250 vs 800 vs The Best

[DBdub]

Hi DBdub,

What you're describing is what I always thought of Devialet before I bought mine. I can't say I have any experience with other gear but it's interesting to get someone's opinion who actually has some good other gear.
I bought my 200 because I wanted something small for what will be my bedroom but now I have it I'm very happy with the SQ to the point that I think I would be 100% happy if I get a proper music server rather than my Mac mini. But your story makes me think I should have a good look at what else is around there once I'm ready to get my big system for the living room.

Cheers,

Pim

Pim, you don't know what you don't know context of comparison is only made my by trying things I suppose 100% happy could be cause you found the sound you like or you haven't tried enough gear within your budget, if your dropping anything like the cost of a 200,400 or 800 you owe it to yourself to try options only then will you be able to make a informed decision. It's all personal preference. More then happy to offer you some options just PM me your budget and we can have a chat. My best friend for nearly 20 years is a audio distributor a good and bad thing I suppose but I have had the opportunity to try a lot of stuff which helps

Drop me a line and we can chat

[Confused]

I have a slightly different take on all this. Firstly the part with which I strongly agree, that it is worthwhile taking the effort to listen to as many options as possible before buying expensive kit. It is not just the quest for maximum sound quality for the money, but for peace of mind, such that you can then simply enjoy the music rather than worrying about if you’ve made the right choice or not.

As to if Devialet is the best amp for the money in purely sound quality terms, to say that there are many options that are better, well, maybe or maybe not. I don’t think it is that simple. I firmly believe that if looking for the ultimate sound quality for the money, one of the key aspects is the interaction of the amplifier and speaker as a system. Speakers vary enormously in terms of efficiency, the loads they present, tonal quality etc. So where a particular Devialet amp may sound splendid with speaker A, it might not be so good with speaker B. And all this is before you take into account personal preference to how a system sounds, musical preference, volume preference, size of room and so on. Someone who is keen on chamber music is unlikely to reach the same conclusion on speaker, amp and DAC combinations as someone who likes hard core electronica, and so on.

Before buying a Devialet I had more or less decided on which speakers I would be buying. The first amplifier I heard with my chosen speaker was the Devialet, and to be honest, I was convinced that the Devialet was not the amp for me. I wasn’t particularly taken with the styling, I think I preferred the idea of an “old school” rack of boxes, giant mono blocks and similar. Also, I preferred the idea of the DAC being a separate item, that could be upgraded separately to the amps over time.

I then spent many months listening to just about every amp / pre-amp / DAC combination that I could, to find the ultimate sound quality option for my budget and chosen speaker. In the end, the Devialet was the choice. To be clear, it was fairly marginal, there were other options that I seriously considered. One piece of kit I really liked was the Chord CodeX streamer / DAC, but unfortunately this did not allow use of a phono stage, it is digital inputs only. Other amp / pre amp options would also be needed as I wanted the option to use vinyl. Clearly this would be out of the equation, hence changing the financial considerations, if I didn’t use a turntable. For what it’s worth, I’ve tried my Devialet with a couple of external phono stages, up to about 2.5k in value, and found that the Devialet built in phono stage was best to my ears, so whether or not you use vinyl is a significant factor here.

Another issue is that if you are looking to spend a five figure sum on an amp / pre amp / DAC combination, it simply is not possible to try every combination with your chosen speaker, there are just too many options, the logistics of this would lead to years of kit auditions. So one has to be practical, I know for sure that I have bought the best thing for my budget, with my chosen speakers, based on what I was able to hear. Although it is entirely possible that there might have been something better out there, but I just never got the chance to hear it. I will never know! But what I am sure of is that I bought the best sound quality product I could find, at the point at which I was becoming totally and utterly sick to death of auditioning kit every week!

Additionally, the differences in sound quality between some options I was considering and the Devialet were in some cases quite small. Since buying the Devialet I now have SAM, which has proven to be quite a big step up in sound quality for me.

So in conclusion, I doubt that for my needs there is anything out there that would substantially improve on the Devialet with SAM for my specific needs. I will never know for sure, but I am confident enough.

For others, with all the many variables being different, it could be a very different story indeed. But there are no absolutes here.

[kw1373]

Hi all,

Sorry to be MIA for so long. 

