Mr Underhill
pfm Member
Executive Summary
For those of you who, like me, like to get to the payload here are the conclusions:
1. In major purchases for your system a good dealer is essential
Three are listed below
2. The Devialet 170 is a superb piece of design
Didn't work for me in my system, but it might for you.
3. The Bel Canto gear is stonking
It is very transparent, and shows changes very clearly, including cables.
4. The Coherent Systems Cables are VERY GOOD
In fact, if I had known of these when listening to the Devialet I wonder if I might have gone in a different direction? Probably not.
Introduction
I thought I was set. I had a system that I enjoyed and saw no reason to change .....ever. And then? Well, Devialet.
Having just got on with playing music for about five years I decided to demo a Devialet, which has led me on a bit if a journey.
In this post I will look at:
>What tempted me to change;
>What equipment I listened to;
>What I finally bought; and
>Some comments about system tuning.
Before continuing I would like to thank:
Mike - Infidelity, for being an all round good guy
Jon - at Oxford Audio for being a gentleman & a scholar
Tony - at Coherent Systems for his insight.
Temptation
The thought that with one fell swoop I could get rid of half of my boxes replacing my: Naim DAC; Teddy Pardo XPS; EAR864 and EAR534 with one shiney box was very attractive, and so in came a Devialet 170 for a weeks worth of listening.
The Devialet is a thing of beauty, stupendous design of function as well as looks. I fell in love with this box, and especially with the remote control.
Any piece of kit can only act within the bounds of the environment within which it is placed, including the source, speakers and room. As it happens I couldn't get on with the 170. There was much to like and admire, but ultimately, for me there was something in the vocal quality that I couldn't get along with; and it is the vocals that I have found in any system will finally attract or repulse me.
Having said NO to the Devialet I was left with an issue: I LOVED having a remote. I listen to ripped music that has been variably ripped or bought, and all at different sound pressure levels. I am tired of bouncing up from my seat every time I change an album, and playlists are just impossible; unless you have a remote volume control. My EAR864 does not have such a device.
Where Next
EAR868? Perhaps I could get a DAC with a volume control AND an analogue input? Thereby replacing two boxes with one.
I spoke to Keith a Purite about the Young DSD DAC, with an analogue volume control, but no analogue input. I spoke to Igloo Audio about the Aurelic and the DP1. I would thoroughly recommend speaking to both the these guys, informative and straight forward. But ultimately I didn't feel these were going to give me what I needed.
There is such a DAC plus volume control with an analogue input made by Bel Canto. As it happens Coherent Systems had one of their modded jobbies on sale - 3.5DAC, together with a modded VB PSU and and one of Coherent System's top rated power cables.
I borrowed the 3.5 and accilliaries.
This DAC is very different from the Naim DAC (nDAC). I had never thought of the nDAC as warm, but after listening to the 3.5 I suspect it is. The 3.5 presents a LOT more detail within my system and its presentation feels almost holographic on orchestral music.
Time to strip out the pre-amp and use the 3.5 volume control.
I enjoyed the functionality but the sound became FAR leaner. At first I was impressed with the detail and the precision of what was being presented, but in time I came to realise that my listening was becoming far more cerebral, I wasn't being captured in the sheer emotion of what was being delivered, and those pesky vocals were playing up again. Time to bring the EAR864 back in circuit. This returned the vocal presentation I loved, but with the increased detail and also no remote volume control. I DID try using the digital remote control in circuit together with the 864, but it really didn't work, losing much of what I was enjoying.
Tony from Coherent then suggested I try two pre-amps he had to hand: a Krell KRC circa 1998; and a Coherent Pre3vb.
The Pre-Amp Challenge
First up, the Krell. This was £6k worth of pre-amp in 1998, and has a very complimentary review on Stereophile. It is a solid box with an off-board class A PSU. It comes with single ended and balanced inputs and outputs, not to mention a phono stage.
I placed the pre-amp within: Naim NS01 > Bel Canto 3.5 > [preamp] > EAR534 > Living Voice Auditorium IIs.
I was immediately taken with the sound and detail. This is a superb piece of kit and one that I could easily live with .....apart from? Well apart from the fact that I am trying to move away from class A and its propensity to eat electricity. The Krell is big and gets thoroughly warm. They are built to be left on, and I think that the electricity bills would be rather mammoth.
So onto the Pre3vb. This had all the detail of the Krell and more, but it still felt somewhat cerebral, and it had that same doubtful vocal feel that had caused me to say NO to the Devialet.
I phoned Tony and told him my experiences. He suggested I try one of the Coherent cables to power the Pre3vb, and drove down to drop it off on Saturday. I plugged it in and gave the system a whole ten minutes to warm back up while I made a cup of tea.
Amazing. Really. The vocals were now fine, plus all the detail that I had heard previously. The Pre3vb was sold - together with that power cable.
System Tuning
Tony had also leant me one of his digital cables to try between the NS01 and the 3.5, I now plugged this in. The vocals fully returned to what I was used to with the 864. Any downside? Well perhaps some of the detail had sunk further into the background. So while I preferred this I knew there was more in the background that wasn't quiet as easily available to my ears. But Tony had also leant me a pair of phono Neotech cables to plug in between the 3.5 and the Pre3. Result, vocal remained constant and the fine detail returned.
Now these cables are not what I would call cheap, but I can't argue with the efficacy. Great advise from a knowlegable dealer.
A Final Thought
If I had known of the Coherent Cables, and had used them between the NS01 and the Devialet 170 I wonder whether it would have shaped the sound so that I found it acceptable?
That said I am very happy with with the Bel Canto boxes and Coherent cables. The things that I really am enjoying are:
>The detail that is presented, but in a way the enhances the music; and
>Dynamics - wow.
