Devialet 400

This ad is for two pairs of the world-famous Devialet D400 Expert integrated amplifier designed and manufactured in France. The price is for a *single* pair (master and commander unit, linked by a cable, and with a unique remote control). Hooked up together, each pair produces 400Watts per channel, and can easily drive any high end loudspeaker. I used these to drive a pair of B&W 800 Diamonds, and it sounded better than anything I had heard. A move to the West Coast required me to downsize and sell my B&Ws, and since I currently have old Quad 57s, I don't need this level of power and control. Note this is a complete system: digital front end, streaming, analog phono stage, A-to-D and D-to-A, and amplifier, all built in a tiny pizza style box. This system replaced 6 high end components in my previous system (including an Audio Research Ref Phono 2 14-tube preamplifier, Mark Levinson 32, Krell 700cx, Digital Esoteric D-03, P-03, and Rubidium Clock). Guess what? The D400 smoked my previous system! Hard to believe, but the purity of sound from the D400 has to be heard to be believed. No, it is not the sterile sound of run-of-the-mill class D amplification, but it sounds like a class A amplifier (because that all important first watt is indeed in class A mode, married to a hybrid class D amplifier through a revolutionary advance in amplifier technology).
Revolutions in amplifier technology are rare: despite marketing hyperbole, most amplifier designs are decades old. Devialet caused a revolution in the high end world when they released a slim pizza box sized series of amplifiers that was revolutionary in every sense of the word. This is a complete system: it includes a world-class phono stage, several digital inputs (RCA, Toslink, AES), wifi and Ethernet streaming, and most amazing of all, complete configurability to suit your setup by a software defined setup stored on a flash card (the one your digital camera uses) on each unit. You have no analog front end? No problem, reconfigure the system so the phono inputs become line inputs or digital inputs. Have several analog units? Ditto, change the digital inputs to analog. You are in control. It's all so easy and addictive, and you wonder why other manufacturers don't follow suit. The beautifully designed remote control has a large analog like volume control that works from anywhere in the room, and you don't need to "point" it at the amps for it to work. It's not riddled with 50 useless buttons that are invisible. No, it has what is needed. You can also operate the system from your smartphone and stream from your phone (or NAS or any computer).
The response from the high end audio reviewers has been incredibly positive. From Robert Harley of The Absolute Sound (who declared the Devialet amplifier the best he had heard on his Magico M7) to Stereophile's John Atkinson who was equally smitten, Devialet have taken over the mantle from previous firms like Krell or McIntosh. They are the high end company to watch, and an inspiration to others.
Each pair was bought by me from an authorized Devialet dealer about 2 years ago. Both pairs are in mint condition (see the photographs). I have all the original packing. Devialet's packing puts Apple's packaging to shame. Unlike even high end amplifiers from Krell and Mark Levinson, where the box is, well, just a ho-hum piece of cardboard, Devialet's packaging would not look out of place in a Tiffany boutique store.
Want to schlep your system over to the dealer to listen to a pair of speakers you crave and want to know how it will sound on *your* system? No problem, just pack your D400 into the handy to carry cloth bags, hoist them into your car, and it's easy as pie. No need to use a forklift to move your 100+ lb McIntosh or Krell amp.
Like Apple, Devialet pays extraordinary attention to detail, every aspect of the system is carefully thought out and designed. I have both the original boxes, the cloth bags for transporting your system, and the original double outer box. It will survive any careless handling short of a vehicular collision (fingers crossed!).
The original list price was over 14 grand, so this is truly a bargain in every sense of the word. If you want to get off the high end merry go round, and tired of swapping interconnects and managing a system that takes up lots of space and generates tons of heat, this is your ticket to sonic nirvana (not to mention the high WAF of this system!). If you are an analog fan, the phono stage is truly mind blowing. You can configure it for MC or MM, any loading or cartridge output, and thus customized, it out performed the very expensive Audio Research Ref Phono that I had previously owned for almost 20 years. Yes, you can have world class phono and stream DSD audio to this system. How many other systems can manage that?