Devialet - use of its phono stage

[docvale]

I cannot hide I'm truly fascinated by Devialet gear. They look like the Swiss army knives of hi-fi: streamer, dac, preamp, amp, speaker optimization, headphone amp and, also, "universal" phono stage. They look gorgeous and even my wife finds them attractive

The latter is something intriguing to me, as, per my use, I like to spin vinyl 90% of my focused listenings*

Devialet has a heretic approach, to these regards: the analog signal is converted to digital after the first gain stage, RIAA equalization occurs in the digital domain and, finally, the signal returns analog just before the power amp stage.

As a gear enthusiast, this dynamic sounds odd: should I "tolerate" this double conversion?
As a music lover, I'd just say: "if it sounds good, who cares about how many times you convert the signal?"

So, I'd like to collect some opinions from people that are enjoying (or that decided to drop) Devialet to be used with an analog front end

* at the end of the day, this represents very very little of my time. Being the father of a 10-month old girl, music is now just background listening 99% of the time!

 

[rockitman]

That would be the last thing I would ever want... My analog being converted to digital in the phono section.

 

[Garth]

...

 

[audio.bill]

That would be the last thing I would ever want... My analog being converted to digital in the phono section.

As an analog devotee I would tend to agree with you, but I wouldn't mind trying it in my system before condemning it. I've been surprised by many products before in high end audio, whose performance sometimes greatly exceeds what I would have expected from an engineering viewpoint.

 

[FrantzM]

You got the shakes just thinking about that. Devialet is better than you think. I am not buying one but it surprised me. You can use a phono stage with them and bypass the Devialet phono.

Just think Rocketman you could have a yard sale a big one. just kidding

You still will incur an ADC then a DAC. The DeVialet is entirely Digital , even its analog input get to be digitized prior to amplification...

 

[colonel66]

The Devialet phono stage is excellent. Happily sold my ARC Ref 2 and now use the Devialet phono stage.

This talk of heresey re conversion to digital and back is supposition and not based on actual experience.

 

[Garth]

...

 

[docvale]

That would be the last thing I would ever want... My analog being converted to digital in the phono section.

That is exactly the first though an audiophile should/would have... but would you be curious to check how it sounds?

 

[rockitman]

That is exactly the first though an audiophile should/would have... but would you be curious to check how it sounds?

I would definitely plug it in if someone brought it over to my system to check it out. Will it be better than my standalone analog Pass XP-25 or Allnic H5000 DHT ? I doubt it.

 

[ack]

That is exactly the first though an audiophile should/would have... but would you be curious to check how it sounds?

It's the same issue with plugging in DSP into your chain - a conversion can never be better than the original, and likely, worse. The problem is that with the Devialet's architecture you have no way of knowing how this conversion affects things, because there is no analog-only path in the unit to compare with. It probably is OK, but then again, how certain will you be... said otherwise, has anyone ever been convinced that an additional ADC-plus-DAC path will be equally good (if not detrimental) than a direct-analog path? Some would say yes, and to that I would say, wow, you have just found the absolute perfect ADC/DAC device! Having said all this, one might successfully argue that RIAA EQ is better done in digital than in analog, but how do you really know...

 

[rockitman]

has anyone ever been convinced that an additional ADC-plus-DAC path will be equally good (if not detrimental) than a direct-analog path? Some would say yes, and to that I would say, wow, you have just found the absolute perfect ADC/DAC device!

I'm in the "No" crowd. You lose some micro detail, space and timbre during the A/D process. No getting around it when we talk analog mastered titles.

 

[docvale]

It's the same issue with plugging in DSP into your chain - a conversion can never be better than the original, and likely, worse. The problem is that with the Devialet's architecture you have no way of knowing how this conversion affects things, because there is no analog-only path in the unit to compare with. It probably is OK, but then again, how certain will you be... said otherwise, has anyone ever been convinced that an additional ADC-plus-DAC path will be equally good (if not detrimental) than a direct-analog path? Some would say yes, and to that I would say, wow, you have just found the absolute perfect ADC/DAC device! Having said all this, one might successfully argue that RIAA EQ is better done in digital than in analog, but how do you really know...

Interesting thoughts.
When I wrote that the Devialet is a heretic product, I meant exactly such these concerns. From the technical point of view, a double AD/DA conversion should just damage the sound. Notwithstanding, you might be allowed to gain something: better EQ? super-short signal path? or whatever...

