Has anyone heard the Devialet D-Premier Integrated Amp/DAC
- Thread starter FrantzM
- Start date
It seems we have competition
I guess it was just a matter of time tho.
http://www.monoandstereo.com/2013/01/wadia-intuition-01.html
I guess it was just a matter of time tho.http://www.monoandstereo.com/2013/01/wadia-intuition-01.html
It seems we have competition
http://www.monoandstereo.com/2013/01/wadia-intuition-01.html
Thanks for pointing it. Perfection is becoming more perfect!
It seems we have competition
http://www.monoandstereo.com/2013/01/wadia-intuition-01.html
To me a worthwhile trend toward simpler systems. This product looks stunning too.
It seems we have competition
http://www.monoandstereo.com/2013/01/wadia-intuition-01.html
Somehow it looks like a half-exploded anti-tank mine.
People really get very emotional when some one criticizes equipment they love and forget that most of it is system and room matching.
I have evaluated the Devialet twice in my room, and still can not have a definitive opinion. It has great bass delineation, it is very powerful, a clear mid-range but in my system and room it failed to reproduce some types of music that rely on rhythm and emotion. Take the well known "Buena Vista Social Club" . It sounded boring and lifeless, independently of volume. However some types of classical orchestral music sounded great - the bass and attack could delineate the room space better than many other more expensive systems.
Unhappily I did not manage to solve this strange imbroglio of like -dislike and had to return it. However I still feel it was an unfinished affair ...
Ah I have been away for awhile... making me smile you tried it a couple of times now micro
Just curious, both home auditions done with the dual mono setup (apologies I cannot remember from past discussions) ?
Just to add to what has been discussed in the last 15 or so pages.
You know my thoughts that the Devialet is an incredibly impressive product but its real strength seems to lay with 2 monos connected, which improves smoothness, slight mid bass weight gain, and better integration for mids-highs in my subjective opinion.
But, I think you touch on one aspect that sort of pushed me away (although I still strongly recommend others listen to the dual setup as it is exceptional), and that is the sound I would say is more cerebral rather than emotional; this is being a bit unfair as this is a crude statement and the Devialet with the right music can be one of the most engaging products out there but I felt my tastes were off tangent from what I call reference neutral.
I do think it is one of the best reference products especially at its price when considered as a tool to hear the music as it is truly portrayed, and absolutely perfect for reviewers-audio manufacturers-etc.
Putting that aside, I still feel the Devialet produced the delicate finesse of instruments superbly and better than I have heard from many other solid state, and this is enticing to all.
The one aspect missing I feel is the capability to tweak the sound to shift subtly away from the reference center, but I think a lot of us forget what reference level neutrality sounds like; controversial statement I know
I also include myself in that statement btw, but it is interesting which reviewers come out to say just how great the Devialet is - all those that do keep a balanced mind to reference sound reproduction without colouration.
Still, its one weakness IMO is that I feel it lacks some of the weight-presence in the lower-to-mid bass when compared to more conventional high end amp with large transformer and power supply storage, but this is countered by the finesse and delicate nature of the sound that can be reproduced.
That said it is still an excellent audio product that has set standards for its price IMO, and for some it is the perfect product while others will have tastes that may subtly send them somewhere else, that is the joy of this hobby in that it is guaranteed to be diverse.
Some new members may not realise I was lucky to purchase D-Premier at the very early life of Devialet just before the 1st review was even done here in Europe, and owned this for quite awhile with extensive dual mono listening at home up to and including the release of the wireless upgrade.
So I have been fortunate to experience just how this product has matured and improved sound wise with each software upgrade, as have a few others - not forgotten you Bernard
Edit:
And just to say, this is one of only a few products that can be thought of as reference neutral that does not destroy the enjoyment of listening to music that is poorly recorded, nor does it ever cause listening fatigue.
Cheers
Orb
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Ah I have been away for awhile... making me smile you tried it a couple of times now micro
Just curious, both home auditions done with the dual mono setup (apologies I cannot remember from past discussions) ?
Just to add to what has been discussed in the last 15 or so pages.
You know my thoughts that the Devialet is an incredibly impressive product but its real strength seems to lay with 2 monos connected, which improves smoothness, slight mid bass weight gain, and better integration for mids-highs in my subjective opinion.
But, I think you touch on one aspect that sort of pushed me away (although I still strongly recommend others listen to the dual setup as it is exceptional), and that is the sound I would say is more cerebral rather than emotional; this is being a bit unfair as this is a crude statement and the Devialet with the right music can be one of the most engaging products out there but I felt my tastes were off tangent from what I call reference neutral.
I do think it is one of the best reference products especially at its price when considered as a tool to hear the music as it is truly portrayed, and absolutely perfect for reviewers-audio manufacturers-etc.
Putting that aside, I still feel the Devialet produced the delicate finesse of instruments superbly and better than I have heard from many other solid state, and this is enticing to all.
The one aspect missing I feel is the capability to tweak the sound to shift subtly away from the reference center, but I think a lot of us forget what reference level neutrality sounds like; controversial statement I know
I also include myself in that statement btw, but it is interesting which reviewers come out to say just how great the Devialet is - all those that do keep a balanced mind to reference sound reproduction without colouration.
