Just bought a D400!

[srima]

Thought long and hard about buying the new Pros, or even the D800, but ultimately decided the price/performance ratio of the D400 was the most compelling. Got a very good price for a brand new pair with full warranty. It would cost more than 2x to get the new 440 Pro, not to mention the 1000 Pro (which would be 3x more). The law of diminishing returns kicks in. Yes, the new units are possibly better, but they are cut from the same cloth, and are likely to share a very similar sound. 

I think this might be a rare opportunity when Devialet units are actually affordable because of dealer discounts due to the model change. As far as I can see, Devialet prices are only going up, and once the current models are sold out, one would have to wait a while for the next model change over to get similar deals (if you want to buy new from a dealer with full warranty). 

Now, why the D400, not the D800? Here's an interesting comparison. Right now I have in my listening room a pair of original Quad ESL 57s, driven by a small pair of Quad II mono blocks (which produce 15 watts/channel in class A mode). It's remarkable how powerful 15 (tube) watts can sound. I play all kinds of music, from highly demanding symphonic music (Mahler and Bruckner), rock and roll (Jethro Tull) and choral/chamber music. In a recent session, I measured peak loudness at my listening chair at 90 dB for an orchestral piece (the speakers are 12 feet away, so SPL at the speaker was probably hitting 100 dB). All that with just 15 watts! As Peter Walker (the "Quad" father) once said, he didn't see why anyone would need more power than 15-20 watts. 

So, based on my listening session with Dusty's D400, I saw it had plenty of oomph to drive my B&W 800Ds in my basement home theater. I think the extra power of the 800s would largely be wasted, and not worth paying the extra 2x for. That's my rationale, in a nutshell. 

Will let you know once I receive my new toys! Have to wait till next week for them to get shipped to me...

[Confused]

It does look like you have t the sweet spot in terms of bangs for your buck. I must admit that I'd love to hear a pair of Devialet powered Quad's, that might just be rather special! Enjoy!

Perhaps also worth mentioning that we had one chap on here a while back who was running a pair of B&W 800's from a D200, which he said was fine.

[IanG-UK]

My first loudspeakers with my D-Premiers were Quad 2905s.

I bought my D-Premiers on the recommendation of Professor Gordon Edge who owned one of the very first D-Premiers and was a Quad ESL user; and who designed the Cambridge P40 amplifier, their first model.

It would be nice to hear a Devialet, say a 130Pro, with a pair of original ESLs, with the Devialet appropriately power limited.

It would have been even more fascinating to hear what Peter Walker thought of the Devialet ADH design, possibly the most innovative amplifier design since PJW's own current dumping Quad 405 launched in 1982, that technology still embodied in Quad's current QSP and QMP models 34 years later.

[mdconnelly]

I've been sitting on the fence about adding a Companion to my Dev 200.  With the announcement of the Pro, I'm struggling with which might be a better path in the long run.   I'm certain that adding a Companion 200 is the quickest/most cost effective  path to better SQ in the short-term (and congrats, srina, on your purchase!).   But, I wonder how well Devialet will support the 200 and 400 in terms of firmware and future upgrades including the new streaming board next year.    But the damn upgrade cost, particularly in the US, is just crazy expensive.

My guess is that if I want to get to a 440 Pro, going to the 400 now and later upgrading is likely a more expensive path.   While I have no doubt I'd be extremely happy with a 400, I wonder how I'll feel when everyone here starts exclaiming how wonderful their 440 Pro sounds.  

Ah, such 1st world problems ;-)

[Xander]

Congrats!!! Sounds like you have a good deal!

With no 'special' deal for the first 200, I am waiting to go for the pro upgrade and stick also with my 400... I'm looking now to use the $ to upgrade my B&W to the new D3 series

[srima]

It does look like you have t the sweet spot in terms of bangs for your buck.  I must admit that I'd love to hear a pair of Devialet powered Quad's, that might just be rather special!  Enjoy!

Perhaps also worth mentioning that we had one chap on here a while back who was running a pair of B&W 800's from a D200, which he said was fine.

This reminds me of a question I forgot to ask. I assume that while I am getting a pair of 400 monos, if I wanted to convert them to 2 stereo 200s, it would only require reconfiguring each amp using the flash cards. So, if I decide a D200 is enough, then I can use the 400s as a pair in two rooms (each one as a 200). I think this is really a unique aspect of the Devialet design, and unlike anything else that I know about. So, one 200 could drive my B&W 800D, and the other could drive my Quads, for example.

[deviousalet]

Congrats on the 400.

To answer your question, the 400 is a 200 Master (just like any other 200) and 200 Slave/Companion (which lacks the circuitry to use a remote control and networking) so I don't know of any way to use the 400 as two 200s. Others please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Peter van der Laarse]

Hi there!

I am listening to Quad's since 1981 and have (had) them all. Since 2015 oct. Devialet 200 on Quad 2812 (the newest small ones) in a surround setting. It's a marvellous combination and combines the lowest distortion possible in amplifiers and speakers at the same time. The point source electronics within the Quad's are beautifully driven by the Devialet and I never heard the dissappearing act so good (Peter Walker as you know). I traded in Quad tubes (24/40) on the Devialet. No regrets at all. Just bought the 440Pro two weeks ago. The new Quad's are very insensitive and playing between -10dB and 0dB is very normal for me (And yes: while the input is fully activated: 58 C). I tried the big/ great Rell-subs (Studio and Stentor at the same time) in an active way, but the Rell passive connection stay's the best - by far. I created my own sub-filter: sub is always deactivated and on Phono entrance: high pass pre-on settings with 12 Hz/24 dB/octave and voila: my own created subsonic filter. It sounds wunderfull with the tangential Clearaudio arm/ cartridge combination.
I have not met anyone who owns the new Quads (2812-2912) combined with Devialet amplification yet: in fact strange while it is a rather cheap combination; soundwise speaking. Curious how (firstly) the 220Pro and then the 440Pro will sound on speakers with 0,03% THD themselves.......