Has anyone heard the Devialet D-Premier Integrated Amp/DAC

[Clugar]

Just did it. Needless to mention, it did not solve the problem. On the contrary, now my D-Premier is still visible from the iPad application, but iPad cannot adjust volume and/or switch sources. Funny enough, when I make adjustments using D-Premier remote, they show on the iPad. Other ideas?

a few suggestions:

1) power down your iPad completely (by pressing the longish button on the top until you see the power down symbol) and restart.

2) try to start your devices in varying sequences: First WIFI then D-P; first D-P then WIFI. The iPad may be on all the time.

3) What iOS are you running? in my case iOS6 always worked fine. Try to completely reinstall iOS on your iPad from a backup to correct any iPad related glitches.

 

[audiofeel]

a few suggestions:

1) power down your iPad completely (by pressing the longish button on the top until you see the power down symbol) and restart.

2) try to start your devices in varying sequences: First WIFI then D-P; first D-P then WIFI. The iPad may be on all the time.

3) What iOS are you running? in my case iOS6 always worked fine. Try to completely reinstall iOS on your iPad from a backup to correct any iPad related glitches.

I may not have made myself understood. What I am trying is to establish an ADHOC wifi connection Devialet <--> iPad. That is, WITHOUT an WiFi router involved. This option is offered in the Configurator under Air --> Advanced Features. The good news is, after I upgraded D-P firmware to 6.0.10 it seems that I may not need an ADHOC connection any more. With an AirPort Extreme router I get no more dropouts, just the odd clicks and scratches, every now and then, when the Wi-Fi network gets really abused by kids playing God knows what.

However, it is still annoying to me that I cannot nail that damned ADHOC connection.

 

[Nightmare]

Adhoc connection can be done between Mac/PC and Devialet.

 

[marcor]

I may not have made myself understood. What I am trying is to establish an ADHOC wifi connection Devialet <--> iPad. That is, WITHOUT an WiFi router involved. This option is offered in the Configurator under Air --> Advanced Features. The good news is, after I upgraded D-P firmware to 6.0.10 it seems that I may not need an ADHOC connection any more. With an AirPort Extreme router I get no more dropouts, just the odd clicks and scratches, every now and then, when the Wi-Fi network gets really abused by kids playing God knows what.

However, it is still annoying to me that I cannot nail that damned ADHOC connection.

an ADHOC configuration is not a very reliable WiFi connection. I managed to make it work between my computer and the D-premier but was very bad. Dropping continuously and having problems to hook up again. I asked Thierry and he said that it should be avoided as it is the weakest possible connection.
I never tried to do an ADHOC connection only with the Ipad though.
BTW I noticed as well that clicks and scratches pop up when something else is using the same bandwidth (for me the killer is my wife ipad). It is weird as my router can sustain a heavier traffic but still Devialet becomes very sketchy if something else use the network. I moved my wife ipad to the G5 band of the router and I sorted the problem. Most likely if you force your kids computer to use a G5 network you can limit the interferences with the Devialet

 

[Nightmare]

Adhoc should work very well and without any problems when the Devialet is placed quite near to the Mac/PC.
Before involving an additional AirPort Express I would try to connect the partners adhoc.

 

[marcor]

Fair enough, Probably my computer was too far away to establish a solid adhoc connection.
Anyway I never suggested the use of any additional airport express. Audiofeel said he is using an Extreme Router. If I am not mistaken apple router used a unique network for both 3 and 5 g network. If other device access the 3g network while streaming to the devialet I noticed you can have drops and crackles, but if you force the other connecting device (the kids computer) to access only the G5 you avoid to overload the network used for streaming.

 

[Nightmare]

No question. But an Airport Express placed near to the Devialet is hardly recommended by Devialet for an optimal WiFi.

 

[Ekmanc]

Has anyone upgraded their D-Premier to a 240 yet? it would be very interesting to hear some impressions of the sonic differences.

 

[Kingsrule]

Anyone interested in a mint D Premier please PM me.
I'm in the US, have all box, packing, etc.

 

[Bernie]

Has anyone upgraded their D-Premier to a 240 yet? it would be very interesting to hear some impressions of the sonic differences.