My point is: would you be intrigued in being fouled by such this heretic approach? would you be happy or negatively concerned if, after listening to vinyl though Devialet, you'd enjoy it more (or on par) than your current system?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

if your musical desires are fulfilled with listening to PCM ripped vinyl, then the Devialet will possibly satisfy your vinyl playback needs. and that is a personal decision. there is no wrong answer.

for myself; I listen quite a bit to 2xdsd rips of vinyl (when I'm multi-tasking) off a very very good vinyl playback system. and I enjoy them plenty if I stay clear of my 'real' analog vinyl playback. the difference even for the 2xdsd rips to my 'big rig' vinyl is more than noticeable. and PCM rips are not as good as 2xdsd rips. so it would not be for me.

I'm not saying that vinyl rips, either PCM or 2xdsd, are not very nice and enjoyable. only that they fall short of the potential of the vinyl playback to my ears. is that important to you?

 

[rockitman]

if your musical desires are fulfilled with listening to PCM ripped vinyl, then the Devialet will possibly satisfy your vinyl playback needs.

That is exactly how I took the pill. I heard vinyl PCM rips 24/96 in 2010 and said, time to buy a vinyl rig and see how that sounds. Obviously for me the best decision I ever made. I pretty much felt I left a lot on the table musical enjoyment wise being digital only. My stereo became more enjoyable than I could ever of imagined. I had headwind thoughts of I can't get the records or issues I want. eBay solved that issue although your pockets need to be deep. There are so many great in print reissues across the music genre menu that it is not a good excuse not to try vinyl. This is someone who left vinyl in 1983.

 

[docvale]

Mike, the actual point is that, for many many reasons (experience, budget, tradition) our "community" is extremely diverse.
Here, we are speaking of a product that, with few thousands of $, might be a game changer for many audiophiles who cannot afford a half a million $ system.

I don't want to know whether the Devialet, when listening to analog, is better than anything on the market. "Better than anything" is not even supposed to exist in our community (think about digital vs analog or solid state vs tube debates).

My question is: can the Devialet vinyl experience be enjoyable for a music lover that wants the feeling and nuances that vinyl can give (at its various levels of performance), but he is available to give up with the most purist approach?
Would the Devialet 200 be better than a system comprehending a phono stage, a DAC and an integrated amp (plus the required cables) you might assemble with $10k and you'd like to use prevalently with vinyls?

If the answer to the second question is yes, I'd say that the Devialet would be a real game changer for a large chuck of audio enthusiasts.

 

[FrantzM]

Mike, the actual point is that, for many many reasons (experience, budget, tradition) our "community" is extremely diverse.
Here, we are speaking of a product that, with few thousands of $, might be a game changer for many audiophiles who cannot afford a half a million $ system.

I don't want to know whether the Devialet, when listening to analog, is better than anything on the market. "Better than anything" is not even supposed to exist in our community (think about digital vs analog or solid state vs tube debates).

My question is: can the Devialet vinyl experience be enjoyable for a music lover that wants the feeling and nuances that vinyl can give (at its various levels of performance), but he is available to give up with the most purist approach?
Would the Devialet 200 be better than a system comprehending a phono stage, a DAC and an integrated amp (plus the required cables) you might assemble with $10k and you'd like to use prevalently with vinyls?

If the answer to the second question is yes, I'd say that the Devialet would be a real game changer for a large chuck of audio enthusiasts.

Excellent post and would like to see the replies to the questions asked.

 

[rockitman]

If the answer to the second question is yes, I'd say that the Devialet would be a real game changer for a large chuck of audio enthusiasts.

That could be depending on who that large chunk is...Are you a dealer by any chance ?

 

[docvale]

That could be depending on who that large chunk is...Are you a dealer by any chance ?

Nope.
I'm a research scientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute @ NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center: http://pathology.med.nyu.edu/Pagano/People.html
My name is Valerio Donato and I come from Italy.

 

[rockitman]

Nope.
I'm a research scientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute @ NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center: http://pathology.med.nyu.edu/Pagano/People.html
My name is Valerio Donato and I come from Italy.

Nice to meet you Valerio. I lived in Firenze for my 6th grade year in 1974. I look forward to making it back someday (bucket list).

 

[docvale]

Nice to meet you Valerio. I lived in Firenze for my 6th grade year in 1974. I look forward to making it back someday (bucket list).

Nice meeting you too!

As you might guess from my job and previous posts (paying more than $30k/year for my daughter daycare tuitions) I'm not on the market for a half million dollar system. Something on the range of the Devialet could be the highest I would realistically imagine in my future.