Acoustical Engineering Company

There are few brands in the history of hi-fi that have caused such a stir as Devialet. Stir in the most positive sense of the word. Suddenly, everyone was talking about it, and everyone was curious about what was to come. When in 2010 - almost out of nowhere - the first prototype was shown to the press and the public, everyone was dumbfounded. Firstly, because of its appearance. The flat, high-gloss polished aluminum housing had a huge attraction. Placed on an Italian design furniture or upright on the wall, with the round display on top and the heavy, extremely luxurious feeling remote control, the D-Premier - as the model was called - was above all a sexy device. Those who took the trouble to examine its inner workings encountered a technique that had never been used before. Devialet called it ADH®, and it was a hybrid between the precision and linearity of a class-A amplifier, and the power and efficiency of a class-D amplifier, which until then had been considered impossible. Of course, it was their own invention, and now one of the 88 patents that the brand owns. The built-in D/A converter and the separately available streaming module and phono stage promised great performance. Where did this brand come from?