09-Aug-2018, 10:56
(09-Aug-2018, 08:28)audio_engr Wrote: I purchased my D400 (200-Master & 200-Companion) in March 2016. I bought them from a dealer in Frankfurt & imported them to Sierra Leone (West Africa) where I was working & living. Unfortunately in West Africa, UPS or FedEx do not function hence I couldn't take the advantage of Devialet's upgrade programs. Since early 2018, I have moved to the US and the upgrade program has once opened up. For my D400 to become 440-PRO, it would cost me $ 7,995.If I had money to burn, I might buy a Roon Nucleus - which I don’t. Instead I bought a well specified desktop tower, directly connected to the router and my music is stored on an external hard drive connected to the computer purely as a Roon server. This is in a different room from my main music set up. I connect my Devialet by Ethernet over powerlines. I leave the computer on. Occasionally I need to log on to for Windows software updates. I load and/or amend music files over the network. This is less than a third of the cost of the Roon Nucleus.
My long-term plans regarding source playback would be to have a Roon Nucleus Server, feeding a dCS Network Bridge endpoint via Ethernet with a Mutec REF-10 clock. The dCS Network Bridge would feed the Devialet via AES/EBU digital.
Question - 1
Spending $ 8,000 for my D400 to get to 440-PRO and then, spend [Roon Nucleus + dCS network bridge + Mutec REF-10 + cables], in your humble opinion ... is it worth it ? OR simply get the [Roon Nucleus + dCS Network Bridge + Mutec REF-10 + cables] and forget about the Devialet upgrade ?
Question - 2
To what extent is the D400 to 440-PRO upgrade justifiable and how much of a sonic difference is there ? I mean does it justify spending $ 8,000 ?
Folks, I am seeking some serious & sincere help as Devialet's $ 8,000 is just driving me nuts.
Looking fwd to some recommendations ... Thank You !
In other words - an upgrade to 440, is likely to deliver noticeable benefits in terms of both sound quality. A Roon Nucleus is a nice to have, but unlikely to deliver the same SQ improvements.