Classic Phantom White not working reliably after upgrade

[bravocharlie]

The latest from Devialet:

At the moment, I have a few clients who are facing the exact issue as you. We are doing research on this issue and are seeking of solution from our software team.
I will update you once I have any news.


I like how he says: "a few". I seriously doubt that. I also wonder how this software/firmware gets released without a proper beta test. This is the second release that has been buggy and created havoc. You really have to start to wonder what is going on in France at this point. Well funded, great product, poor customer service (days for resolution), poor execution, horrible website for support, and extremely poor communication on all fronts. App and firmware released without ANY mention on the support portion of the website. Really? That came AFTER it was released almost a day later. You also really have to wonder at this point if management knows what's going on in the trenches or this information is withheld and they're operating in some sort of French Utopia that everything is just wonderful. Its not; especially for a premium brand (supposedly).

I’m not French but live in France. Of course when I look at the Apple website I wonder very similarly. What goes on in the USA? Is this a sort of North American Utopia? No replies from Apple for weeks, sometimes months.... comparisons aside and more seriously, beta testing can only do little when the offer relies on an external infrastructure, networks, phones, PCs, etc. Computer Audio is fragile and a SME like Devialet can only handle part of the chain. I do not want to defend them, but it has probably little to do with French or France. I’m not aware of any country that masters the digital world and delivers bug-free software. Only look at all the national COVID apps and how bugfree they are.

My comments were not intended to attack France per se nor the French. I'm in France frequently and love everything about it and its culture and people; nevertheless, I was referring to the company Devialet and how this has been rolled out. The good news is that I'm dealing with the head of customer service in the U.S. He and I have a very good relationship and I'm going to be running a different app in order to provide more detailed feedback to them on what exactly is going on. He was adamant that they didn't experience these issues in the Beta including his own Beta testing on his own pair of Phantom Golds. 

Invictus is dead on though in is latest comments. 4 days and counting, no resolution. For those of who have stereo pairs and use them daily for both music & TV, its a big deal; especially at the price paid for a premium product. For a premium product, you expect a higher level of service. For what its worth, I was told that the "...engineers are working around the clock on this problem and are not able to reproduce this issue".

[streamy]

I fully agree and in many posts criticized how Devialet goes 1 step forward and 2 steps back for its user base. And I’m all with you that customers should not be beta testers, nor victims on decisions the companies take. I grew old in being early adopter in the latest tech. 10 and more years ago, and maybe also 5 years ago I went for the latest, travelled to US to get the first Iphone that was not sold in Europe, and amazingly still has (in 2021) a longer battery autonomy than a IPhone 6s, 7, and 8.
Anyway, in the last years I have changed to wait a few weeks to see if something new has reached commonly reported stability. Then I install it. And I think all those that need to have things working need to develop this patience before they bite in. This is the same everywhere, whether it is a new Tesla car, a new Microsoft operating system, a new Apple update. Early updaters do it for curiosity and not because they have no alternatives and are forced to. For many and in the past it was also a ‘sport’ for me to be the one that wants to be at the front. And if in a hobby like audio there is nothing to loose this attitude is perfectly fine. Nothing to loose, one can sell and buy in to different.

[cyrus.b]

So I’m having a slightly different issue. Girlfriend accidentally hit update in the app and now the speakers intermittantly just stop outputting sound (have only been using the optical input lately). When I tap the speaker in the Devialet app settings I get no response. I can connect to them via Spotify connect but no sound output. Unplugging and replugging power fixes but then an an hour it does it again.

[invictus005]

So I’m having a slightly different issue. Girlfriend accidentally hit update in the app and now the speakers intermittantly just stop outputting sound (have only been using the optical input lately). When I tap the speaker in the Devialet app settings I get no response.  I can connect to them via Spotify connect but no sound output.  Unplugging and replugging power fixes but then an an hour it does it again.

Same exact problem as everyone else. There’s no fix. Buy new speakers, or wait.

[invictus005]

There’s something up with the phase and balance now for me. The soundstage sounds completely wrong and there’s an issue with the phase. The sound is focused on one of the speakers ( left for me) not unlike the issue a few months ago when DOS 2 was released. Anyone else have this problem?

This is actually a serious problem in addition to system crashing when switching sources. Ive restarted the system numerous times it’s completely random, sometimes I experience this problem and at other times it goes away. Just as you describe, sound is focused to one side with a slight mismatch to speakers which is causing almost like an echo effect. The sound does not have a stable image.

[itgeek77]

I upgraded to new firmware today, seems airplay connection is a little easier and more reliable than before (just a feeling) but eventually I rolled back to old firmware because I felt, after upgrade, the sound coming out from speaker is softer and more flat (lows, mids and highs are no longer impressive). I tried movies, pop music, classic music, edm and performance was quite consistent. Not sure if anyone else has the same feeling as me?

[bravocharlie]

I'm working with Devialet to resolve this problem. I've installed a special version of the firmware that apparently does a deep dive into the inner workings of my networked connections and the speaker operations. What I'm wondering is if there is a common thread here with the Toslink connection?

I've also noticed that when I submit a report from the Help section of the app (as I've been instructed to do) the speakers will reset on their own. Sometimes they do a hard reboot; other times, they just come back alive.

In a prior update of the app and firmware, the Toslink switch was identified by Devialet as an issue; thus the Optical Autoswitch was introduced to the app so that users could manually turn the auto switch off (recommended for those with Toslink conflicts). Apparently the autoswitch wreaks havoc with Toslink connected devices. I was told in the past, that some Toslink devices will send random signals to the speakers and cause them to switch to that input (when in auto mode). Now, I'm wondering if the people that are suffering from instabilities all have a common thread: Toslink connected devices. And, perhaps the app is faulty even when auto mode is turned off.

In my particular case for example, I have a completely ethernet connected system on all devices feeding signals to the Devialet Phantom Gold stereo pair. Both speakers are connected to ethernet, plugged into the same power strip, and both are connected to the same network switch. The only exception is the Toslink from the TV to the left speaker. In Apple TV (connected via ethernet), I have the option to run the audio via the Toslink (default in AppleTV and I can't change that) or I can switch to the Phantom Gold as an alternative audio device via AirPlay2. When doing so, this will cause conflicts with the apps on AppleTV to the point where I get error messages saying my HDMI cable isn't supported or the audio isn't supported. Perhaps its a conflict between Toslink and AirPlay 2, but nevertheless something is wrong and was not an issue prior to the latest app and firmware release.

Bottom line is, my guess is its Toslink related unless some of you are having issues on systems where Toslink is not used.

[Lee inseok]

I tried the normal factory reset - pressing the rear button three times and it restarts, but same issue. 

If the song is playing over bluetooth and I simply stop the song and wait for few seconds and restart playing, no sound comes out. The Devialet app shows that song is being streamed.
Same with Airplay.

Does anybody know the procedure for complete reset of the device - some weird power on/off sequence.

Almost the same thing happened to my Phantom Golds. ㅠㅠ

[invictus005]

This has nothing to do with Toslink. All one has to do for them to crash is try to Airplay 2 from YouTube, then close YouTube and try to play again and tge system will be frozen. Or play something from YouTube and hit the mute button on the Devialet app. It will no longer unmute and the system will crash.

[eladeb]

I got instructed to do a hard reset and then move to plc.
Seems like a bounce of nonsense (: to keep us busy.
They dont have a clue what's going on.