05-Dec-2014, 06:01
Thanks, Guillaume, for posting the link to Kari's letter; it was good offering to this community. And I also appreciate that Kari joined, even if only to respond to other posts.
Kari did not ask for buying advice, as he points out, but neither did he ask for 'technical' advice. He was asking for an opinion, or perspective, about sound character and musical expression. Given that Jeff Fritz's column (which I've only heard of through this forum) is very compelling in favour of Devialet, it is especially nice to have a bit of his current comment about the 'character' of sound reproduction.
I've had tube gear, and loved it, at least some of the time, for the way it reproduced some parts of the music; vocals and midrange elements have been especially appealing. I also found faults and flaws that I became aware of over time. But eventually I found that Naim equipment gave me more, overall, of what I want to hear, including the emotion that I want to hear. I have friends who have an entirely different set of personal preferences for audio systems. We all do.
The Devialet seems to me to be so superb in delivering whatever is in the source that I'm finding that it is unique. I recently listened to some McIntosh equipment (no idea about the model or cost, except that it was much more than the Dev) and although it was very nice, it seemed to be less capable than the Devialet. And the McI system had much more power and was bigger, heavier, and much more expensive.
I think that accuracy is less important than musicality in my living room, although, when I listen to recordings of my own band, I know exactly what to listen for in terms of accuracy. I love what Naim equipment does to the music, though I would not proclaim it to be the most accurate. No doubt the Parasound/ Pass/ Benchmark system has a musical presentation that is compelling as well. I've never seen, let alone heard, anything from Pass or Parasound. But I've spent time with lots of modified tube gear, and listened a bit to Mac, Musical
Fidelity, Krell, SimAudio/ Moon, and Naim, and I just don't hear or feel anything that gets the music across the way Devialet does. Looking at the 120 or the 200 especially, I keep thinking that spending more is a tough sell.
(that was a lot of typing)
Kari did not ask for buying advice, as he points out, but neither did he ask for 'technical' advice. He was asking for an opinion, or perspective, about sound character and musical expression. Given that Jeff Fritz's column (which I've only heard of through this forum) is very compelling in favour of Devialet, it is especially nice to have a bit of his current comment about the 'character' of sound reproduction.
I've had tube gear, and loved it, at least some of the time, for the way it reproduced some parts of the music; vocals and midrange elements have been especially appealing. I also found faults and flaws that I became aware of over time. But eventually I found that Naim equipment gave me more, overall, of what I want to hear, including the emotion that I want to hear. I have friends who have an entirely different set of personal preferences for audio systems. We all do.
The Devialet seems to me to be so superb in delivering whatever is in the source that I'm finding that it is unique. I recently listened to some McIntosh equipment (no idea about the model or cost, except that it was much more than the Dev) and although it was very nice, it seemed to be less capable than the Devialet. And the McI system had much more power and was bigger, heavier, and much more expensive.
I think that accuracy is less important than musicality in my living room, although, when I listen to recordings of my own band, I know exactly what to listen for in terms of accuracy. I love what Naim equipment does to the music, though I would not proclaim it to be the most accurate. No doubt the Parasound/ Pass/ Benchmark system has a musical presentation that is compelling as well. I've never seen, let alone heard, anything from Pass or Parasound. But I've spent time with lots of modified tube gear, and listened a bit to Mac, Musical
Fidelity, Krell, SimAudio/ Moon, and Naim, and I just don't hear or feel anything that gets the music across the way Devialet does. Looking at the 120 or the 200 especially, I keep thinking that spending more is a tough sell.
(that was a lot of typing)
Damon
Powernode, NAD M32, Cambridge CD transport, Analysis Plus, Nordost, iFi Nova, CSS Criton 1TDX, KEF C62
Vancouver, Canada
