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I am a HiFi News & Record Review subscriber and today I see an announcement for the review of the Devialet Astra amplifier(s) in the September 2025 issue; will be published August 27th 2025. I am very curious whether they will compare the Astra sound with the Expert Pro range a little more than zero. If anyone can do this...., but perhaps I am living in the old world.....
1: Atelier d'Or no.75 (1.5m. AQ RCA-XLR),  2812 QuadESL.nl, Kimber 8TC, WBT, Rel StentorII, Oppo105D (surround), Vodafone Next, Quad 303.2(!Quadrepair.nl), Kef RDM1, BenQW4000i, SBooster (6x), EliteScreen 125 inch, Stax 507 (2x) on Stax SRM-1S, SRM D-50, all on Iso-Ac. Gaia1, 2 and 3, Kemp Isolator source and power-, Kemp QA/ SNS plugs (6x), Furutech & ALAC maincables, AQ Blizzard, Van den Hul Mainstream, Optical 8k cables, Clearaudio (Synchro+Champion2+TT3 tangential+CM Bearing+Outer Limit+StradivariV2, 530uV, 460 ohms), NUC11 i7, Samsung-980Pro, -A8, -S24Ultra, Roon Life, Netgear 108, AQ Cinnamon all, Live cable USB, AQ jitterbug 5x, WB 20TB 2x
2: 220Pro, Kef R3, Rel Studio, Oppo103EU (surround), Quad 303.2, Kef RDM2, all on Iso Acoustics 200, Gaia 3 & 1, LG Oled55, Furutech wall outlets(3x), AQ NRG-Z3 (2m., 5x), Kemp powerstrips, Audiotool filters, Oppo HA2+PM3 + AQ cinnamon cables
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I think it’s actually coming in the August issue, due any day now….very interested to see what it says!
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Is Hifi News a magazine that does critical reviews or one of those we're always positive magazines just to keep the vendor happy for next reviews?
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(25-Jun-2025, 19:48)iamwappie Wrote: Is Hifi News a magazine that does critical reviews or one of those we're always positive magazines just to keep the vendor happy for next reviews?
Those days of critical reviews are 'gone with the wind' ... these days, all reviews are to keep everyone 
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(25-Jun-2025, 22:01)audio_engr Wrote: (25-Jun-2025, 19:48)iamwappie Wrote: Is Hifi News a magazine that does critical reviews or one of those we're always positive magazines just to keep the vendor happy for next reviews?
Those days of critical reviews are 'gone with the wind' ... these days, all reviews are to keep everyone
I suspect you're correct, but I would also expect the review to do a reasonably professional job of focusing on the strengths of the Astra and hopefully assess the competition at the Astra pricepoint. Unfortunately, I seriously doubt that they would dig into any detailed comparison with the Expert Pro nor do I think Devialet would ever want them to do so.
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So, it’s out - and I’m aware of copyright issues as I post this - so I’ll say they give it 86%, it’s a very good review, not outstanding but still very good. Reviewer talks about the journey from the D-Premier in terms of functionality but doesn’t do a head-to-head comparison with the Expert models.
The only strange thing I noted was that they used SAM but it wasn’t for the exact model of the Wilson speaker he used, it was for the prior version. I would have thought that was not ideal, it has to be the right match or not?
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(27-Jun-2025, 08:00)wiresandmore Wrote: So, it’s out - and I’m aware of copyright issues as I post this - so I’ll say they give it 86%, it’s a very good review, not outstanding but still very good. Reviewer talks about the journey from the D-Premier in terms of functionality but doesn’t do a head-to-head comparison with the Expert models.
The only strange thing I noted was that they used SAM but it wasn’t for the exact model of the Wilson speaker he used, it was for the prior version. I would have thought that was not ideal, it has to be the right match or not?
Going by numbers, I'd say if they gave the Astra 86%, it's very good as they gave 89% to the Gryphon Diablo 333.
Nevertheless, I'm hanging on to my 440-Pro CI regardless of Devialet's newer products.
Roon Nucleus w/ Hypsos PSU & AQ Tornado + Roon RAAT > AQ Diamond ETH > etherREGEN using SFP + Hypsos PSU | CEC TL-5 CD Transport + AQ Z3 + 3 x Orea Indigo > AQ Diamond AES/EBU
Wattson Emerson Digital w/ Farad Super-3 via AQ Wild AES > Devialet 440-Pro CI > AQ Wel Sig RCA-XLR | 6 x Orea Bronze, 2 x Synergistic Research Atmosphere PC |
B&W 802 D3 {Bi-wired} > AQ WEL Signature (Biwire) | REL G1-Mk2 pair | PS Audio PP 12 + AQ NRG-1000 | Puritan GroundMaster + RouteMaster | SAM DISABLED - DPM OFF - Northern Virginia - US
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Me too! It is still one hell of a piece of kit 😀
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(27-Jun-2025, 08:00)wiresandmore Wrote: So, it’s out - and I’m aware of copyright issues as I post this - so I’ll say they give it 86%, it’s a very good review, not outstanding but still very good. Reviewer talks about the journey from the D-Premier in terms of functionality but doesn’t do a head-to-head comparison with the Expert models.
The only strange thing I noted was that they used SAM but it wasn’t for the exact model of the Wilson speaker he used, it was for the prior version. I would have thought that was not ideal, it has to be the right match or not?
Having SAM on from a different model could stuff up the timing between the drivers, so it's far from ideal.
I know because I am running a pair of Perlisten speakers at the moment (No SAM available) and, because I'm planning on selling them and going back to my previous speakers for a while, I haven't changed the configuration. The Expert remembers that SAM was turned off usually, but, after a power outage, it went back to SAM on. Something sounded off, so I checked and sure enough, SAM was back.
Shameless plug: The Perlisten speakers I'm talking about.
https://devialetchat.com/Thread-FS-Perli...High-Gloss
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