I just got mine back. Upgrade took from monday (pick up by FedEx in Germany) until tuesday of the next week. So very quick, new 240 packaging with new accessories. After maybe 5 hours of usage + 12 hours nightly burn in with an ISO Tek burn-in CD it sounds better than D-Premier in most areas. Bass is improved (more depth and control) highs and mids are as well improved, more transparency, less aggressive (even D-Premier was the least aggressive amp I ever had), more details. And it is still improving, guess it will still take some days. Temperature is about 6-8° cooler btw.
So the upgrade is absolutly worth the money.

 

[gatomusik]

Pleased to hear your positive comments about the D-Premier upgrade.

Upgrade availability has just begun for the U.S., where things do not happen as efficiently as in Europe. My unit is traveling from Texas to New York, then to Canada, where the upgrade is to be done. A bit nervous-making. I am still fretting about giving up the HDMI input, and hoping that the USB input on the upgrade will allow me to eliminate the wiring involved in a USB to SPDIF convertor.

Do you—or anyone—have any experience using the USB input on the D-240?

 

[Jupiter]

have got my upgraded D-Premier today. Used it per Ethernetcables from different manufacturers. The very best sounding is Audioquests Diamond. It is worth to feed the best sounding amp one can imagine and own.
Agree to 100% with Bernies impressions - also by using Air

I just got mine back. Upgrade took from monday (pick up by FedEx in Germany) until tuesday of the next week. So very quick, new 240 packaging with new accessories. After maybe 5 hours of usage + 12 hours nightly burn in with an ISO Tek burn-in CD it sounds better than D-Premier in most areas. Bass is improved (more depth and control) highs and mids are as well improved, more transparency, less aggressive (even D-Premier was the least aggressive amp I ever had), more details. And it is still improving, guess it will still take some days. Temperature is about 6-8° cooler btw.
So the upgrade is absolutly worth the money.

 

[Bernie]

has anyone compared the sound quality of WLAN with Ethernet ? Is there any advantage of Ethernet over WLAN ? Or vice versa ?

 

[Jupiter]

has anyone compared the sound quality of WLAN with Ethernet ? Is there any advantage of Ethernet over WLAN ? Or vice versa ?

As we all know, different Ethernetcables sound different. Thre are some which are thin sounding, others more fullbodied, others with a small stage, others with a wide stage. One has to make experiments with these cables.
The power cable for the Devialet can make very great differences too. Etc. etc. - a never ending story.

 

[microstrip]

Yesterday we had a listening session with a friend brand new Devialet 240 in my system. The D240 was taken from the box and was in burn-in playing at -20dB for about 36 hours before being connected to the Alexia's. Unfortunately we did not have an audiophile quality USB cable and the tests were carried with a cheap USB cable and JRiver installed in non optimized laptop.

Two aspects were immediately evident - the D240 is much more refined than the D-premier I had also hosted, lacking the harshness in high medium of the previous version in some voice recordings, but keeps its spectacular bass behavior, and second - it needs a decent power cable, the supplied cable compromises its sound quality. We used the only one we could connect to the D240 - an old 20A C19 Shunyata Anaconda Helix through the C19-C15 adapter.

Unfortunately there is not a Devialet sound I can briefly describe - I have never seen an electronic equipment so sensitive to cable quality. We used Transparent Audio Reference MM2, Crystal Dreamline amd Shunyata Orion speaker cables, and it could completely change the sound balance of the D240. It has shown a dangerous love for expensive top cables - we did not have the time try other possible candidates. But there is always a common trait - a very large and solid soundsatge, where everyone is firmly in position.

Just to end we tried it and without the PSAudio P10 regenerator - the P10 made it more "analog" , but one of my friends preferred it without, claiming it took some "byte" from the sound. USB and XLR AES/EBU of the same recording was a night and day difference.

IMHO I would need a long time of experiences to optimize the D240 to my speakers, room and preference. But the D240 is now gone to a far place ...

 

[Bernie]

USB and XLR AES/EBU of the same recording was a night and day difference.

so which one did you prefer ?

