Devialet Expert 140 Pro
My in-person introduction to Devialet’s products was under auspicious circumstances. I was in Paris for what would be a monthlong vacation; my wife was there to give some lectures, but I was free to roam the city, take pictures, practice my bad French, and enjoy the excellent food—the experience of a lifetime except that, a few days in, I was missing music. Still early in my visit, I wandered by the big Devialet retail store near the Paris Opera; it was closed but it gave me an idea. I soon had two Gold Phantom powered loudspeakers in our Paris studio apartment.1
That was my hands-on introduction to Devialet, but I first heard about the company when John Atkinson reviewed their D-Premier integrated amplifier. It was a rave.2
The D-Premier wasn’t cheap, but compared to more traditional components at the same price point, you got a lot for your $16,000. Included was a DAC, preamplifier functionality, phono-playback capability, and a few other features no analog amplifier can provide. The D-Premier was different—and with its low-profile case and gleaming chrome finish, it looked the part.
The 140 Pro is compact and solid; it seems very well-made.
A couple of generations of technology later, Devialet’s Analog Digital Hybrid (ADH) amplifier topology has been refined, and new features have been added. It appears the company has also learned to build these amplifiers more cheaply: The Expert 140 Pro—the least expensive Expert Pro and the one I’m reviewing here—costs almost $10,000 less, at $6490.
What is it?
A product as distinctive as the Expert 140 Pro takes a while just to absorb. It does a lot of things, all
