06-Oct-2021, 21:11
I think the issue is larger than simply a lack of newsletters.
When 13.2.0 was released, the documentation relating to it listed some still outstanding bugs and a couple of items promised with the release of the Expert Pro range that were still to be implemented for the CI board. That documentation did not list the Roon RAAT gigabit ethernet problem but I remember it saying that 13.2.0 provided some improvements on that front. I know some owners were still having issues with that problem. One year on, and over 4 years since the release of the Expert Pro range and over 3 years after the release of the CI board, Devialet still have not delivered on all of the features promised for the range. To give them their credit they have delivered 2 features not originally promised, Roon RAAT functionality although still in a not quite fully reliable form and Sweet Room which provides some ability to achieve DSP based room correction functionality but which also has bugs and does not work properly if you use SAM.
The fact remains that Devialet were aware of still outstanding problems with the 13.2.0 firmware and still had not delivered the full functionality they promised purchasers of Expert Pros and i believe they are morally, if not contractually, obliged to fix the outstanding bugs including the bugs in Sweet Room and to deliver the full functionality they promised. It looks increasingly likely that those obligations will never be fulfilled.
I'm very happy with my Expert Pro . The outstanding bugs are not causing problems for me , I don't use Sweet Room, and the current firmware gives me the functionality I want but I would like to see those outstanding issues addressed. Sadly Devialet seems to have a history of failing to fix bugs and deliver on promises related to functionality. People were raising issues about Devialet's failings in respect to those aspects back when I bought my Expert Pro in 2017, before they delivered the CI board, and here we are over 4 years later with people making the same sort of comments about the same failings.
If Devialet reads this forum or if they don't, they are well aware of how owners feel about these issues. Owners who have posted here have often quoted correspondence they've had directly with Devialet, and in personal communications to Mathieu, on these issues and Devialet have on several occasions over the last 4 years made announcements and promises about improving their performance in these areas. Those promises have not been delivered on either. Devialet are supremely unconcerned about addressing issues raised in forums such as this.
At this stage I would not bet on seeing the outstanding firmware issues addressed. Devialet deliver hardware products that rely heavily on firmware for their functionality but it seems they have always been more focussed on the hardware than the firmware. Their attitude on firmware seems to be "near enough is good enough" and if there's a work around for a bug then they seem to prefer recommending that users adopt the workaround rather than actually fixing the firmware problem. That's the way they've operated until now and they have consistently shown no sign of changing that habit.
I too would love to see a new firmware release and I would be overjoyed just to see a new release that did nothing more than fix all of the outstanding issues listed for the 13.2.0 release and delivered the outstanding functionality that they originally promised for the Expert Pros but I've stopped expecting to see such a release. I was delighted with my Expert Pro when I bought it and looked forward to the delivery of everything they promised those of us who bought our Expert Pros before they delivered the CI board. They've delivered over 90% of what they promised, a couple of very nice features that they hadn't promised, and a number of bugs including some which still need fixing. My Expert Pro does what I need it to do but I would really like it to do all of the things they promised, without bugs, because there are certainly purchasers who would like to see the outstanding promises and problems fixed. Not only do they have a right to see those issues addressed, Devialet has an obligation to address those issues. They sold the amplifiers with the promise that specific functionality would be provided and it's arguable that a product is not fully "fit for purpose" until all of its functionality is available without bug related problems that stop that functionality from working properly.
Sadly Devialet does not appear to see things that way and I would say based on my experience as an owner and from the comments of people here who have owned a Devialet for much longer than I have that Devialet have never seen things that way. My advice is not to expect firmware releases , they never seem to have been a priority for Devialet, and to be prepared to see new bugs introduced with each release and for some bugs to exist for years without fixes. It's definitely worth raising issues with them but the only way to do that with any hope that an issue will be addressed is by direct communication. Raising concerns in forums like this is pointless with Devialet, they just don't seem to care about what gets written in user forums.
