docvale's new system

[docvale]

Hi guys,

this is my first post in a very long time, so there's lots of things to catch up with and, maybe, the need of a re-introduction.

I'm an Italian bio-medical scientist, based in the US since 2009. I started my audio journey as a teen, when my father told me "there's this hifi show at the Plaza hotel, why don't you go?", unaware of the consequences of that weekend afternoon...
For quite some time, I resuscitated his old system, adding a portable CD player from Technics and hooked through its line-out to a Lenco A50 and ESB 70L speakers, till, in 2001, I bought a Marantz CD4000 and a Rega Mira. Not long before moving to the US, I added a Copland CTA405 amplifier and a Technics SL1200Mk2 with Ortofon MC-3 Turbo, building a system that is now giving happiness to my brother.

Once in the US, I found myself in a small, noisy Manhattan studio apartment, quite discouraged to build a decent system. Ultimately, I settled with a NAD integrated, Focal 705V bookshelf speaker and an HRT Streamer plus as USB DAC. I met the woman that became my wife soon after and her first gift to me was a Pro-Ject RPM1.3 with Sumiko Pearl. I added a Musical Fidelity phono stage and started binge-buying records on Discogs.
When I became a father, though, everything changed, we lived in 3 different apartments (getting quieter and quieter in terms of noise insulation, BTW) but the system started collecting dust because of the challenges of being parent of 2 kids.

During last Summer, the biggest of the changes. We bought a house in Briarcliff Manor, 25 miles North of Manhattan, and my wife and I agreed a relatively large room of the first floor would have been the "music room". Despite the house has a basement, in fact, I rejected the idea to place the audio system in a way to isolate myself from the family. Also, my kids are learning piano and my dream would be owning a baby grand, to contribute to the decoration of the room.
So, the deal was set and I knew the time to get a better system, more appropriate to the size of the room, would had come.
During the month of December, here we are:
- Large music library of files in lossless format, placed in a HDD cabled to an Apple Airport Extreme
- Bluesound Node 2i, hardwired to the Airport, used only as streamer and controlled through its (very intuitive and effective) app for iPhone
- Devialet Expert 120, hooked to the Node via SPDIF coaxial
- Focal Aria 936, using the dedicated SAM profile of the Devialet
- Pro-Ject RPM 1.3 (the only piece of my NYC system), using the custom profile of the Dev phono stage for the Sumiko Pearl
Is this the best system money can buy? of course not!
Is the room perfect? no, I have no treatment and there's cathedral ceilings.
Am I happy with the sound? Hell yeah! It took me 20 years, but now I found a sound that calmed down my desire of getting new pieces of gear. Also, my wife got familiar with the BluOS app and she can play music too It took a little to psychologically accept the heresy to go through an A/D-D/A conversion of my records, but the phono stage is indeed dead quiet...
Would I like to change anything? Well, yes... I know that the weakest component of the system is the turntable. Nonetheless, I am not planning to replace it. I've just ordered a Pro-Ject vibration control platform and I'd like to upgrade the cartridge (a better MM or a high-output MC?). I'll also pick a rug, to be placed in front of the speakers, but that will be chosen by my wife

 

[docvale]

After living for 7 months or so with my system, here's a kind of review of the Devialet platform and how it works in my setup.


Let's start with the Cons:

- a Devialet Expert digital amplifier does not allow you to feed a gear acquisition syndrome. While it might be a relief for some (and, somehow, it is for me), buying in into the system allows modest upgrade options: power cable, isolation feet and speaker cables. That's it

- my unit (a pre- Core Infinity model) is sold as a streamer/dac/phono/integrated, yet the streamer section does not really exists. In fact, it is dependent on the Air app, which you should install in your computer which you would have to use to play music. This comes with two issues (for me): having macOS Big Sur not supported (which is a joke) and, even if it worked, having to use the computer to play music from the web or from a library. My understanding is that the models equipped with the Core Infinity board have more potential as they can do UPnP, yet Devialet does not have a streaming app you could install on a smart device to browse a library or using a streaming service

- unless you get a 2xx model, the phono stage allows customization of the gain, but not of the input impedance. Oddly, my model is locked on 47 kohm for both MM and MC use

- low volume performance can be underwhelming. Sonically, this is my only gripe

- keeping it clean is particularly challenging. In comparison, a Burmester is fingerprint proof...