Martin
For those of you who, like me, like to get to the payload here are the conclusions:
1. In major purchases for your system a good dealer is essential
Three are listed below
2. The Devialet 170 is a superb piece of design
Didn't work for me in my system, but it might for you.
3. The Bel Canto gear is stonking
It is very transparent, and shows changes very clearly, including cables.
4. The Coherent Systems Cables are VERY GOOD
In fact, if I had known of these when listening to the Devialet I wonder if I might have gone in a different direction? Probably not.
Introduction
I thought I was set. I had a system that I enjoyed and saw no reason to change .....ever. And then? Well, Devialet.
Having just got on with playing music for about five years I decided to demo a Devialet, which has led me on a bit if a journey.
In this post I will look at:
>What tempted me to change;
>What equipment I listened to;
>What I finally bought; and
>Some comments about system tuning.
Before continuing I would like to thank:
Mike - Infidelity, for being an all round good guy
Jon - at Oxford Audio for being a gentleman & a scholar
Tony - at Coherent Systems for his insight.
Temptation
The thought that with one fell swoop I could get rid of half of my boxes replacing my: Naim DAC; Teddy Pardo XPS; EAR864 and EAR534 with one shiney box was very attractive, and so in came a Devialet 170 for a weeks worth of listening.
The Devialet is a thing of beauty, stupendous design of function as well as looks. I fell in love with this box, and especially with the remote control.
Any piece of kit can only act within the bounds of the environment within which it is placed, including the source, speakers and room. As it happens I couldn't get on with the 170. There was much to like and admire, but ultimately, for me there was something in the vocal quality that I couldn't get along with; and it is the vocals that I have found in any system will finally attract or repulse me.
Having said NO to the Devialet I was left with an issue: I LOVED having a remote. I listen to ripped music that has been variably ripped or bought, and all at different sound pressure levels. I am tired of bouncing up from my seat every time I change an album, and playlists are just impossible; unless you have a remote volume control. My EAR864 does not have such a device.
Where Next
EAR868? Perhaps I could get a DAC with a volume control AND an analogue input? Thereby replacing two boxes with one.
I spoke to Keith a Purite about the Young DSD DAC, with an analogue volume control, but no analogue input. I spoke to Igloo Audio about the Aurelic and the DP1. I would thoroughly recommend speaking to both the these guys, informative and straight forward. But ultimately I didn't feel these were going to give me what I needed.
There is such a DAC plus volume control with an analogue input made by Bel Canto. As it happens Coherent Systems had one of their modded jobbies on sale - 3.5DAC, together with a modded VB PSU and and one of Coherent System's top rated power cables.
I borrowed the 3.5 and accilliaries.
This DAC is very different from the Naim DAC (nDAC). I had never thought of the nDAC as warm, but after listening to the 3.5 I suspect it is. The 3.5 presents a LOT more detail within my system and its presentation feels almost holographic on orchestral music.
Time to strip out the pre-amp and use the 3.5 volume control.
I enjoyed the functionality but the sound became FAR leaner. At first I was impressed with the detail and the precision of what was being presented, but in time I came to realise that my listening was becoming far more cerebral, I wasn't being captured in the sheer emotion of what was being delivered, and those pesky vocals were playing up again. Time to bring the EAR864 back in circuit. This returned the vocal presentation I loved, but with the increased detail and also no remote volume control. I DID try using the digital remote control in circuit together with the 864, but it really didn't work, losing much of what I was enjoying.
Tony from Coherent then suggested I try two pre-amps he had to hand: a Krell KRC circa 1998; and a Coherent Pre3vb.
The Pre-Amp Challenge
First up, the Krell. This was £6k worth of pre-amp in 1998, and has a very complimentary review on Stereophile. It is a solid box with an off-board class A PSU. It comes with single ended and balanced inputs and outputs, not to mention a phono stage.
I placed the pre-amp within: Naim NS01 > Bel Canto 3.5 > [preamp] > EAR534 > Living Voice Auditorium IIs.
I was immediately taken with the sound and detail. This is a superb piece of kit and one that I could easily live with .....apart from? Well apart from the fact that I am trying to move away from class A and its propensity to eat electricity. The Krell is big and gets thoroughly warm. They are built to be left on, and I think that the electricity bills would be rather mammoth.
So onto the Pre3vb. This had all the detail of the Krell and more, but it still felt somewhat cerebral, and it had that same doubtful vocal feel that had caused me to say NO to the Devialet.
I phoned Tony and told him my experiences. He suggested I try one of the Coherent cables to power the Pre3vb, and drove down to drop it off on Saturday. I plugged it in and gave the system a whole ten minutes to warm back up while I made a cup of tea.
Amazing. Really. The vocals were now fine, plus all the detail that I had heard previously. The Pre3vb was sold - together with that power cable.
System Tuning
Tony had also leant me one of his digital cables to try between the NS01 and the 3.5, I now plugged this in. The vocals fully returned to what I was used to with the 864. Any downside? Well perhaps some of the detail had sunk further into the background. So while I preferred this I knew there was more in the background that wasn't quiet as easily available to my ears. But Tony had also leant me a pair of phono Neotech cables to plug in between the 3.5 and the Pre3. Result, vocal remained constant and the fine detail returned.
Now these cables are not what I would call cheap, but I can't argue with the efficacy. Great advise from a knowlegable dealer.
A Final Thought
If I had known of the Coherent Cables, and had used them between the NS01 and the Devialet 170 I wonder whether it would have shaped the sound so that I found it acceptable?
That said I am very happy with with the Bel Canto boxes and Coherent cables. The things that I really am enjoying are:
>The detail that is presented, but in a way the enhances the music; and
>Dynamics - wow.
Martin
