Astra vs Expert Pro on paper

[Delija]

Expert (Pro) has fantastic specs on paper - yet on practical measurements it's not even close to these specs in several categories. In some - it's even very bad. Like the max output measurements on higher freqs.
That doesn't stop it to sound really good.

I don't undesrtand why are you so against Astra - you haven't even heard it, if I'm not wrong.

[ada]

I'm not against Astra, I'm just not convinced about what Astra can do and Devialet doesn't give me any good reason to be convinced.

As for the reasons:

1. If Expert doesn't live up to the what it promised on paper, how can I expect Astra to, since it's the same company that makes Astra? And on paper, it's worse than Expert.
   
2. We already know that Expert uses a special algorithm for thermal management, so we know that it's not measurable or doesn't give good measurable results in high power benchmarks, I can see in my own measurements that this doesn't reflect on the sound, and I'm comfortable with that.
   
3. When I consider Devialet's approach that started around 2018 and constantly sell false dreams, I don't have a clear idea about why Astra will be supported for a longer time or why I should believe in the promises made with Astra, and Devialet does not and cannot take a single step to change this. No one can say future proof about Expert or Astra, but Devialet has claimed this about Expert line for years and still does on their own webpages!
   
4. There are problems at the hardware level in all Devialet products released in the last 3-4 years, please go and look at Phantom, Dione, Gemini forums, there are dozens of problems from non-working drivers, not being able to bring the sound to stereo balance, battery retention problems, to the most basic connectivity problems, and even replacement with new units cannot prevent the same problems. From the latest releases for these products what I see is, the solutions that Devialet develops are constantly adding more latency, supporting lower resolutions, etc. to downgrade their products to work more stable. From here, I see that it is very difficult for Astra to be a problem-free product, and I add that if Astra claims to solve a problem that Expert has, they probably tried to do this only by downgrading something. That's why we asked for an ADH next gen technical document. Because one of their geniuses said that Expert had problems with high frequencies and they solved that in Astra. Astra is not thicker or bulkier, then the option is to reduce the heat generating factor. My claim from day one of Astra announcement is that ADH next gen is a low spec version of what we have in Expert to ensure lower heat generation. I can't prove my claim but Devialet also doesn't release the technical document that they promised. I hope you see the problem here.
   

I hope my arguments are fact-driven enough. If Astra was an amp that really fit my setup (I need to buy a bunch of new cables and sell a bunch of accessories to switch to Astra, and I don't have the energy for that), I would love to buy it, measure it, and present it to you with an A/B test. But until I get a proper, unbiased comparison, for me the Astra is nothing more than a nice leather bag.

[Delija]

I'll take the opportunity to listen to Astra once I get it. 

I'm not a buyer, but I'm curious.

[mdconnelly]

As a long time Expert/Expert Pro owner, I understand the frustration and animosity toward Devialet and the Astra. I suspect the Astra may be a fine product, but in a better world, it would have been released as the next generation of the Expert Pro series and would have extended the life of the Expert Pro thru firmware, OS and configurator improvements. A more viably priced upgrade path than the Endeavor program could have been made available. IMO, that should/could have all been possible. But Devialet chose, instead, to abandon the Expert Pro series (and owners) and the many promises made while leveraging the bulk of technology originally embedded in the Expert Pro into the far more expensive Astra.

[iamwappie]

In general i understand for some part that Devialet underdelivered on promises and people are disappointed about it. I wonder what people really are missing. To me all that is needed is delivered with the CI upgrade. All relevant connectivity services are available. I think people complaining on this forum also works sometimes as a catalyst sustaining or raising the negativity.

I tend to be open minded and to assume that a new product release with a steep price upgrade is able to deliver a higher quality and learned the hard way to be open minded about what can influence sound quality. At one point I decided to upgrade my cables to Crystal Cable and was amazed on the huge difference that a digital interlink could make or even the power cable. There I was with my electrical engineering background not being able to explain what happened. How can one not engineer a digital audio interface that over a distance of 70cm can transfer a digital signal with all its correction possibilities without any error and where a cable makes a huge difference (in a digital domain). And yes i know about jitter but this can all be engineered not to be of influence (which would require new industry standardization)

I assume, until proven differently, that only based on photos of the internals one cannot state it must be equal or less of quality...

And for those that are so sour on Devialet, just sell it? Apparently there is much better equipment for the money i assume than that justifies the complaining. The complaining may be more towards how Devialet treats their customers and to that of course i can only agree but if they have provided a solid and stable product that gives us much joy. If the company profile is that important than sell it.

Do you also not like the music of an artist if the artist character or attitude is not to your liking?

[hardcore]

Found this link to an Astra presentation:

https://www.sarte-audio.com/sites/defaul...281%29.pdf

It has information for sales, and more importantly it says the Astra does indeed support DSD:

Digital: Up to 192 kHz / 24 bits & DSD64
Network: Up to 192 kHz / 24 bits
USB: Up to 384 kHz / 24 bits & DSD128

So, are you Klaus the passionate audiophile, Guillaume the music lover HNWI, or both?

[sam1000]

Will Devialet consider releasing one final firmware update for Expert owners to benefit from the improved ADH design?
This would undoubtedly delight many loyal customers and generate highly positive feedback. It could also support the launch and perception of the Astra.
Frankly, offering only a 30% trade-in for the 250 Pro feels underwhelming, especially for long-time users who have invested significantly in the brand.

[Matthias]

I don‘t think it could be done with a firmware update. The changed at ADH at the Astra is mainly a hardware change as far as I understand.

[finix]

I am an Expert Pro 220 owner. and I would like to but I can't buy an Astra.
I love the sound of the Expert Pro and the Astra will sound great too but, I don't like to be treated like a fool.
There are no updates for the Expert Pro.
I would like to control the Expert via an app but they do not support it anymore. There is no app for my Samsung S24 ultra.
The Expert Pro has WiFi, so why do I have to use a SD card to configure it?
They could fix all problems and needs with only one update but they don't!
They don't care about me, about the customer!

So Devialet, with best regards............ F... you!

[iamwappie]

"The Expert Pro has WiFi, so why do I have to use a SD card to configure it?". Never understood why people find this so important. How many times a year do you change configurations? I never did over the past years and yes configuring it via a browser that would push the configuration file directly to the Expert is of course an improvement but when you think that this requires software development costs, I'd see if the effort and costs outweight usability benefits and I think they don't.