Astra vs Expert Pro on paper

[ogs]

Rather strange I'd say. According to the above USB and network (UPnP, RAAT) is downsampled to 24/96, but SPDIF coax and toslink is not. Astra uses ADH3, as does Phantoms. Phantoms has 24/96 max. I suspect that also SPDIF will be downsampled to 24/96 which means that 96kHz is the native rate for Astra, not 192kHz. Anyway - there is no 384/40 resolution anywhere in Astra.

EDIT: I sent a follow up response after I received the last message asking about the downsampling. Devialet Support replied: "The matter pertains to the "signal path." Physical inputs, such as Optical and Digital Coax, transmit the signal directly. In contrast, USB-C and Network utilize an alternative path for the signal, which accounts for the downsample process."

So ADH presumably runs at 192kHz. 192kHz for Optical and Coax goes unchanged to ADH while USB-C and Network enters an "alternative path", gets downsampled to 96/24 and then gets upsampled again before it enters the ADH stage.

[markush]

Wow that’s weird - especially when other brands go total highres on USB and network.
This is a major disadvantage compared to Expert line.

[ada]

It was very obvious with CI (maybe even before that) the ethernet and usb ports are on CI board while the rest of them are directly on the main board. I was always suspicious of extra layer of translation for ethernet and the USB inputs and most of the time switching to optic/xlr/coax improved the sound for majority of the people.

It seems like with Astra, these inputs that were previously on CI board are even further downgraded (what a surprise, another downgrade on another Astra piece).

[IanG-UK]

The most telling issue in my view relating to the Astra is that Devialet's chief research and development engineer, Mathieu Pernod, has now left Devialet having been with them from the start - that is 17 years - and has been the brains behind all Devialet electronics.

I have a Devialet 1000 and did listen to the Astra but did not consider buying one as it was not wall-mountable - an easy modification for Devialet to do but they could not bother with it.

Now that the brains behind the Expert and Astra has left, I would not consider buying the new, but possibly not fully road-tested, Astra product.

[Matthias]

The most telling issue in my view relating to the Astra is that Devialet's chief research and development engineer, Mathieu Pernod, has now left Devialet having been with them from the start - that is 17 years - and has been the brains behind all Devialet electronics.

I have a Devialet 1000 and did listen to the Astra but did not consider buying one as it was not wall-mountable - an easy modification for Devialet to do but they could not bother with it.

Now that the brains behind the Expert and Astra has left, I would not consider buying the new, but possibly not fully road-tested, Astra product.

I would also need a wall-mountable Astra; but I only have a Expert 250 (non pro).
What is our impression about the sound-quality of the astra compared to the expert? Would you buy one if it is wall-mountable?

[Pim]

The most telling issue in my view relating to the Astra is that Devialet's chief research and development engineer, Mathieu Pernod, has now left Devialet having been with them from the start - that is 17 years - and has been the brains behind all Devialet electronics.

I have a Devialet 1000 and did listen to the Astra but did not consider buying one as it was not wall-mountable - an easy modification for Devialet to do but they could not bother with it.

Now that the brains behind the Expert and Astra has left, I would not consider buying the new, but possibly not fully road-tested, Astra product.

I planned to hang mine, but decided against it when I found out that I would be looking at myself all the time. The Astra wouldn't have that issue.

   

[Staradonna]

Astra vs Expert Pro — Sound, Specs, and Real-World Value

Introduction

With the launch of the new Devialet Astra, many Expert Pro owners are wondering: is this really a step forward? On paper, Astra may seem like a spiritual successor to the Expert Pro, but a closer look reveals key technical differences and some surprising limitations. Here’s a breakdown of how the Astra compares to the Expert Pro — both technically and in terms of sound and value.

Note: I have not personally auditioned the Astra, so the observations here are based on available technical information and user feedback.


1. DAC and Internal Processing

Expert Pro:
• Internal DSP (MAT) processes PCM up to 192 kHz and converts DSD64 to 384 kHz PCM, then resamples to 192 kHz before entering ADH.
• MAT (Magic Wire) is present and active.
• Sweet Room correction is supported.
• Superior dynamic range and microdetail when fed from a high-quality external streamer.