 

[docvale]

And now, the Pros:

- it is quite flexible in its inputs, which seem to be aligned in quality. I compared the USB input, driven by my MacBook Pro, with the coaxial SPDIF and, to my ears, the difference was simply not there. This was a relief as I opted to get a Bluesound Node 2i as pure digital streamer (BTW, an excellent piece for features and price)

- each input can be disabled. Since I do not use the pseudo-streamer features, I inactivated the WiFi input, as some users complained that it introduced noise during the vinyl playback. For those who were in need of WiFi, though, no worries: you can select the option to automatically disable the WiFi input when the phono input is active

- Via ethernet connection, I'm able to remote control the Expert via my smart devices. This allows me to use my iPhone, for example, as a unique remote for Node and Expert

- The phono stage, at least for MM use, is crazy quiet. With the arm lifted, you need to push the volume full throttle to hear a hum from the speakers

- Regardless the source, there's virtually no distortion

- The volume resolution is fantastic. Used to amplifiers in which the difference between 9 and 10 o'clock range from low to too high, at first I thought the amplifier was defective. Then I realized it is super easy to tune the volume with the best flexibility. Thanks to the zero noise/distortion, this pushes you to listen a quite sustained levels. Sometimes this annoys my wife...

- The SAM feature works. For those who were not familiar, SAM stands for Speaker Acoustic Management. Basically, at Devialet they created profiles for a large series of speakers that, once applied, are supposed to work on the amplifier output to mitigate the issues in driver time alignment. The effect is particularly effective on the bass extension, which get audibly deeper without getting boomy

 

[docvale]

In a nutshell, the Devialet Expert 120 represented a significant improvement over anything I've owned before (obviously, I'm very well aware I've never owned any uber high end device, but, at least, my buy-in price for this platform would have not allowed me to assemble any conventional high end system).
Driving my Focal speakers with ease, it glues you to the system, desiring to listen to more and more music.

During the Summer, I count to bother a friend who's recently purchased a Rega P8 with Apheta 3 cartridge, so that I'd try the phono stage with MC configuration. Thanks to some parallel impedance adapters that my brother built for me, I'll see whether the MC input would retain the clean status or got noise, so that I would be informed whether my future vinyl upgrade would require a step-up or could go with a simple active stage.

Recommended to everyone who are willing to walk an unorthodox path to achieve a satisfactory sound performance

 

[Andrew S.]

Congratulations of a well thoughtout and lovely system. I'm a fan of minimalism as well. Less is sometimes more.

FIW I owned a Dev 120 in around 2015 - After trial and error I found a Crystal Cable Piccolo power cable made a different, as did CC Piccolo speakers cables. Not outrageous in price. YMMV, but just a thought if you were toying with a change.

Enjoy, and thanks for sharing.

 

[docvale]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your suggestions! Indeed, their prices do not break the bank...
If I may ask, which cables did you consider wrong purchases in the quest of the best sound through the Expert?

 

[Andrew S.]

Good morning ! (or afternoon/evening your time)

I’m am sorry - it’s too long ago for me to remember the different cables I tried. I know at the time there was a lot of talk about different power cables making profound differences with the Devialet products doing the rounds on the various forums. Yada yada yada...

I'm sure a quick google would lay bare the hundreds of posts on the subject. Maybe even here.

I recall buying a few different exotic power cords and not really hearing that much of a benefit to the std power cord that came with Dev. They might have been abit better but for me not enough to justify the spend. I recall many were thick, heavy and inflexible monsters which meant the cable moved the Devailet if you had to maneuver the cable to get to, or around, something.

I also recall having to take the rear cover off with the after market cables - I may also have had to do that with the Piccolo. If I did, it would have annoyed me. The recessed connectors under the removable panel was a design aspect I didn’t love - that and it being a fingerprint magnet. Why they did that I have no idea.

I happened to have some Piccolo speaker cables at the time, and liked them (still do), so figured I would give the Piccolo power cable a try -: pure fluke it worked for me. There was enough of a benefit to hang onto it while I had the Devialet.

Mine was the basic Devialet 120 model. I couldn't afford the more expensive ones - it was a big jump back then to the 200, and there were none floating around secondhand. I used it with a few cone speakers - all worked very well except some Magico S1's - which I thought needed more power to come alive.

I liked the Devialet. It is a great product and I was happy with it. I agree the SAM worked well.

Disclosure: I’m not much of a cable guy, or an audiophile, these days - one of the benefits of owning a relatively low resolution but still enjoyable system (forgiving is how I would term it - think any Harbeth IMHO) is things like cables don't make that much of a difference.

