Robert Harley on the D200/400

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http://en.devialet.com/reviews/the-futur...reless-dac

[Charlemagne]

The review emphasises the upgrade from a Dev 200 to a Dev 400 and the effect on the SQ. Here is a direct link to the PDF:

http://en.devialet.com/assets/blog/TAS-2...00-400.pdf

The Devialet 200/400 is, by a wide margin, the most advanced, flexible, and technically sophisticated audio product I’ve reviewed. It may look like a lifestyle product, but underneath the 200/400 is a serious piece of audiophile hardware. It’s a compelling package that just happens to sound great, too.

[AaronG]

I'm suspicious of that claim. Won't that be very speaker specific and reflect both its power demands and its impedance curve? My speakers are rated 120 max. Will I be able to hear this difference on a pair of Avantgarde horns? (Not to suggest that it might not make a huge difference on a particular pair of speakers, or maybe difficult to drive speakers in general)

As an aside the Absolute Sound has really become a mediocre manufacturer's shill in comparison to its glory days (REG, Olsher and a few others excepted). Stereophile is now far superior both in terms of interesting content and in terms of the utility of the reviews.

[f1eng]

Now that is a splendid review!

[Damon]

Yes indeed; almost embarrassing in its enthusiasm. But it is nice to have another complimentary review, and it always surprises me when someone compares a Devialet with amplification costing $150,000.00. Of course, $150 K on electronics is a bit amazing anyway.

But RH notes the D120 is not capable of supporting MM cartridges, or variable cartage loading. I checked the configurator, and it appears to me that the current firmware does both MC & MM as well as offering variable resistance settings.

Have I missed something, or is this discrepancy likely an equipment update that occurred between review and printing? It is not a big issue to me as I'm not using a TT at the moment, but I am probably going to give it a go again in the future.

[thumb5]

Yes indeed; almost embarrassing in its enthusiasm. But it is nice to have another complimentary review, and it always surprises me when someone compares a Devialet with amplification costing $150,000.00. Of course, $150 K on electronics is a bit amazing anyway.

But RH notes the D120 is not capable of supporting MM cartridges, or variable cartage loading. I checked the configurator, and it appears to me that the current firmware does both MC & MM as well as offering variable resistance settings.

Have I missed something, or is this discrepancy likely an equipment update that occurred between review and printing? It is not a big issue to me as I'm not using a TT at the moment, but I am probably going to give it a go again in the future.

I might well be wrong, but I recall the 110/120 originally had a simpler phono stage (MM-only, without adjustable loading) but has since been upgraded to support the "advanced" MM/MC phono stage with adjustable loading.  Not sure whether this was simply a firmware upgrade revealing capabilities of existing hardware, or whether it was a change to the hardware build.

Devialet's web site doesn't seem to be self-consistent about this: the comparison table shows MM-only phono support, whereas the 120-specific page (probably more recently updated) says it supports both MM and MC.

Maybe someone who has a 120 can nail this down?