Move to Devialet from LFD and Lumin?

I am currently in a major purge mode not only on the audio equipment side but in life in general :wink: So naturally, I’m also looking at my current system and am asking myself how I can simplify it further without a major investment and without loosing quality.

Currently, I am listening on a pair of Harbeth C7ES-3 speakers, which I love, using a LFD Zero MKIII LE amp and a Lumin D2 streamer. 95% of my listening is through the D2 using Roon. The rest is a vinyl player hooked up to the LFD’s phono stage. It’s a beautiful sounding system and works without a hitch.

Nevertheless, with Devialet prices especially on the used market becoming more acceptable, I am contemplating to go for a used D120 and get rid of my LFD and Lumin. Literally just one box plus my Harbeths. I’d be very interested to hear some opinions about that idea from other members.

While I’ve read up on the various problems people are having with Devialet and Roon, it seems that AIR on a 120 is working really well and most problems are with the new CI boards. For me, it won’t make much of a difference if streaming is via AIR or RAAT as I almost never pair the main system with my other players in the house.

Looking forward to hear from you.

I exchanged 200lbs of Classé and Aurender for an Expert 440 Pro, and couldn’t be happier: beautiful warm bass, great control, very accurate. Roon directly supports Devialet AIR, and it sounds extremely good. RAAT is promised by the end of the year, though I’m not experiencing any “problems” as is. I see your speakers have a SAM (Speaker Active Matching) profile, which is an advantage. Devialet’s highly configurable phono stage also gets very good reviews. WAF is extremely strong with this setup too, lol.

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Thanks for your comment, Mike! WAF is always important, haha.
RAAT I guess won’t be supported on the “lowly” 120 as it doesn’t have a CI board option.
For that, I’d have to go up to the 140 Pro at least. Not sure if the additional expense is worth it.
If the 140 Pro sounds significantly better then maybe. Just for RAAT vs. AIR I’m not so sure.
Further comments are of course welcome!

The CI Boards, if anything, have improved the stability of Roon Air. Roon and Devialet is an excellent combination.

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I would most certainly go for the 140. At least the difference when I upgraded my 200 to 220 was well worth the money. Now I did like 200 a lot, but 220 was still way better.

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Thanks for your comments on the CI boards and the 140. Looks like I can get a decent deal on a 140 Pro. Will probably take the jump later this week. Excited!

The best way to go and keeps you on the upgrade path.

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@Thorsten_Vieth
Hi there,
Can you please give me an update?
I’m in the same situation like you, I’m having Pass Labs INT-150 with Lumin D1 driving a pair of Harbeth SHL5+.
Now I have a good deal on the Devialet 200, if I buy it how will it work with the Lumin?
The Devialet and Lumin also have inbuilt DAC, so which one Roon will use?
Also do you get rid of the Lumin or keep using it as a network streamer?
Many thanks.

If the Devialet has RCA analog (line) input, you may connect the D1 analog output to that. In Roon, choose Lumin as the endpoint (as your currently do), then you’ll be using Lumin built-in DAC.

If you connect a network cable to the Devialet, and choose it as the endpoint in Roon, then you’ll be using the Devialet built-in DAC. You can compare which sounds best to you.

In case you like the Devialet built-in DAC better (which I hope not but I’ll respect that), verify you can play all sample rates, especially Hi-Res, and do sample rate switching perfectly among different tracks, with no error for a week before you get rid of the Lumin.

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While the Devialet indeed sports an analog RCA input, the first thing that happens to it is a conversion to digital - so you will always be hearing the Devialet DAC irrespective of input, and a double DAC conversion is silly. Possible yes, recommended perhaps not. Currently Devialet/Roon AIR (via ethernet) would be the preferred way to listen to Roon, until full RAAT certification (hopefully before Christmas?).

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Peter’s response basically summarizes what I’m planning to do. Once the Devialet is with me, I’ll test the heck out of the built in streamer in terms of sound quality but also stability with all kinds of files being served up by Roon directly to the Devialet. If it works as well as I hope, I’m planning to sell my Lumin at some point. BUT: If the Devialet/Roon solution is not as reliable and good sounding as my Lumin/LFD/Roon one, I’m also prepared to sell the Devialet again. One of the things I love about my current setup is that it works flawlessly with no technical problems whatsoever. I’ll keep you updated after my Devialet setup arrives here in hopefully a week from now.

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I agree that theoretically a double conversion is not optimal. However, since SQ and taste is subjective, there are precedents that people can still like the analog input for digital DSP speakers or AV receivers.

By the way, there is another way to connect a Lumin D1 / D2 - by using the Lumin BNC-SPDIF output. This way Lumin still handles the network processing (RAAT, Spotify Connect, etc.) while the Devialet non-Pro does the rest.

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You should verify that the Dev 200 will be getting the Roon Ready Upgrade and that it is not only for the 220 Expert Pro line.

Thanks for the hint. I’m pretty sure it’ll be Expert Pro line only, which is why I went with the 140 Pro :slight_smile:

Or sorry, I should have responded to @Kyle_Vuong who said he had a “good deal” on a Dev 200.

Do you mean that the Devialet 200 i’m getting cannot be upgraded to Roon Ready once it’s released?

AFAIK, Roon Ready applies to units with the Core Infinity, either the Expert Pro line or an older Expert that has been upgraded. See: https://help.devialet.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000038305-How-to-start-with-Expert-or-Expert-Pro-

I would suggest that if Roon Ready is one of the things you want about the Devialet then you should verify that the unit you are thinking of purchasing will actually do what you want.

@wklie
“By the way, there is another way to connect a Lumin D1 / D2 - by using the Lumin BNC-SPDIF output. This way Lumin still handles the network processing (RAAT, Spotify Connect, etc.) while the Devialet non-Pro does the rest.”

Hi Peter, as Devialet doesn’t support Airplay and Spotify, I can use Lumin D1 as a network player like you said.
I’m just wondering what is the right cable should I buy? Is it coaxial to RCA?

The original Devialet 200 stopped being produced and in its place the Devialet Expert Pro 220 was released with the Core Infinity board. There was a limited time upgrade to get a 200 updated to a 220 with the board. The Roon Ready upgrade requires the Core Infinity board.

If the Devialet you want has the upgrade then it should get the Roon REady update when Devialet released the software. If it does not have the board, then no it won’t ever get that ability as Devialet has stopped upgrading the older 200s into 220s.

You need a BNC to RCA cable. I think blue jeans sells such type of cable.

If you get the 200, it will not be upgradable to Roon Ready unless you spend an additional $4490 to upgrade to 220 Pro for this promise. I guess you’d better keep the D1 for RAAT, AirPlay and Spotify Connect.

(By the way, we also have customers using the new Lumin U1 MINI to connect to Devialet products.)