Please bear that in mind when I post - I'm no authority on anything - and I know that many members with very fine systems and much more experience than me would be able to offer a better perspective than I, if they choose to chime in.

 

[docvale]

The summer brought some updates in da house.

Regarding the Devialet itself:
Following the hype regarding the sensitivity of the device to the power cord, I purchased the well-spoken (by the Devialet community) Audioquest NRG-Z3. The cable looks gorgeous in its thick and luxurious jacket, yet, I must admit, I failed to feel benefits over the standard, unbranded and thin power cord supplied with my amp. Someone might advocate for a break in time to wait to feel the benefits, but, at this point, I am not very optimistic. I will keep the cable anyway, since it's purchase did not break the bank and, somehow, it feels good to own such a good looking cable (I know, that's shallow, but whatever).
Also, I added some footers from Nobsound for the Devialet. They are based on a spike plus isolation pad, and, matching my expectations, did not add any sound benefit. They serve, though, two purposes: I like that raised profile they give to the amplifier and, in my opinion, might help for the heat dissipation management (the Devialet can run really hot).

Regarding the turntable:
After getting an isolation platform, already shown in my opening message, I finally managed to find a Speed Box S2. These small device works as pace regenerator for the Pro-Ject motor and allows the following: change speed with a button instead of switching the position of the belt on the pulley (so a commodity), maintaining a tad more accurate rotation speed (my table was already doing well) and compensating from the stylus drag (the speed does not change even if I apply pressure with a brush on a rotating disc). Also, it eliminated a hum from the Pro-Ject motor that was audible when pushing the volume very high. I cannot talk otherwise about definitive sonic improvements, yet I'd buy it again for the reasons I mentioned.
I replaced the cork mat with a black acrylic one. Honestly, my main driver was a cosmetic improvement, which I achieved.
Finally, and this is news from today, I installed my first LO-MC. I purchased a Hana SL. The installation caused few sweats, as it took me a while to get that the mounting screws are designed to be installed upside-down. I then spent the afternoon running some tests. I started a thread in the vinyl general forum for suggestions on how to squeeze the best from this upgrade (https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/hana-sl-cartridge-suggestions-for-step-up.33403/)

 

[Andrew S.]

Gosh - at first take I thought the box had an engagement ring in it! Took me a second to register it contained a cartridge. Now that would have been something different!

I bet the Project speed controller is making life much easier. Hope the set up went smoothly it’s all dialled in and you are enjoying your music.

Thanks for the update, and happy listening.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

The summer brought some updates in da house.

Regarding the Devialet itself:
Following the hype regarding the sensitivity of the device to the power cord, I purchased the well-spoken (by the Devialet community) Audioquest NRG-Z3. The cable looks gorgeous in its thick and luxurious jacket, yet, I must admit, I failed to feel benefits over the standard, unbranded and thin power cord supplied with my amp. Someone might advocate for a break in time to wait to feel the benefits, but, at this point, I am not very optimistic. I will keep the cable anyway, since it's purchase did not break the bank and, somehow, it feels good to own such a good looking cable (I know, that's shallow, but whatever).
Also, I added some footers from Nobsound for the Devialet. They are based on a spike plus isolation pad, and, matching my expectations, did not add any sound benefit. They serve, though, two purposes: I like that raised profile they give to the amplifier and, in my opinion, might help for the heat dissipation management (the Devialet can run really hot).

Regarding the turntable:
After getting an isolation platform, already shown in my opening message, I finally managed to find a Speed Box S2. These small device works as pace regenerator for the Pro-Ject motor and allows the following: change speed with a button instead of switching the position of the belt on the pulley (so a commodity), maintaining a tad more accurate rotation speed (my table was already doing well) and compensating from the stylus drag (the speed does not change even if I apply pressure with a brush on a rotating disc). Also, it eliminated a hum from the Pro-Ject motor that was audible when pushing the volume very high. I cannot talk otherwise about definitive sonic improvements, yet I'd buy it again for the reasons I mentioned.
I replaced the cork mat with a black acrylic one. Honestly, my main driver was a cosmetic improvement, which I achieved.
Finally, and this is news from today, I installed my first LO-MC. I purchased a Hana SL. The installation caused few sweats, as it took me a while to get that the mounting screws are designed to be installed upside-down. I then spent the afternoon running some tests. I started a thread in the vinyl general forum for suggestions on how to squeeze the best from this upgrade (https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/hana-sl-cartridge-suggestions-for-step-up.33403/)

Very nice Setup.