arrive).

2 - Devialet has advertised a streaming board for the updated Expert line to come in 2017, but currently lack streaming (and we won't believe it until we see it since they've made similar promises for many years). They currently do not support UPnP, DLNA, AirPlay, or any other streaming protocols.

3 - The Devialet Phantom & Dialog active speaker system is set up to stream from various services but the Expert systems have no streamer integrated so support whatever the streamer you connect supports. There are many streamers that work well and aren't very expensive, but they do require another box (the streamer) until Devialet integrates a streamer into the Expert series.

4 - The iOS app for the Expert series is a volume control and allows source selections (including playing music from the iOS device). AIR is Devialet's version of AirPlay: a way to connect to Expert series from wherever your music lives (except that AIR fails for many people so don't count on it)

5 - Internet radio is in the streaming domain, unsupported by the Expert series at present.

6 - I'm the wrong person to compare Devialet and Linn, but if you search this forum you'll find many people who have switched from Linn to Devialet or use both. We are subjective fans of the Devialet sound of course, but many of us have compared to every other amp we've had access to and love our Devialet the most for sound quality.

7 - The Devialet Expert series is available in stereo (one box) or dual-mono (two boxes) and you can always add the second box to upgrade. So you can try Devialet with a D200 or D250 and then jump to the D400 or D800 respectively. The D120 lacks that capacity. The first Devialet model (D-Premier) are still available used but they lack many features of the newer models so don't buy one unless you want the power of the D250 and are certain you can live within their limitations. The D200 and D400 are the most common entry points into the Devialet Expert series.

I hope that was helpful. Please tell us if you buy a Devialet. We're always excited to welcome new members to the enjoyment of Devialet's great sound.
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#5
That was as helpful a reply as I could have hoped for - thank you very much for taking the time to help.

The bad news (for me anyway) is that Devialet at this point in time is probably not for me as it simply lacks a lot of the features that I want/need and which I mentioned in my original post.  It's a shame but, as you say, who knows what the future holds.

Thanks again.
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#6
I'm glad to help, but don't be separated by the best sound around by the lack of a Sonore microRendu or other cheap and easy streamer. A Devialet or two and a streamer may get you all you want, and then you could sell the streamer when Devialet releases theirs. In fact you probably own all you need. I stream everything to my Devialet from my Mac Mini, laptop, or even my phone. If you have an Apple router AirPlay works too. It is really easy to connect the Devialet to the world of streaming, it just requires one other device in the chain for the moment.
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#7
(01-Jul-2016, 22:52)deviousalet Wrote: I'm glad to help, but don't be separated by the best sound around by the lack of a Sonore microRendu or other cheap and easy streamer. A Devialet or two and a streamer may get you all you want, and then you could sell the streamer when Devialet releases theirs.

Very true and one option of course is to keep the Linn as a streamer only therefore still retaining the functionality I know and firing it into the back of a Devialet - this would effectively render the 200 as a power amp right? Is it possible to do that using the optical out on the Linn or is there a better way?

The slight flaw in that plan is that selling the Linn was part paying for the 200....but that's a small detail  Rolleyes
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#8
Yes, the Devialet has optical in, along with USB and many other options. You could sell the Linn if you have any computer or other device to use as the streamer for the moment.
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#9
(01-Jul-2016, 23:01)deviousalet Wrote: Yes, the Devialet has optical in, along with USB and many other options. You could sell the Linn if you have any computer or other device to use as the streamer for the moment.

I do.  Another option is to use a MacBook Pro and use Audirvana remotely from the iOS app I guess.  However my 'ideal' is a simple one box solution to be honest as the idea of having to turn on, plug in etc isn't particularly appealing but it's an option.

If I did take it would the 200, in that configuration, still have the SAM capability?

Thanks again.
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#10
You could use your MacBook Pro with the Devialet AIR application to play anything accessible to your Mac through the D200. If you prefer iOS control you can use the Apple Remote app or whatever you like. Audirvana can fit in the chain if you like.

SAM is available no matter how the music gets to the D200, so yes, it will enhance your speakers as long as they're fed by the Devialet.
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