D440 vs D800

[apichetk]

I will have an opportunity to get a used D800 (4 years)...or I may upgrade to 440 from my current 200 (yes correct).  Have anyone had an opportunity to compare the D800 and D440?  

My next question is about the Expert reliability.  As the D800 has about one year of int'l warranty left, I wonder if I will end up burning myself down the road.  I would greatly appreciate your experience with how your Devialet has performed over time.  

Thanks very much all!  

[yabaVR]

I will have an opportunity to get a used D800 (4 years)...or I may upgrade to 440 from my current 200 (yes correct).  Have anyone had an opportunity to compare the D800 and D440?  

My next question is about the Expert reliability.  As the D800 has about one year of int'l warranty left, I wonder if I will end up burning myself down the road.  I would greatly appreciate your experience with how your Devialet has performed over time.  

Thanks very much all!  

I'd go for the D800 and skip the current PRO update until the next one comes around.
As the D800 is nearly out of warranty I would then moddify it (or get it moddify if you don't have the skills) and have a smile in your face because you'll get a beast of a performer with the mod that drives circles around a D440. For moddifying see my posts in tweakers corner.

Else if you don't want to touch the D800 go for the D440.

gui

[Pim]

Go the 440 unless your speakers need the power

[no32]

I will have an opportunity to get a used D800 (4 years)...or I may upgrade to 440 from my current 200 (yes correct).  Have anyone had an opportunity to compare the D800 and D440?  

My next question is about the Expert reliability.  As the D800 has about one year of int'l warranty left, I wonder if I will end up burning myself down the road.  I would greatly appreciate your experience with how your Devialet has performed over time.  

Thanks very much all!  

I'd go for the D800 and skip the current PRO update until the next one comes around.
As the D800 is nearly out of warranty I would then moddify it (or get it moddify if you don't have the skills) and have a smile in your face because you'll get a beast of a performer with the mod that drives circles around a D440. For moddifying see my posts in tweakers corner.

Else if you don't want to touch the D800 go for the D440.

gui

What are the 3 most important tweaks in your opinion ?

[Pim]

I will have an opportunity to get a used D800 (4 years)...or I may upgrade to 440 from my current 200 (yes correct).  Have anyone had an opportunity to compare the D800 and D440?  

My next question is about the Expert reliability.  As the D800 has about one year of int'l warranty left, I wonder if I will end up burning myself down the road.  I would greatly appreciate your experience with how your Devialet has performed over time.  

Thanks very much all!  

I'd go for the D800 and skip the current PRO update until the next one comes around.
As the D800 is nearly out of warranty I would then moddify it (or get it moddify if you don't have the skills) and have a smile in your face because you'll get a beast of a performer with the mod that drives circles around a D440. For moddifying see my posts in tweakers corner.

Else if you don't want to touch the D800 go for the D440.

gui

What are the 3 most important tweaks in your opinion ?

Room, seating position, speaker position. They far exceed any other tweaks.

[apichetk]

Do you guys think the Devialet Expert are durable past five years? I've read articles on the Internet saying that solid-state amps tend to be durable over time. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Damon]

apichetk,
I think that solid state amps are durable and most last a very long time. One advantage of the Devialet, IMHO, is that it runs fairly cool...cooly... er, at cool temperatures relative to some other types of solid state amps. I would expect that the less severe heating and cooling cycles will be good for the product's durability. Also, few solder joints to become brittle and break, and no tubes is certainly a maintenance bonus.

There have been very few hardware problems reported here; some but very few. A few issues with the remote, but again, not many.

To your original question, and without ever having heard an 800 or 440, I would go for the 440 Pro. The sound quality is different in the Pro series, and personally, I think it is better. I think the new amp architecture is more important than the power difference from the 440 to the 800; they both have plenty of grunt, I'm sure (the D220 Pro has a lot of power already). With the 440, you will have current generation hardware, and future software updates will be available. You'll get the advantages of dual mono either way. Plus, the warranty is there if you do need it.

These are just my opinions; the older amps are great, and certainly great bargains as time goes by. But I would feel more comfortable staying with the most current hardware and the improvements it brings.

[yabaVR]

What is the prices you can get the D440 & D800 for?

If you can get the D800 for substantial less...go for it.

Forget about the Power Difference in the model naming of the Devialets. Sure the D800 can put out more Watts than the D440 but the difference in sound doesn't come from the power.
As the D's (up from the D200) of one series (old series vs. pro series) are technically all the same inside Devialet managed to give a profound sound difference by processing the signal in the ADH circuit (ok, my assumption). That's the main difference in sound they have and the higher the number in the models the more transparent/precise/finer and powerful they sound.

