Next Expert Pro upgrade?

[melozen]

Hi All,

It has been around 4 years since the Expert line got upgraded to the Pro one. 
Have anybody heard any news or rumors about the next upgrade? 
Is it coming or the Pro upgrade was the final one?

Thanks!

[Gerronwithit]

Am afraid your last sentence must sum up the current situation. When Devialet released the Pro CI it was supposed to be the base point for future expansion but absolutely nothing has happened since. I suspect that the Phantom has either eaten up all resources and, or been a marked success for the company and that the Expert range investment has been at best put on a back burner. It’s embarrassing for them and expensive for us.

[melozen]

That's disappointing... And a bit surprising, I would think Devialet could continue making money from the future upgrades.

[flohmann]

I think we all have to keep in mind just how few Expert units have actually been sold. Didn't someone say the total number is a few thousand units? Like many "halo cars" in the automotive world, it seems pretty unlikely that Devialet make much of their profit numbers on Expert sales/upgrades. I'm grateful for all they've done (as someone who bought a d-Premier and have been along for the whole ride to D1000 Pro), and still love the sound of mine.

[Delija]

Basically, this is how I see it...

It appears that Expert line gave the "name" and initial investments to Devialet and now they are making some serious money with Phantoms. They don't really need Expert any more.

On the other side, I'm more than happy with my Expert. It has everything I need.
If you ask me - they could just fix bugs in firmware and configurator and make some better mobile app. That's it.

[mdconnelly]

There is more than rumor that Devialet is working on an OS and firmware update for Expert Pros. Of course, their pace of work is painfully slow so it still may be months before we ever see anything.

[tom539]

Hello,

thinking about going „Pro“ with my 400.

Can somebody tell me (or post a link here in the forum) about the benefit / differents between 400 and 440pro with an external phono-pre (solid State)?

I already have compared 440/400 at home last year - and with the digital source (Roon on ROCK/NUC) the 440pro is clearly the winner. At that time, I still used the phono-stage from the 400. And in that configuration, the benefit of the 440pro was significantly smaller than with digital source.

Thanks for feedback (or links).

atb, Tom

[mdconnelly]

FWIW, I have found the phono section of my Expert Pro 440 proved quite good with my MC cartridge once I set the phono params in the config to match the cartridge. Remember that even an external phono section will still go thru the analog to digital and back to analog conversion in going through the Devialet.

I never owned a 400 but did compare my 200 with a 220 and found it to be a nice improvement in SQ. Worth the price difference? Hmmm, that's a tough one. But if you love the sound of the 440 over the 400 and can afford it, then go for it! I moved to the Expert Pro line in part because, at the time, I thought Devialet had a strategic plan to further evolve it once the CI upgrade was in place. That, unfortunately, has proven to be a disappointment. Still, I'm quite pleased with the sound of my 440.

[daniel.avasilichioaei]

I think it is unlikely that Devialet will do a hardware upgrade for Expert PRO, given the experience of upgrading from Expert to Expert PRO: the promises of an upgradable and customizable platform for the future, versus the lack of future upgrades / firmware.
In case of a hardware upgrade, I don't think customers will rush to buy it...

[melozen]

I started thinking that maybe its time to upgrade my 400 to 440 Pro. Not much time left on the warranty, software upgrades have stopped a while back and a lot of people reported improved sound quality, especially at low volume listening (very important to me). But I started wondering what if there is another hardware upgrade around the corner since there have not been one for about 4 years. So you think its pretty safe to go for it?