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D200 Cable sensitivity (mains / interconnect / speaker)
#1
Still a bit of a virtual-Devialet user - hoping to hear one up in Lisbon soon (nothing down here in the Algarve) - so be gentle with me.  Angel

I'm moving on from Naim olive series but hoping to keep my Dynaudio Contour 1.8 MKII floorstanders, even though there's no chance of them getting (needing?) SAM.  I've decided in principle on a D200, but I don't want to get into messing around with mains / interconnect / speaker cables like I did before.

I've seen some discussion about upgrading the mains cable but would like some input on just how sensitive the D200 is to cables.

1. What's wrong with the stock power cable?  I don't have and cannot install a dedicated mains spur, and am not about to spring for a £500 Power-Line.  Alternatives / comments?

2. I was using NACA5 speaker cable which has gone with the Naim system.  Suggestions for sensibly-priced cables for the D200?

3. I've used Chord interconnects for some time - are they OK for the D200 or are others recommended / needed?  I need to connect a CD transport and a Squeezebox Touch (digital output).  The stock cables on my LP12 will stay but I'll have to change the terminations from BNC to RCA.

I had rather hoped to hear that the D200 was relatively insensitive to cables but it seems this is not the case.  Sad  Are we on the verge of a "Cables" sub-forum?  I hope not!  Wink
Lounge : D200, Dynaudio Contour 1.8 Mk II, Squeezebox Touch, Musical Fidelity X-Ray (CD Transport), Linn LP12/Ittok 3/Dynavector DV10x5, Chord Clearway & Carnival cables; Study : Squeezebox Touch, Revox PR99 MkII, NAD D 3020, Epos K1; Terrace: Squeezebox Touch, Audioengine A5+; Garage : Squeezebox 2; Rotel  RA-820BX, MA R252; assorted other Squeezebox products dotted around the place; Music Server : iMac 5K 32GB 3TB fusion drive, OSX & BootCamp W10, LMS, FLAC / MP3; Router : Huawei B310 4G; Ripping : dBpoweramp; Library Management : MediaMonkey; Location : East Algarve, Portugal



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#2
The stock power cord is perfectly good. Devialet is probably as sensitive to power cords as most other equipment is. The good news is that speaker cables are not so much of an issue due to the very high damping factor of the amp, though improvements can still be made.
I've gone the route of dedicated mains, grounding etc. but I would have regardless of the equipment I was using as it can be a reasonably cheap way of getting a decent improvement. Fortunately with Devialet it's so much simpler to determine which changes are positive due to not having multiple components.
Chord make great cables. I use their cheapest USB cable and it's excellent!
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#3
Wink 
(06-Feb-2015, 20:33)Rufus McDufus Wrote: The stock power cord is perfectly good. Devialet is probably as sensitive to power cords as most other equipment is. The good news is that speaker cables are not so much of an issue due to the very high damping factor of the amp, though improvements can still be made.
<rest deleted>

Well I read through the <Power Cables> thread in <Tweaker's Corner> and it was scary  Big Grin.  Thought I could leave some/all of this behind!  

Trying things down where I live is a non-starter so I have to rely on opinions and occasional shop demos up in Lisbon (2+ hours away) and even then they don't have the range that is readily available in the UK etc.  Plus I need Schuko of course (Portugal).

Guess I'll suck it and see starting with stock mains cables, Chord interconnects and whatever someone suggests for speaker cables that I can actually get over here.

Obrigado e boa noite 
Lounge : D200, Dynaudio Contour 1.8 Mk II, Squeezebox Touch, Musical Fidelity X-Ray (CD Transport), Linn LP12/Ittok 3/Dynavector DV10x5, Chord Clearway & Carnival cables; Study : Squeezebox Touch, Revox PR99 MkII, NAD D 3020, Epos K1; Terrace: Squeezebox Touch, Audioengine A5+; Garage : Squeezebox 2; Rotel  RA-820BX, MA R252; assorted other Squeezebox products dotted around the place; Music Server : iMac 5K 32GB 3TB fusion drive, OSX & BootCamp W10, LMS, FLAC / MP3; Router : Huawei B310 4G; Ripping : dBpoweramp; Library Management : MediaMonkey; Location : East Algarve, Portugal



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#4
I moved from naim nait xs a d120:
Speaker cables: started with Naca and tried a few other brands. There is certainly differences I heard amongst those cables. Now I am settling down with Vertere x-mini for the time being. Compares Vertere and Naca, I felt Vertere is able to present a bit more details without being clinical. Bass is particularly tighter. Image is more 3D, I could picture the different layers (or depth) of the image of instruments.
Power cable: been only using an AET evo hin. Am still exploring options.
USB: not using at the moment, just AIR. Previously tried Vertere d-fi, audioquest coffee, furutech gt2. I liked Vertere with an Aqvox PSU best. That was why I moved speaker cables to Vertere.



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#5
Devialet amps have switched mode power supplies + an in-built mains filter and should be far less sensitive to mains cable-borne interference (RFI, DC offset) than amps with linear power supplies. I have seen no credible explanation of why mains cables could make a difference to the sound of an SMPS-powered amp.

Despite this the two mains cables that I tried - MusicWorks Revive Lite and Naim Powerline - did both make a difference.... I preferred the latter but rejected it as the IEC connector doesn't fit under the rear cover of the Devialet. If you don't mind leaving the rear cover off then they're a good alternative to the standard cable. There are plenty of used ones around for approx. £375 - a decent saving off the £495 list price.

The Powerline made a much more significant difference when used on my Naim NDX streamer (which has a linear PS) than when used on my amp.
IMac macOS 10.15.3 (no link to Devialet Sad ) / MacBook Pro Retina OS X 10.14.4 / Linn LP12 / Devialet 200 Wilson Benesch Discovery. 
Qobuz Desktop Latest Version / Audirvana 3.2.18 / Audirvana Remote / iTunes 12.9 / AIR 3.0.4 / Wi-Fi / FW 8.1.0 / SAM 50%
Cambridge, UK (Updated 27th February, 2020)
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