Next Software Updates for Expert Amplifiers

[DelaneyB]

Completely agree with the comments on AIR. I gave up after a month and got a Moon Mind. Its a shame as the D250 concept would be best in isolation, but i've grown used to having a smaller rack with the D250, MacMini, Mind, Graham Slee headphone amp and Teddy Pardo PS. Still better than six boxes of Naim on two stacks.

The Devialet sound is different to Naim. Less mid bass and incredible detail on an inky blackness. That 'blackness' is the key to the Devialet, but with the external bits its important to have good cables (a standard USB on the Mini destroyed it totally).

[mdconnelly]

When I bought the Devialet, it was getting nothing but glowing press and seemed the darling of the audio industry.  I did have a chance to spend time with a 120 (bought the 200) so was aware of the AIR issues.   But I also felt it was no big deal and they'd get it resolved in no time (that was nearly a year ago).  After all, a lot of companies do music streaming quite well.  

No one likes to see "their" favorite gear manufacturer screw up.  I'm dismayed by the way Devialet is "not" handling AIR, not communicating well with its customer base, and seemingly focusing all its attention on the Phantom.  Like many of you, I'm concerned that it may be a portend of things to come.  But -- and this is important for me -- even if the Devialet had no streaming solution,  I would have bought the 200.  To my ears, in my system, it just sounds better than anything else I've owned (and I have had some top-shelf gear).  And that's what it's all about.  

Like everyone here - I want Devialet to succeed.  We all win when it does.   So, yes, time to let AIR go and seek an alternate way to stream - plenty exist at a quite reasonable cost.  Devialet will eventually address the issue and I'll let them "exceed my expectations" when they do.

[rwjr44]

When I bought my D200 I had the Aurender X100L so AIR wasn't an issue for me. I am very happy with its sound and less so with the company. But there are many hi-fi companies that produce superb products and have operational problems. Devialet's benefit to bother ratio very much favors benefit. IMHO.

[NickB]

Womaz was close(ish) Nick, but…..

AIR is useless, and so the Devialet/AIR combination didn't work as advertised and was a huge disappointment.  I'm not calling the hardware useless per-se, but since they were marketed and sold as a 'package' and I intended to use the D200 in that way - clearing out all hifi from my lounge except the beautiful D200 which i could allegedly stream to - it's hard not to lump them together in that sense and in my particular case.

Compared to many frequenting this forum, I'm not quite so evangelical about the D200 itself.  I was drawn to its looks, its feature set, its 'upgradeability', the remote, its streaming capabilities, the lure of modern tone controls, and its technical innovation.  More than anything, I loved the all-in-one idea, and so I actually bought it without demo  (a lot of the time I demo, but not always, and have never really been disappointed).   AIR we've covered, but since owning it I've found few of the key features really lived up to my expectations. The EVO platform 'upgradeability' seems more a marketing exercise in acronym creation than anything else, I hate the fact that I can hear 'chattering' from the PSU (I mean, my Naim was actually quiet), I love the remote as a device but since it lacks buttons you're also reliant on the iPhone ap which again looks beautiful but isn't very functional and seems like its long been forgotten, and the tone controls actually aren't really very well designed. I also don't like the fact that if I want to do something simple like enable an input, I have to go through a long-winded process with an online Configurator and SD cards. There are other niggles, but I'm sure other devices have similar issues...

How does it sound?  In my opinion I think its 'good'.  'Very good' probably.  I find the Devialet sounds 'different' to anything I've heard before though, and something about it bothers me. But this could be for so many reasons so just to be clear I don't blame the unit in any way for the way it sounds - it does what it does and its up to the user to decide if its something that suits them.  I decided to keep it, but the key factor there was getting rid of things that looked like hifi from the lounge rather than anything else, and this was a decision that had been made based on the Devialet's looks and streaming capability - the faults with AIR I foolishly assumed would be fixed in no time and I figured the issues I'd read on forums must have been exaggerated….. after all, its a £5000 device. How wrong I was.

So, removing AIR (which is hard for me) it's a nice DAC/amplifier, but the frustration it's caused - exaggerated by Devialet's arrogant stance - has massively overpowered any positives.   I'll replace it in a heartbeat as soon as there's a suitable candidate and I'm in a position to do so.  

Now I make sure I send the message about AIR far and wide.  I don't want anyone else to get suckered into buying one thinking they can reliably stream to it, if thats how they intend to use it.  Sure if it's a bonus feature then fine, take a chance, but if you need/want to use to that way steer clear - the world in this area is evolving fast and there are loads of other options out there, even more if you assume you have to connect via USB or whatever.

Many thanks for that very detailed reply, I think I now begin to understand the problem.

[f1eng]

AIR version 1 had teething problems but worked well IME, version 2 was a, mistaken IMHO, big change to satisfy customer demand for Windows compatibility which has misfired badly it seems - loads of unanticipated problems.

I wish they would go back to developing the original.

Having written that AIR works fine for me when I do any streaming, has done for years, and my network is just a few boxes connected together, nothing fancy.

[TDA]

sorry if i haven't read all post in this thread.

but i bought my devs in january and there was talk about a big software upgrade in the start of 2016.. anybody knows when it will come?

[octaviars]

No upgrades before may is what Devialet told me when I asked. They usually has something for the München fair but now it seems that Devialet is not atending. We just have to wait and see.

[midi]

I got a message, which makes me hopeful, that we get an AIR solution (because not only Devialet is working on it). I wait a little, there is no longer a matter of.

Please don´t ask for details. I dream that the message is true. I have reset all purchase intentions for an Sonicorbiter or an Auralic Aries.

[Hifi_swlon]

I got a message, which makes me hopeful, that we get an AIR solution (because not only Devialet is working on it). I wait a little, there is no longer a matter of.

Please don´t ask for details. I dream that the message is true. I have reset all purchase intentions for an Sonicorbiter or an Auralic Aries.

It's a bizarre post to be fair midi, but I kind of like it!  Sort of like the 'gods' have spoken to you.  

[Cylob]

Yeah let's all pray together now!
Nah just kidding: let's hope you're right.
About bloody time!