Devialet 200 in the house..

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Midwest fly over state..
..on loan for the weekend. I won't bore with all the audiophile-speak but suffice it to say it's a far cry from what I'm used to listening through...MC500 and MC501s. Not to say the MACs are bad but the 200 is in another league when it comes to definition so much so I'm not quite sure yet. I've been playing lots of stuff at volume just to see if fatigue sets in. So far not so much. I rarely ask my lovely wife to assist in eqpt auditions but did this time and although she's certainly no audiophile she has incredible hearing...and an incredible memory...can I get an amen? After playing several tracks of her stuff she consistently said she preferred the Devialet over the MAC lineup. I was using the line level inputs on the 200 fed from my Lumin A1...didn't have a long enough digital coax cable. If I do go with the Devialet I'll probably spring for the 2nd 200 and have the monoblock 400 setup. I hope Robert Harley wasn't blowing smoke when he said the 400 substantially betters the 200 alone. I would appreciate hearing if opinions mirror his...thoughts? Thanks in advance..
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,806
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Portugal
..on loan for the weekend. I won't bore with all the audiophile-speak but suffice it to say it's a far cry from what I'm used to listening through...MC500 and MC501s. Not to say the MACs are bad but the 200 is in another league when it comes to definition so much so I'm not quite sure yet. I've been playing lots of stuff at volume just to see if fatigue sets in. So far not so much. I rarely ask my lovely wife to assist in eqpt auditions but did this time and although she's certainly no audiophile she has incredible hearing...and an incredible memory...can I get an amen? After playing several tracks of her stuff she consistently said she preferred the Devialet over the MAC lineup. I was using the line level inputs on the 200 fed from my Lumin A1...didn't have a long enough digital coax cable. If I do go with the Devialet I'll probably spring for the 2nd 200 and have the monoblock 400 setup. I hope Robert Harley wasn't blowing smoke when he said the 400 substantially betters the 200 alone. I would appreciate hearing if opinions mirror his...thoughts? Thanks in advance..

Still evaluating my 400's after almost two months. Yes, unfortunately the 400's sound better than the 200. ;) The Devialet is very sensitive to power cords and source - I preferred the AES/EBU input using my Metronome to USB from a laptop.

One think is true - it sounds different from anything else I have hosted.
 

Barry2013

VIP/Donor
Oct 12, 2013
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Essex UK
Still evaluating my 400's after almost two months. Yes, unfortunately the 400's sound better than the 200. ;) The Devialet is very sensitive to power cords and source - I preferred the AES/EBU input using my Metronome to USB from a laptop.

One think is true - it sounds different from anything else I have hosted.

It would be worth asking Guillaume who is the secretary of the Devialet owners club here in the UK.
He's a big fan of the Entreq grounding and cables on his Devialet 800
 

Orb

New Member
Sep 8, 2010
3,010
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0
Still evaluating my 400's after almost two months. Yes, unfortunately the 400's sound better than the 200. ;) The Devialet is very sensitive to power cords and source - I preferred the AES/EBU input using my Metronome to USB from a laptop.

One think is true - it sounds different from anything else I have hosted.

Funny enough I also preferred AES/EBU (has nothing to do with loudness preference in this case) when I used to own a Devialet (but this would had been the earlier model).
Cheers
Orb
 

Orb

New Member
Sep 8, 2010
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Why do you no longer own the Devialet?

I was an early adopter so had a model before the current ones that are improvements, back then was deciding whether to go dual Premiers and had a really good offer made for mine while also the dealer offered his demo Dartzeel 8550 integrated at a reasonable price in exchange.
The Dartzeel+good DAC is definitely superior IMO to that of the Devialet Premier in dual setup, I also like to have the option to decide on digital filter option (my preference is for minimum/linear phase).
Things have progressed a lot though with Devialet since those days and the new products and would probably be a tough call between the two (Devialet vs Dartzeel+DAC), just down to preferences now.

Cheers
Orb
 

kevinkwann

Well-Known Member
Oct 14, 2010
134
9
925
Kidneystone-on-Trent
I was an early adopter so had a model before the current ones that are improvements, back then was deciding whether to go dual Premiers and had a really good offer made for mine while also the dealer offered his demo Dartzeel 8550 integrated at a reasonable price in exchange.
The Dartzeel+good DAC is definitely superior IMO to that of the Devialet Premier in dual setup, I also like to have the option to decide on digital filter option (my preference is for minimum/linear phase).
Things have progressed a lot though with Devialet since those days and the new products and would probably be a tough call between the two (Devialet vs Dartzeel+DAC), just down to preferences now.

Cheers
Orb

Thank you!
 

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
1,577
35
970
Midwest fly over state..
..quick update: the 200 I have on loan will NOT play DSD files so am using its line level inputs. Luckily my Lumin A1 has an equally good DAC. Hopefully the latest version plays DSD otherwise this isn't the gold standard it's professed to be. It does however sound wonderful!
 

GuillaumeB

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Mar 10, 2014
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UK
www.boyeraudio.com
..quick update: the 200 I have on loan will NOT play DSD files so am using its line level inputs. Luckily my Lumin A1 has an equally good DAC. Hopefully the latest version plays DSD otherwise this isn't the gold standard it's professed to be. It does however sound wonderful!