Still, its one weakness IMO is that I feel it lacks some of the weight-presence in the lower-to-mid bass when compared to more conventional high end amp with large transformer and power supply storage, but this is countered by the finesse and delicate nature of the sound that can be reproduced.
That said it is still an excellent audio product that has set standards for its price IMO, and for some it is the perfect product while others will have tastes that may subtly send them somewhere else, that is the joy of this hobby in that it is guaranteed to be diverse.
Some new members may not realise I was lucky to purchase D-Premier at the very early life of Devialet just before the 1st review was even done here in Europe, and owned this for quite awhile with extensive dual mono listening at home up to and including the release of the wireless upgrade.
So I have been fortunate to experience just how this product has matured and improved sound wise with each software upgrade, as have a few others - not forgotten you Bernard
Edit:
And just to say, this is one of only a few products that can be thought of as reference neutral that does not destroy the enjoyment of listening to music that is poorly recorded, nor does it ever cause listening fatigue.
Cheers
Orb
I too use dual mono Devialets, with both Quad 2905s and Magico Q1s.
On the finest recordings, particularly live performances, the sound is exceptional. The best I have heard.
Furthermore the latest software has bass, treble and balance controls adjustable in fine steps in the digital domain. Balance, for example, can be adjusted in 1% steps from 100% right to 100% left. So both room imbalance and recording imbalance can be adjusted, to a degree.
Inevitably you will hear the shortcomings of poor recordings - perhaps more starkly with the Devialet, particularly with the Magico Q1s. That is no criticism of either unit - just the reality of the quality of some CDs out there.
Heya Ian glad your enjoying the dual mono setup
Hopefully my post has not come across as critical with regards to reference neutrality, because the D-Premier has my respect in that it does this much better than most other products claimed to be colour-free; as I mentioned never causes fatigue and critically all recordings can still be enjoyed, where other systems can make this painful when listening to poor recordings.
I feel Devialet handle poor recordings incredibly well for a neutral-colour free sounding product.
Also I was happy to read about the addition of bass-treble, and this may had been just what I needed, unfortunately when I was in discussion about this and other possibilities such as digital filters at the time they did not see this as a priority they could commit to (rightly so I guess due to wireless and continued performance enhancements via the system firmware).
Interestingly what I swapped to is not necessarily better as the Devialet still does some aspects better, and the cost to attain that marginal taste improvement cost me around £7k more than the dual mono.
Just to re-emphasise; IMO everyone should take a lengthy audition of the Devialet in dual mono for a true high end reference setup, I am still a very big fan and still miss what it did very well.
Cheers
Orb
Hopefully my post has not come across as critical with regards to reference neutrality, because the D-Premier has my respect in that it does this much better than most other products claimed to be colour-free; as I mentioned never causes fatigue and critically all recordings can still be enjoyed, where other systems can make this painful when listening to poor recordings.
I feel Devialet handle poor recordings incredibly well for a neutral-colour free sounding product.
Also I was happy to read about the addition of bass-treble, and this may had been just what I needed, unfortunately when I was in discussion about this and other possibilities such as digital filters at the time they did not see this as a priority they could commit to (rightly so I guess due to wireless and continued performance enhancements via the system firmware).
Interestingly what I swapped to is not necessarily better as the Devialet still does some aspects better, and the cost to attain that marginal taste improvement cost me around £7k more than the dual mono.
Just to re-emphasise; IMO everyone should take a lengthy audition of the Devialet in dual mono for a true high end reference setup, I am still a very big fan and still miss what it did very well.
Cheers
Orb
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What type of cable do you use to connect the two Devialet mono units? As most users report sound differences when they change the digital cable feeding the Devialet input, in extreme cases we would have the left amplifier sounding different from the right one.
Hi Orb
Yes I did not take your comments as a criticism. I just think they have got the product right and, in my experience, at the top of the sound quality league. There are far bigger things to deal with in getting a good sound - no least the room and the loudspeakers.
As a piece of "fit and forget" electronics, the Devialet delivers.
Yes I did not take your comments as a criticism. I just think they have got the product right and, in my experience, at the top of the sound quality league. There are far bigger things to deal with in getting a good sound - no least the room and the loudspeakers.
As a piece of "fit and forget" electronics, the Devialet delivers.
I use Missing Link Cryo Reference digital in very short lengths for CD transport to Devialet and for interconnecting the Devialets; and I use Missing Link Cryo Reference for the Devialets to the loudspeakers. Missing Link is a small UK company run by an engineer with years of experience in both recording and domestic audio.
I've not tried other digital cables since I have the opinion that once the cables are well made by an engineer who knows the relevant criteria, the issue becomes irrelevant. I would be persuaded to think otherwise if differences were reliably identified in double blind tests - something which I doubt we will ever see.
As I said in another post, there are, IMO, far bigger things to address in the listening chain, specifically, loudspeakers, rooms and recordings. Each, IMO, significantly more variable than electronics variations.
It seems we have competition
http://www.monoandstereo.com/2013/01/wadia-intuition-01.html
An imitator but with a rather squashed shape and an odd architecture - ugly rather than sleek and with a garish display IMO.
I did not have the time to try different digital cables, but tried different power cables with the Devialet when I had it in my system, and the difference was rather big - one particular good quality, well engineered power cable made it sound rather poor. I only had one unit. YMMV.
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