 

[Nightmare]

I have never seen an electronic equipment so sensitive to cable quality. We used Transparent Audio Reference MM2, Crystal Dreamline amd Shunyata Orion speaker cables, and it could completely change the sound balance of the D240. It has shown a dangerous love for expensive top cables - we did not have the time try other possible candidates.

I can not confirm that at all. Maybe it depends on the speakers?! As I mentioned before, we tried several speaker cables from the cheapest ones up to self named top level cables costing hundreds of bucks per meter. We tested it with a Gauder Cassiano Diamant and found no mentionable varieties in sound quality at all.

As we all know, different Ethernetcables sound different (...) thin sounding, (...) more fullbodied, (...) with a small stage, (...) with a wide stage

Do we?!

 

[Bernie]

I have never seen an electronic equipment so sensitive to cable quality.
It has shown a dangerous love for expensive top cables

Maybe the Devialet makes differences audible that other amps can not. Mine is so far best sounding with a solid core silver cable (German Highend) and a solid core power cable (Vovox from Switzerland). The Devialet seems to hate complex cable geometries. In most cases cables are used to fix issues in the tonal balance, this is not required with a Devialet and a good speaker.
Judging Cables is also not a quick thing as each cable needs to burn in for some time. Fresh out of the box most cables sound mediocre.

 

[Jupiter]

Yesterday we had a listening session with a friend brand new Devialet 240 in my system. The D240 was taken from the box and was in burn-in playing at -20dB for about 36 hours before being connected to the Alexia's. Unfortunately we did not have an audiophile quality USB cable and the tests were carried with a cheap USB cable and JRiver installed in non optimized laptop.

Two aspects were immediately evident - the D240 is much more refined than the D-premier I had also hosted, lacking the harshness in high medium of the previous version in some voice recordings, but keeps its spectacular bass behavior, and second - it needs a decent power cable, the supplied cable compromises its sound quality. We used the only one we could connect to the D240 - an old 20A C19 Shunyata Anaconda Helix through the C19-C15 adapter.

Unfortunately there is not a Devialet sound I can briefly describe - I have never seen an electronic equipment so sensitive to cable quality. We used Transparent Audio Reference MM2, Crystal Dreamline amd Shunyata Orion speaker cables, and it could completely change the sound balance of the D240. It has shown a dangerous love for expensive top cables - we did not have the time try other possible candidates. But there is always a common trait - a very large and solid soundsatge, where everyone is firmly in position.

Just to end we tried it and without the PSAudio P10 regenerator - the P10 made it more "analog" , but one of my friends preferred it without, claiming it took some "byte" from the sound. USB and XLR AES/EBU of the same recording was a night and day difference.

IMHO I would need a long time of experiences to optimize the D240 to my speakers, room and preference. But the D240 is now gone to a far place ...

Microstrip, thank you for this fine report! When the P10 regenerator seems to "took some byte from the sound" it is obvious that he has the wrong power cord. P10 has the same "sensitivity" against power cords than every high end stuff.
I use a PSAudio P3 for only the Devialet. It costs me one week of trials to have the right power cord which fits !! to the D-Premier. Surprisingly the JPS-Kaptovator, one of the seldom totally neutral "sounding" world class cables, sound to much dull. So I used some types of silver coated power cords to get more pepper into the sound. Now !!! with the 3 days old Devialet 240 the silvered cords sound to much bright and the JPS Kaptovator fits to 100% - one can expect from it.
Today I made a comparison between Ethernet (sorry for the extreme expensive Audioquest Diamond) and Air.
Ethernet gives a fresh sound with all details in front on a very wide stage. After that, Air sounds (in my case !!) rel. dull. I´m not in doubt: Ethernet is that thing I need.
Nightmare, you are right ! "We all know..." is nonsens. Some of us know.....

 

[microstrip]

Microstrip, thank you for this fine report! When the P10 regenerator seems to "took some byte from the sound" it is obvious that he has the wrong power cord. P10 has the same "sensitivity" against power cords than every high end stuff. (...)

Jupiter,
I knew that the Shunyata power cable was the wrong cable to use with the P10 - unfortunately due to the limitations of connectivity of the IEC power connect of the D240 I could not use other cables. This listening was very preliminary - it is why I listed all details, so people would know about the conditions and limitations.