Do you know which version of firmware you are running? Hold down the mute button on the remote and you will get the info screens. The latest version (8.1.2) supports DOP (DSD 64) over any digital input (SPDIF, AES or USB).

Guillaume
 

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
1,577
35
970
Midwest fly over state..
...will do thank you!
 

mauidan

Member Sponsor
Aug 2, 2010
1,512
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Pukalani, HI
..quick update: the 200 I have on loan will NOT play DSD files so am using its line level inputs. Luckily my Lumin A1 has an equally good DAC. Hopefully the latest version plays DSD otherwise this isn't the gold standard it's professed to be. It does however sound wonderful!

First, you should connect the D200 to the digital output of your Lumin A1.(you can get a BNC to RCA adapter at Radio Shack if you need one). This will eliminate the ADC stage.

Second to see the Firmware version, you press and hold the tone button, not the mute button.

Finally, with Firmware 8.1.2 loaded, only DSD 64 (DSD 1X) is supported and it gets converted via:

MAT®, Minimal Arithmetic Transform: DSD Engine:

MAT® converts DSD into 40bit/384 kHz, thanks to an optimised algorithm limiting the amount of computational operations on the audio stream. Using only 15 bit perfect additions (no multiplication, no storage) MAT algorithm performs a 128 taps, linear phase FIR (Finite Impulse Response) digital filter ensuring the conversion of the DSD format into the internal native PCM format.
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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(...)

Finally, with Firmware 8.1.2 loaded, only DSD 64 (DSD 1X) is supported and it gets converted via:

MAT®, Minimal Arithmetic Transform: DSD Engine:

MAT® converts DSD into 40bit/384 kHz, thanks to an optimised algorithm limiting the amount of computational operations on the audio stream. Using only 15 bit perfect additions (no multiplication, no storage) MAT algorithm performs a 128 taps, linear phase FIR (Finite Impulse Response) digital filter ensuring the conversion of the DSD format into the internal native PCM format.

According to a Stereophile review the Devialet uses Burr-Brown PCM1792 chips—a high-quality, 24-bit, two-channel, current-output device operating at up to 192kHz.
How does it handle the 384 kHz?
 

mauidan

Member Sponsor
Aug 2, 2010
1,512
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Pukalani, HI
According to a Stereophile review the Devialet uses Burr-Brown PCM1792 chips—a high-quality, 24-bit, two-channel, current-output device operating at up to 192kHz.
How does it handle the 384 kHz?

Good question.

I just sent them an email and asked.
 

CharlesL

Well-Known Member
Jun 3, 2014
18
0
51
..quick update: the 200 I have on loan will NOT play DSD files so am using its line level inputs. Luckily my Lumin A1 has an equally good DAC. Hopefully the latest version plays DSD otherwise this isn't the gold standard it's professed to be. It does however sound wonderful!

I got my 200 a couple weeks ago. Initially I fed it through toslink from my Denon SA1 CD player. The sound has been excellent and very satisfying. I also have a Lumin A1, so a few days back I started experimenting with it. I enabled the A1's digital out and DoP (don't go DSD, as the 200 only takes DoP), I was able to play both pcm and DSF files. However, the SQ wasn't very good. So I tried to listen through the analogue out (to Line input of the 200) and the sound was excellent. The Devialet line amp, even with the AD conversion, is competent. I shouldn't be too surprised, as I was previously quite impressed by its phono amp.

Then yesterday I swapped out the digital cable (which is just an ordinary RCA cable using a BNC adaptor) between the Lumin and the Devialet with a 75 ohm video cable. The SQ improved. Now I can listen to DSF files with much enjoyment. :)The point is that the digital cable between seems to matter.
 

mauidan

Member Sponsor
Aug 2, 2010
1,512
11
36
Pukalani, HI
According to a Stereophile review the Devialet uses Burr-Brown PCM1792 chips—a high-quality, 24-bit, two-channel, current-output device operating at up to 192kHz.
How does it handle the 384 kHz?

From Devialet:

In all our Expert units, we use one 1792 chip per channel allowing a doubled bandwidth compared to stereo designs employing only one chip.The audio resolution you mention is our computational resolution in our various processors and has to be seen as a maximum value.
 

CharlesL

Well-Known Member
Jun 3, 2014
18
0
51
First, you should connect the D200 to the digital output of your Lumin A1.(you can get a BNC to RCA adapter at Radio Shack if you need one). This will eliminate the ADC stage.

Second to see the Firmware version, you press and hold the tone button, not the mute button.

Finally, with Firmware 8.1.2 loaded, only DSD 64 (DSD 1X) is supported and it gets converted via:

MAT®, Minimal Arithmetic Transform: DSD Engine:

MAT® converts DSD into 40bit/384 kHz, thanks to an optimised algorithm limiting the amount of computational operations on the audio stream. Using only 15 bit perfect additions (no multiplication, no storage) MAT algorithm performs a 128 taps, linear phase FIR (Finite Impulse Response) digital filter ensuring the conversion of the DSD format into the internal native PCM format.

I tried both line-in (analogue) and digital in (DoP out from Lumin) from the A1. I think the A1 renders DSD better than the Devialet (D200), although through the analogue in, there is a slight trace of sibilance at the top.
 

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