When 13.2.0 was released, the documentation relating to it listed some still outstanding bugs and a couple of items promised with the release of the Expert Pro range that were still to be implemented for the CI board. That documentation did not list the Roon RAAT gigabit ethernet problem but I remember it saying that 13.2.0 provided some improvements on that front. I know some owners were still having issues with that problem. One year on, and over 4 years since the release of the Expert Pro range and over 3 years after the release of the CI board, Devialet still have not delivered on all of the features promised for the range. To give them their credit they have delivered 2 features not originally promised, Roon RAAT functionality although still in a not quite fully reliable form and Sweet Room which provides some ability to achieve DSP based room correction functionality but which also has bugs and does not work properly if you use SAM.
The fact remains that Devialet were aware of still outstanding problems with the 13.2.0 firmware and still had not delivered the full functionality they promised purchasers of Expert Pros and i believe they are morally, if not contractually, obliged to fix the outstanding bugs including the bugs in Sweet Room and to deliver the full functionality they promised. It looks increasingly likely that those obligations will never be fulfilled.
I'm very happy with my Expert Pro . The outstanding bugs are not causing problems for me , I don't use Sweet Room, and the current firmware gives me the functionality I want but I would like to see those outstanding issues addressed. Sadly Devialet seems to have a history of failing to fix bugs and deliver on promises related to functionality. People were raising issues about Devialet's failings in respect to those aspects back when I bought my Expert Pro in 2017, before they delivered the CI board, and here we are over 4 years later with people making the same sort of comments about the same failings.
If Devialet reads this forum or if they don't, they are well aware of how owners feel about these issues. Owners who have posted here have often quoted correspondence they've had directly with Devialet, and in personal communications to Mathieu, on these issues and Devialet have on several occasions over the last 4 years made announcements and promises about improving their performance in these areas. Those promises have not been delivered on either. Devialet are supremely unconcerned about addressing issues raised in forums such as this.
At this stage I would not bet on seeing the outstanding firmware issues addressed. Devialet deliver hardware products that rely heavily on firmware for their functionality but it seems they have always been more focussed on the hardware than the firmware. Their attitude on firmware seems to be "near enough is good enough" and if there's a work around for a bug then they seem to prefer recommending that users adopt the workaround rather than actually fixing the firmware problem. That's the way they've operated until now and they have consistently shown no sign of changing that habit.
I too would love to see a new firmware release and I would be overjoyed just to see a new release that did nothing more than fix all of the outstanding issues listed for the 13.2.0 release and delivered the outstanding functionality that they originally promised for the Expert Pros but I've stopped expecting to see such a release. I was delighted with my Expert Pro when I bought it and looked forward to the delivery of everything they promised those of us who bought our Expert Pros before they delivered the CI board. They've delivered over 90% of what they promised, a couple of very nice features that they hadn't promised, and a number of bugs including some which still need fixing. My Expert Pro does what I need it to do but I would really like it to do all of the things they promised, without bugs, because there are certainly purchasers who would like to see the outstanding promises and problems fixed. Not only do they have a right to see those issues addressed, Devialet has an obligation to address those issues. They sold the amplifiers with the promise that specific functionality would be provided and it's arguable that a product is not fully "fit for purpose" until all of its functionality is available without bug related problems that stop that functionality from working properly.
Sadly Devialet does not appear to see things that way and I would say based on my experience as an owner and from the comments of people here who have owned a Devialet for much longer than I have that Devialet have never seen things that way. My advice is not to expect firmware releases , they never seem to have been a priority for Devialet, and to be prepared to see new bugs introduced with each release and for some bugs to exist for years without fixes. It's definitely worth raising issues with them but the only way to do that with any hope that an issue will be addressed is by direct communication. Raising concerns in forums like this is pointless with Devialet, they just don't seem to care about what gets written in user forums.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.
Brisbane, Qld, Australia
