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Devialet Expert Long Term Experience?

Would love to hear some more long term experience on the Devialet 200 or other of the Expert series amps. Many flattering reviews but few real life stories.

I recently heard two of the 200s as 400W monoblocks with the B&W 800 D3s and was blown away. I will listen to a single Expert 200 soon with some more speakers and am pretty sure I'll like it. I am a bass head and loved the tightness, accuracy and speed but at also loved the resolution and width of the mids and highs.

What I would like to know is how the Devialets feel and behave long-term in daily usage. They seem to run quite hot and some seem to experience some loss in SQ while running hot. Does it, despite the whole running class A/D in parallel thing, deliver class A quality with class D quantity and does it do so reliably at high temps over many hours and years of use? Any other bugs in this rather unconventional approach to an amp?

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jmvs
28 posts
 
I've been using Devialet for a while now (Expert 400 & Expert 200), coming off of Pass, Krell, Mark Levinson, ARC, BAT & McIntosh and have found it to be easy-to-use, very reliable and "sonically competitive" with Preamp. / Amp. / DAC combos priced well-beyond Devialet; that on its own is a big accomplishment, plus the additional benefits of form factor, aesthetics, energy efficiency (consumes just 30 > 50 watts) and Bass quantity & quality that is "the best" that I have heard, regardless of price. 
araz
20 posts
 
There are some problems with my d400s. It is that on some days the configurator remains silent and I have then sound coming from one channel. The dealer and folks at devialet have tried different firmware and cables but the problem persists. It is not a daily occurrence but happens at the most inconvenient time. For example, I and some friends sat down to watch the Superbowl on my big screen and got sound from one of sopra 3s. Very embarrassing, but on days like today the sound was just fabulous. 
samsca
32 posts
 
Hello,
I listen to 4 different devialet systems regularly. 

d1000 for movies, tv
d premier , vinyl and movies, tv
d 220 , movies, tv
d 220, CD player

i was a die hard tube fanatic and still have 3 tube systems that I enjoy very much. 

Devialet is a revelation in audio.  What I enjoy most is the consistency and superb reliability of the units.  

They sound exactly the the same as when they were first broken in. The bass is perfect especially on the 1000.  Wow that’s krell style slam.  Midrange and highs are beautiful on the blackest background ever possible for an amp. Dead quiet. 

Do i enjoy the Devialets as much as when I bought them years ago.  Yes I do.    I did find that a tube phono in front was a little nicer.  Devialet still has an excellent built in phono stage as well as a top notch dac. 

The Devialets will still amaze me with their realistic musical presentation. 

After many years of dealing with all sorts of tube gear reliability issues I finally have some peace.
arcticdeth's avatar
arcticdeth
1,549 posts
 


Months at the dealer, listening to several high class speakers, with devialet, very unimpressed, sounds a little tinny, and weak,
just my impression


always went back to the Mac amps, and their older threshold vintage stuff.  

 Devialet is so overhyped.
bsimpson
167 posts
 
I only heard an Devialet setup in a showroom.... just because it’s so expensive, always worth a learning experience.

Not that impressed, truly.

And I always feel confused when someone said: Hack, you didn’t get good sound because you don’t use that $$$$$ cables.

Look, an Ferrari is an Ferrari. Don’t care where you live, but you still need to feed it with Exxon or BP or Sunoco, the same gas any cheap car would use. An Ferrari doesn’t need ’racing circuit’ gas to be awesome.

So are high-end expensive audio equipment like Devialet. You may not *optimize* their potential with basic cables and power outlets, but they shall never sound average.

:-)


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