I have had 800 for some time now.   I have not written further due to some complications.  First the cables have been messed up and without power conditioner both of which im awaiting remedy.  Things move very slow here in Thailand so i still do not have the fixes.  Second the listening experience has been unconvincing with short passages of tremendous enjoyment but mostly mediocrity.   

A little more on the listening.  

A couple of nights back home, following a good xmas holiday, i brought back Kenny Rogers' greatest hits.  Having listened repeatedly while in Sydney cross a few audiophile systems i was very pleased on return to Bangkok with 800's rendition.   I thought it bettered those other systems. Both my wife and i settled on the sound quite nicely thinking that the 800 had finally revealed itself.  It not only bettered some very pricey systems in Sydney but to me produced truly memorable sound. 

Since then i have not been able to extract the same sound.  For more than a month now.  I dont get it.  Could b the curtains.  Must try closing them again. 

Anyway, once i get those fixes will report again. 

[GuillaumeB]

Hi all,

Sorry to be MIA for so long. 

I have had 800 for some time now.   I have not written further due to some complications.  First the cables have been messed up and without power conditioner both of which im awaiting remedy.  Things move very slow here in Thailand so i still do not have the fixes.  Second the listening experience has been unconvincing with short passages of tremendous enjoyment but mostly mediocrity.   

A little more on the listening.  

A couple of nights back home, following a good xmas holiday, i brought back Kenny Rogers' greatest hits.  Having listened repeatedly while in Sydney cross a few audiophile systems i was very pleased on return to Bangkok with 800's rendition.   I thought it bettered those other systems. Both my wife and i settled on the sound quite nicely thinking that the 800 had finally revealed itself.  It not only bettered some very pricey systems in Sydney but to me produced truly memorable sound. 

Since then i have not been able to extract the same sound.  For more than a month now.  I dont get it.  Could b the curtains.  Must try closing them again. 

Anyway, once i get those fixes will report again. 

Welcome back kw1373! We were debating on sending out a search party but you appeared just in the nick of time.   

Can you be a bit more specific about the so-called complications and their fixes? 

Guillaume

[kw1373]

Hi all,

Finally got something worth sharing.

I compared my 800 with Tidal amps again.  This time at Tidal dealers showroom.

This time the results much closer.  But 800 reeally shining with the right cables. 

The only problem is brightness.  Otherwise really world class sound matching or exceeding in other areas. 

How do u guys deal with this?

Thanks

[GuillaumeB]

Hi all,

Finally got something worth sharing.

I compared my 800 with Tidal amps again.  This time at Tidal dealers showroom.

This time the results much closer.  But 800 reeally shining with the right cables. 

The only problem is brightness.  Otherwise really world class sound matching or exceeding in other areas. 

How do u guys deal with this?

Thanks

Better digital source. 

Guillaume

[Antoine]

Or better acoustics!

[Petter]

Soft feets with vibration control do help IMO

[MusicFirst]

Hi all,

Finally got something worth sharing.

I compared my 800 with Tidal amps again.  This time at Tidal dealers showroom.

This time the results much closer.  But 800 reeally shining with the right cables. 

The only problem is brightness.  Otherwise really world class sound matching or exceeding in other areas. 

How do u guys deal with this?

Thanks

Better digital source. 

Guillaume

I agree with Guillaume. I found the last digital edge/brightness in my system was greatly reduced with the Wyred 4 Sound Remedy Reclocker and it almost completely disappeared with two! These reclockers are really something.

7.1.3 FW can be a little bright as well.  You may prefer 8.0.0.

I for one am convinced that the Devialet Expert series are very close to the theoretical ideal of a straight wire with gain, provided they are a match with the speakers in terms of power and load.

It is clear; however that the DEVs do not like 2 ohm loads, so if your speakers dip into this territory, your problem may lie there.

None of the Devs will sound like tidal amps. They are euphonically beautiful, but euphonic nonetheless.

If you system is bright, the fault lies either in the mismatch between the speakers and the amps, or it lies elsewhere in the system.

Kerry

[kw1373]

Thanks guys for the feedback.

Looks like you are mostly saying Devialet brightness and glare come from the source.

My source is a Naim Unitiserve, connected via digital coaxial.

I am getting a new speaker cable (Acoustic Revive Triple C) which should complement (warmish and full bodied).

What intrigued me is the Wyred 4 Source device. How does that work? Who else has tried it?