Astra:
• MAT is also present (confirmed by Devialet Support), but:
• DSD128 via USB is downsampled to 96 kHz.
• Network and USB PCM streams are downsampled to 96 kHz before entering ADH.
• No Sweet Room functionality.
• Still limited to 24/192 PCM and DSD64 via digital input, like Expert Pro, but downsampling over network and USB is a regression.


2. Streaming Capabilities

Expert Pro:
• Both the Expert Pro and Astra are Roon Ready devices and support RAAT, Roon’s proprietary streaming protocol, which is used exclusively for streaming from Roon to these devices.
• RAAT is not supported by any other source besides Roon, so streaming via RAAT only works between Roon and the Expert Pro or Astra.
• Both devices also support AirPlay and UPnP streaming protocols.
• The Expert Pro does not support Qobuz Connect or Tidal Connect, and since Devialet no longer provides updates for the Expert Pro, these services will never be added.
• When released in 2017, Devialet promised Bluetooth support for the Expert Pro, but it has never been implemented.
• Streaming board development has stalled — no native Qobuz or Tidal Connect on the Expert Pro.

Astra:
• Integrated modern streaming with Devialet OS.
• Supports Spotify Connect, AirPlay, UPnP, Roon Ready, and possibly Qobuz/Tidal Connect in the future.
• Great if you want an all-in-one solution, but you’re locked into Devialet’s ecosystem — and there’s no Dirac Live or advanced room correction available.

Shared advantage (Expert Pro & Astra):
The internal streaming facilities of both the Expert Pro and Astra are functional but limited compared to the best standalone streamers. However, both models feature excellent DAC and ADH amplification stages, which can be fully leveraged by pairing them with a high-quality external streamer. When connected via USB, both benefit from asynchronous communication, where the amplifier’s clock controls data transfer. This reduces jitter and improves timing accuracy, allowing devices such as the WiiM Ultra to deliver performance comparable to far more expensive streamers used purely as a digital transport, at least on paper and based on technical principles; this has not been personally tested.


3. Room Correction

Expert Pro:
• Offers Sweet Room, a built-in parametric EQ system that applies to all sources connected directly to the amplifier — both digital and analog.
• When paired with an external streamer running Dirac Live, room correction is applied only to signals passing through that streamer. Sources connected directly to the Expert Pro will still use Sweet Room’s correction profile.
• Sweet Room is less sophisticated than Dirac Live but has the advantage of working across every input, ensuring consistent tonal balance regardless of source.

Astra:
• No built-in room correction functionality.
• No support for Dirac Live or other third-party EQ solutions.
• Any room correction would need to be applied upstream via an external streamer or processor, and would only affect the sources routed through that device.


Conclusion

The Expert Pro remains a superior value proposition – technically, functionally, and musically – especially when paired with a modern external streamer offering full streaming support and Dirac Live.

While Astra introduces a cleaner design and new UI, it sacrifices flexibility, upgradability, and some performance options. The built-in streaming capabilities of both the Expert Pro and Astra are serviceable but not at the level of the best external solutions. Their DAC and ADH amplification, however, remain among the best available at any price point.

When either device is connected via USB to a quality external streamer — such as the WiiM Ultra — they benefit from asynchronous communication, reducing jitter and enabling performance that rivals far more expensive dedicated transports.

Unless form factor and simplicity are your only priorities, and money isn’t an issue, the Expert Pro setup still offers the strongest combination of sound quality, flexibility, and long-term value.


Summary
This is a revised version of the comparison between the Devialet Expert Pro and Astra, based on valuable feedback received — thanks to everyone who contributed. Both models are Roon Ready, support RAAT, AirPlay, and UPnP, and share the same excellent DAC and ADH amplification stages. However, their internal streaming capabilities are limited compared to the best external streamers. Connecting an external streamer via USB, where only the Devialet DAC is used, benefits from asynchronous communication that reduces jitter, delivering performance comparable to much more expensive transports. When connecting via coaxial, where only the Devialet DAC is used, audible differences between streamers can be more noticeable. The Expert Pro has the advantage of Sweet Room EQ, while the Astra lacks built-in room correction.

