Tonepub's Devialet Review

Makes it sound like one of the best audio products introduced in the last forty years. Really?

 

Nice way to start a thread.

John K.

 

What is the purpose of this thread?

 

And you know that it isn't? Please elaborate.....surely you have experience with the Devialet, otherwise your skepticism makes about as much sense as me being skeptical of the quality of a new restaurant that just opened in Osaka and was reviewed nicely by a food critic.

Looking forward to your review.....

 

Purpose: to talk about the review and Devialet. Anyone planning to listen to it?

Geez gang, no need to be so defensive. My question was earnest.

 

What i found interesting in the review was the implication that one would not be able to spend anywhere near $16k to get this level of performance from a separate dac, phono stage, preamp, and amp. If that is true, then the device is a no-brainer for a very large number of people.

The same was said about the Dartzeel but this adds a dac and is cheaper.

 

I'd like to say I got to hear the Devialet when I was last at Tone's studio, but Jeff had just removed it from the system. I can tell everyone that Jeff's enthusiasm for the Devialet is honest and palpable. Plus, it's about as elegant and versatile as any piece of gear I've seen in a very long time.

 

With all due respect - what numbers are you talking about when you say "A Very Large Bunber Of Peole" ?

I doubt the number of potential buyers of a brand new 12 grand amp goes in the millions or even hundreds of thousands, maybe ten thousand, who might consider audition this and then a few dozen thinking about changing their beloved Naim, Linn, C-J, Audio Research, MBL, Audio Arts, Luxman, Nagra, Accuphase, Einstein, Lindemann, Brinkmann, Burmester, Krell, ML , MacIntosh, Musical Fidelity gear in order to buy this new product.
DAC's Phono Stages etc can be bought from other brands as well !

 

A link to the review and/or product description would help here.

 

Google tonepub. The pdf for the recent issue is on the right.

The review is overwhelmingly positive. Wow. I can't wait for some of you to demo one of these and report back to us. I suppose I could start selling off my system components after saving up for a year or two. Very, very interesting.

 

Not the best sounding component in the last 40 years, but one of the best COMBINATIONS for the money. As I recall the only time I've ever called a component "the best" in almost 400 product reviews was the Burmester 911 mk.3, which I still feel is the best power amplifier made.

For $16k, you get a great preamp, a 240w/ch power amp, a great DAC, a very good phono stage and a wireless music streamer all wrapped in a gorgeous box with a really cool remote. Considering that you don't need a rack for it (anywhere from a few $100 to a few $1000) and you don't need four sets of interconnects ($100 - 500 a pop, or maybe more), and four extra power cords (same cost) I think it's a pretty amazing product/value. Even if you didn't spend any money on cables, though I highly doubt anyone buying separates at this price point wouldn't spend at least a few bucks on upgraded power cords and IC cables, it's still a tremendous value.

And having run it through its paces on some pretty decent source components and speakers, I stand by the review.

I think for the person who wants high performance hifi and does not want a rack full of gear in their house, it's definitely the best solution I've seen and heard so far.

I suggest giving it a listen before making the snarky comments. You might just come away as impressed as I was. You're confusing us with those other magazines, that constantly use the B-word.

The review is in our current issue. It's on the cover.

 

Great review and the magazine gets better every time I read it.

 

Seriously, give it a listen, I think you will be surprised.

I HATE class D amplifiers. I've never heard one I've really liked, and even though the Devialet is a Class A/Class D hybrid, I expected it to sound harsh and flat like all the other class D amps, but it is very nice, very musical. Their marriage of Class A and Class D works very well.

 

Also read a really good review of it in HiFi News last fall; October time-frame.

 

Will someone at Stereophile review it?

I don't follow the hi-end forums, so how has it's reception been there?

 

Also reviewed by HiFi+

http://www.avguide.com/review/the-devialet-d-premier-integrated-ampdac-hifi-75

A friend of mine has bought one and he thinks it is magical, it replaced a Krell power amp and an ARC pre amp. Unfortunately he doesn't live all that close and I have not been able to hear it yet.

 

I heard it at the Bristol HiFi show in 2010, HiFi News were presenting it and I was seriously impressed by it. Very sweet sounding. Also met John Bamford ( of HiFi News who was guarding the room ) who was a gentleman. He was seriously impressed too.

 

Have you heard the $4200 Linn Majik DSi? Sounds like a similar product, though more powerful than the Linn.

 

I'd be very interested in a Stereophile review. If anything, perhaps we are seeing where the hi-end market will go. Should this new product become legendary, then we might expect others to try to one-up it.

 

I think it's not too long before we see DAC sections (with streaming capability) in nearly all integrated amps. It's the logical next step.

 

Yes I have.... The linn is very nice for the price. Nowhere close to the Devialet. No phono stage. Pure class d with the same class d sound. Personally, I'd rather have a naim unity qute.

As it is going to make the rounds I'm sure it will be reviewed by Stereophile and TAS, but I was very excited to have the first chance. We will be doing a short follow up later in the year when the next software release is out, so we can test the streamer and the HDMI input on the DAC. I think both of those features will be useful to a lot of people...

 

Please help me understand the streaming. I currently store my flac/WAV files on an NAS hard drive where the SqueezeCenter software sits. I stream to either a Transporter (main system) or Duet box. I think of the SqueezeCenter as a music library dBase that organizes album artist, album, etc.

What would someone use to replace the role of the music library when using a product such as this new one? At some point, I don't want to be married to Logitech so that I can upgrade DACs without any concerns.

 

Another lovely piece of equipment that I will never buy, or even hear......sigh

 

I dunno...i think a few thousand might be enough. Sure the components can be bought from elsewhere but at what price and without the inherent synergy. I haven't heard it but if it makes it's way to Chicago or NYC then i surely will. This was one of the more enthusiastic reviews i have read if not the most enthusiastic in Tone Audio. Further to what others have said, i would like to see what Stereophile has to say.

 

Already listening to Naim gear, I suspect that you might really like it. Enough to part with $16k, only you can make that decision.