Core Infinity listening impressions and comparisons

[GuillaumeB]

Over the past two weeks I have had the use of a 220 PRO with Core Infinity board fitted, compliments of Devialet in Paris.

It's difficult for me to make any definitive statements regarding sound quality since I wasn't familiar with the sound of the 220 PRO to start with. With that said I have been very surprised by how good the 220 PRO sounds.

I have been testing a number of Alpha versions of the firmware. Airplay and Spotify have worked pretty much flawlessly and AIR has been stable, although with high res material I have had very occasional stuttering and on one occasion the music stopped playing altogether. With regular redbook material it has worked perfectly.

Of course when my Od'A returns it will be a very different amplifier with completely new innards so I won't be in a position to evaluate CI properly.

However there is something about the sound when streaming via AIR (or even Spotify for that matter!). I have been repeatedly surprised by how good things sound. I have been streaming Qobuz quite a bit from my MacBook, and the sound has been at times remarkable and better than I recall from my Od'A.

Compared to my OdA under similar conditions (i.e. streaming via AIR), the Od'A is clearly better with more solidity of the sound, improved textures and bottom end grip. However there is something better about the sound with the 220 PRO. Some of this may be down to 6 v 5.5 (motherboard versions), but I am very tempted to think that CI is adding something nice to the party. It's really a hunch given my inability to compare apples with apples.

I should tell everyone at this stage that Roon/AIR does not work. See here for latest statements from Roon about this:

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/deviale...king/33863

Guillaume

[ogs]

Yes, I too would be interested in more details here, for example, it begs the question how exactly do the clock signals work in a dual mono set up?  There are two key points with audio clocks, the quality of the clock, low jitter etc., and how close the clock is positioned to whatever it is clocking.  Users of devices such as the Mutec REF10 report the best results with ultra short clock cables, some would argue that an external clock will never be as good as one mounted directly in the DAC, it is not a straightforward topic.

This is in fact the key reason I started this thread.  With my old D800, I was reasonably happy with my uR / Mutec MC3+USB 'front end', with the 1000Pro, I am as convinced as I can be that this front end is the bottle neck in the system.  I have thought of going the SOtMUltra + Mutec REF10 route, which would be about £6k or more depending on cables, PSU's etc.  Maybe the new board will actually perform so well that spending £1000's on REF10's is not needed.  Optimistic perhaps, but you never know.  If we get enough user reviews and comparisons then the situation should become much clearer.  If the OS Board ever works, that is!

It is another reason why a dealer event with someone like Devialet's Mathieu Pernot in attendance would be absolute gold dust now that the Core Infamy board is with us.  A basic understanding of how the OS board works, plus some insight into how a Devialet deals with the clock signals imbedded in the AES/EBU feed would be very useful in terms of understanding the benefit of a Mutec REF10 or similar.

Back on topic, I wonder if anyone will actually get their upgraded Pro back this week and actually find they can get the Core Infamy Board to work!  Here hoping!

Back off topic, I think we are near enough to the 'festive period', that personally I would not want to risk sending my own 1000Pro back to Paris.  If I got the 'invite' now, I would definitely want to delay to next year.  Thankfully Devialet have been very cooperative in my case, and not even sent an invite.  An earlier poster suggested that 'upgraded Expert' Pro's would get priority over those like myself that purchased a Pro outright, I could get grumpy about being pushed to the back of the queue, but it my case it looks like it's working out nicely!

Actually streaming Roon/AIR wouldn't have to become that much better before I retire mR/Mutec. Roon/AIR (and AIR) is already very good. The convenience of Roon/AIR is superb so if the SQ with the CI board is better I'd probably switch. If I had a REF10 I would probably not say this... I'd wish for a word clock input in stead!
How a better clock will affect mono blocks is very interesting. Maybe that is why the CI is also installed in Companions?

[Confused]

Actually streaming Roon/AIR wouldn't have to become that much better before I retire mR/Mutec. Roon/AIR (and AIR) is already very good. The convenience of Roon/AIR is superb so if the SQ with the CI board is better I'd probably switch. If I had a REF10 I would probably not say this... I'd wish for a word clock input in stead!
How a better clock will affect mono blocks is very interesting. Maybe that is why the CI is also installed in Companions?