[David A]

@Staradonna ,

I'm not going to quote the whole of your post above but I want to make a comment on your part 2- streaming capabilities.

RAAT has never been supported by anything other than Roon, it is a Roon streaming protocol which can only be used between Roon and a Roon Ready device. Both the Expert Pro and Astra are equally capable of using RAAT when streaming from Roon. You could never use RAAT when streaming to either from any source other than from Roon and you can only use it to stream from Roon to the Expert Pro and to the Astra because both are Roon Ready endpoints.

Both the Expert Pro and the Astra support Airplay and UpNp.

The Expert Pro does not support either Qobuz Connect or Tidal Connect and since Devialet has stopped providing updates for the Expert Pro then they never will. If Astra does not support them now then it may never. When Devialet released the Expert Pro in 2017 it promised to provide Bluetooth support but it never has.

Re room EQ via a streamer with Dirac: Dirac will only provide room correction for signals going through the streamer. If you also have a turntable or any source device which you directly connect to the Devialet it will not get the room correction available via the streamer's Dirac functionality. Sweet Room in the Expert Pro provides room EQ functions for all sources connected to the Expert Pro.

When it comes to comparing the features and capabilities of the Expert Pro and the Astra you can only compare the features and capabilities they have at the time you make the comparison. The features and capabilities the Expert Pro now has are locked in, they are not going to change. The Astra only supports whatever it supports at the time you make the comparison, it does not support anything it doesn't have at the time you make the comparison.

The Expert Pro supports quite a few things now that it did not support on release, it wasn't Roon Ready on release so it did not then support RAAT and it also didn't have Sweet Room which it now has. What the Astra supports right now is only what it has right now. That is also going to change over time and it will eventually support some things it does not support. Like the Expert Pro it may never support everything that Devialet promise but like the Expert Pro it may also end up supporting some things that were not promised.

t's "wait and see" when it comes to what the Astra will eventually end up supporting just as it was for the Expert Pro but until the Astra does not support a feature you can't list it as a supported feature in the expectation that it will eventually be supported. My experience with Devialet and the Expert Pro is that you should make your buying choices based on what the product can do at the time you buy it, not because you expect it to provide for support at some future time for something it does not have at the time of purchase.

Devialet did eventually deliver on most of its promises for the Expert Pro but it did not deliver on all of them and there will be some owners of Expert Pros who are disappointed and annoyed at Devialet's broken promises because they purchased in the expectation that they would get what was promised. Devialet is now delivering on some of those broken promises with the Astra but Expert Pro owners will not get those promised features unless they now upgrade to the Astra at considerable cost. There will be Astra owners who end up in the same situation if Devialet does not deliver on all of its promises for the Astra but instead deliver them in whatever amplifier comes after the Astra.

[ogs]

I agree with @IanG-UK that loosing Mathieu Pernod is indeed bad.

[Confused]

I see that the Hi-fi News review review of the Astra is now available on-line:

https://www.hifinews.com/content/deviale...-amplifier

As is the lab report:

https://www.hifinews.com/content/deviale...lab-report

This provides an interesting comparison, as hi-fi News also lab tested the Original D'atelier. OK, I guess that a single Astra is equivalent in the range to the old D250 / D250 Pro, so a comparison with the dual mono Original D'Atlelier (almost a 1000 Pro) is not like for like, but these are at least similar tests, performed by the same person.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1650/25531...9c1e_o.jpg

   

Taking a purely objective view on the above, it is interesting to note that by some criteria the single Astra does offer better measurements than the original D'Atelier. Obviously the latter is way ahead on power, but it is a dual mono item.

Hi-fi News never tested a D240/D250, so we do not have exactly equivalent measurements for power.

We do have measurements from a Polish magazine:

https://audio.com.pl/testy/stereo/wzmacn...vialet-240

Per the link above, we have 162w at 8 ohm, 324w at 4 ohm for a D240, pretty much identical to the numbers for the Astra (162w/321w) Note that his is for a "Pre-Pro" Devialet 240 Expert.

Taking all of the above, it looks like the Astra is pretty much equivalent to the old Expert in terms of raw power, with the Astra showing some improved numbers for signal to noise ratio, distortion, jitter etc.

Make of it what you will .....