The tweaks.

Pim is right with room, seating and speaker position, but you didn't mean that, right? All by it you have to do this anyway no matter the amp.

First.
Good power is the one substantial source for good sound. I mean...it IS the source of the electrons runing through the coil of your loudspeakers, isn't it?
By power I mean clean unprocessed power. No filter (even no parallels)...get a dedicated straight and uncut power line from a dedicated audio fuse to your audio system. Get a very good power cable.
The 'old' D's prize it when the original IEC inlet is excavated. There is a very cheaply filter circuit in it. Buy a Furutech or else and screw it in there (needs soldering!).

Second.
The binding posts Devialet uses are cheap crappy chinese stuff. Change them to better ones (Furutech, WBT) of pure copper or pure silver. Metall depends on your liking of sound.
If you want to change them this goes...

Third.
...together with the excavation of the riserboard they are connected to. This mod I didn't expect its 'Blows Me Away' impact. But also this is the one where you have to have skills in soldering and you have to be brave enough to do it  , or you let it be done by someone else who has the skills.

There is a fourth tweak (that actually comes first and has the most impact in sound) but for that the amps have to be here in my hands and it costs you some bucks because it's an invention by me. But I would shift that one as you can not hear and compare it in shops now, though you can hear it if you ever come to Berlin and contact me beforehand  .

If you do all the mods the sound will blow you away I promise. For me the 3 mods at the top are all concerned as 'bottlenecks for good sound'...and the PROs do still have them (little less with the IEC as the filter parts on the mainboard are 'bigger' now).

The PROs are more precise due to the improved ADH but only get a tiny bit of the improvement through up to the binding posts. That said a modified D440 would drive circles around a D800/(D1000) but you will definitely loose your 5y warranty.

gui

[no32]

What is the prices you can get the D440 & D800 for?

If you can get the D800 for substantial less...go for it.

Forget about the Power Difference in the model naming of the Devialets. Sure the D800 can put out more Watts than the D440 but the difference in sound doesn't come from the power.
As the D's (up from the D200) of one series (old series vs. pro series) are technically all the same inside Devialet managed to give a profound sound difference by processing the signal in the ADH circuit (ok, my assumption). That's the main difference in sound they have and the higher the number in the models the more transparent/precise/finer and powerful they sound.

The tweaks.

Pim is right with room, seating and speaker position, but you didn't mean that, right? All by it you have to do this anyway no matter the amp.

First.
Good power is the one substantial source for good sound. I mean...it IS the source of the electrons runing through the coil of your loudspeakers, isn't it?
By power I mean clean unprocessed power. No filter (even no parallels)...get a dedicated straight and uncut power line from a dedicated audio fuse to your audio system. Get a very good power cable.
The 'old' D's prize it when the original IEC inlet is excavated. There is a very cheaply filter circuit in it. Buy a Furutech or else and screw it in there (needs soldering!).

Second.
The binding posts Devialet uses are cheap crappy chinese stuff. Change them to better ones (Furutech, WBT) of pure copper or pure silver. Metall depends on your liking of sound.
If you want to change them this goes...

Third.
...together with the excavation of the riserboard they are connected to. This mod I didn't expect its 'Blows Me Away' impact. But also this is the one where you have to have skills in soldering and you have to be brave enough to do it  , or you let it be done by someone else who has the skills.

There is a fourth tweak (that actually comes first and has the most impact in sound) but for that the amps have to be here in my hands and it costs you some bucks because it's an invention by me. But I would shift that one as you can not hear and compare it in shops now, though you can hear it if you ever come to Berlin and contact me beforehand  .

If you do all the mods the sound will blow you away I promise. For me the 3 mods at the top are all concerned as 'bottlenecks for good sound'...and the PROs do still have them (little less with the IEC as the filter parts on the mainboard are 'bigger' now).

The PROs are more precise due to the improved ADH but only get a tiny bit of the improvement through up to the binding posts. That said a modified D440 would drive circles around a D800/(D1000) but you will definitely loose your 5y warranty.

gui

Very interesting ... my room and speaker position is good enough
I have direct line to the system and built my own ground but you took it few steps further , I think it's time to tweak them
Thank you

[apichetk]

Thanks, everyone. I have decided to get the 800. My relatively new 200 will be up for grab soon.