I agree, I was very surprised when I discovered just how good Roon AIR.  I too wondered if clocking was behind the reason to have CI installed in the companions, but it is just wondering, pure speculation based on very little hard data.  Picking up on Celts88 post, it is of course the case that CI will need it's own audio clocks simply to function.  If the board is receiving Ethernet packet data, it will need to buffer (FIFO) and then clock as part of the process of converting to whatever the ADH is expecting to receive.  This leaves the question open as to exactly how good the clock is and how exactly it is utilised.  We may never fully answer these questions, Devialet are not usually that keen on giving such information away, so we may need to rely on 'listening impressions'.

Guillaume - I read your observations as being pretty positive, although your caveats regarding this not being 'apples for apples' comparisons obviously hold true here.  I guess in time your 'O'dA Pro' will be back, will have time to settle in, hopefully the CI software will improve, at which time we can maybe look forward to a TotalDAC D1 vs CI board comparison?  Something to look forward too next year perhaps?  Meanwhile, I remain quietly optimistic, although a little worried regarding software stability.  If this looks like a repeat of the AIR debacle, I'll be sticking with the ultra stable uR/Mutec solution.  Interesting times!

[markush]

Similar to Guillaume I habe been using a 220 PRO with Core Infinity board fitted thanks to Devialet. Before that I have had the 220 Pro for one year now. So to compare just AIR - there is a remarkable improvement in sound quality (more solid bass, better separation of instruments, wider stage, ...)
Also AirPlay or Spotify Premium have never sounded so good. It was really hardly to believe how much of a difference there is between playing Spotify via AIR on former 220 Pro via my MacbookPro compared to Spotify Connect on the the new CI board.
Unfortunately haven't been able to compare Roon AIR which I have been using most of the time the last couple of months as there seems to be some software release missing activating it (therefore I also opened the thread mentioned by Guillaume at Roon Community).
Obviously things seems to be quite there as Olivier just a few hours ago posted this at: https://help.devialet.com/hc/en-us/artic...5000307945

I am so far really excited about the CI upgrade - and as software stability keeps improving for highres material etc. they will tweak the software / firmware for sure as well to gain the best from it.

[sven911]

   

My 1000 PRO with CI board is up-and-running with Roon-Air, no issues all is working fine also high-res.
Received the units back today after pickup on November 14th.

[brit]

My 1000 PRO with CI board is up-and-running with Roon-Air, no issues all is working fine also high-res.
Received the units back today after pickup on November 14th.

Hi sven911, that sounds (no pun intended) promising! I assume that you are using your hard wired Ethernet connection as per your signature?

David

ps Any views on Sound Quality versus pre CI board upgrade?

[GuillaumeB]

My 1000 PRO with CI board is up-and-running with Roon-Air, no issues all is working fine also high-res.
Received the units back today after pickup on November 14th.

So much for the OdAs being the first to get CI... oh well. 

So how come I can’t get Roon/AIR to work on the 220 PRO then?

Guillaume

[sven911]

My 1000 PRO with CI board is up-and-running with Roon-Air, no issues all is working fine also high-res.
Received the units back today after pickup on November 14th.

Hi sven911, that sounds (no pun intended) promising! I assume that you are using your hard wired Ethernet connection as per your signature?

David

ps Any views on Sound Quality versus pre CI board upgrade?

Yes, using the hard wired ethernet.
Very happy with SQ (after listening to music using my Marantz 7010 receiver with small speakers and a subwoofer). Doing some more listening rest of the evening.

[brit]

My 1000 PRO with CI board is up-and-running with Roon-Air, no issues all is working fine also high-res.
Received the units back today after pickup on November 14th.

Hi sven911, that sounds (no pun intended) promising! I assume that you are using your hard wired Ethernet connection as per your signature?

David

ps Any views on Sound Quality versus pre CI board upgrade?

Yes, using the hard wired ethernet.
Very happy with SQ (after listening to music using my Marantz 7010 receiver with small speakers and a subwoofer). Doing some more listening rest of the evening.

That is very positive. I was beginning to worry about this, having read some of the less than positive results from other users of upgraded Pro units!

My 1000pro is currently in France being upgraded with the CI board, so was concerned that I would also face issues when it came back - your feedback gives me a little more confidence (hopefully not misplaced!). I also use Roon/AIR via NUC6i5 with ROCK connected by Ethernet to my Devialet, which worked well on my pre-upgraded units.

David

[sven911]

   

Is there a difference in hw/sw versions? 

My 1000 PRO with CI board is up-and-running with Roon-Air, no issues all is working fine also high-res.
Received the units back today after pickup on November 14th.

So much for the OdAs being the first to get CI... oh well. 

So how come I can’t get Roon/AIR to work on the 220 PRO then?

Guillaume[/quote]