One year after 13.2.0

[RvdH]

"Our team of developers is working day and night to bring the best features to the Expert" 

Although they might do a better job if they get some sleep from time to time.

So happy to read that Devialet as the company again that brings only the very best to their Expert customers, I am sure they work in 3 shifts of 8 hours each. 365/365.

[Gerronwithit]

What is it about Devialet? They seem incapable of maintaining or developing more than one product line. They appear to be completely consumed by the Phantom product line very much at the expense of the Expert. I do understand they have the Sky sound bar and the earbuds but the likes of Naim and Linn make them look like amateurs.

[mdconnelly]

IMHO, Devialet has two significant weaknesses - software development and customer support/communication. Devialet simply doesn't focus resources on these. Perhaps that is a financial decision or perhaps it's simply corporate philosophy. To do it well would require significant resources and neither would provide a direct income stream from it. Of course, I have to believe their products success would be that much greater if they did these two things better, but who knows.

The impact on me, a Devialet customer for over 5 years, is that I have a hard time recommending Devialet to others for these reasons. But, I'm still an Export 440 Pro owner and it still sounds as good as ever. If/when I ever replace it, rest assured I will pay a lot more attention to how well a company supports its products and customers well beyond the initial sale.

[David A]

IMHO, Devialet has two significant weaknesses - software development and customer support/communication.  Devialet simply doesn't focus resources on these.  Perhaps that is a financial decision or perhaps it's simply corporate philosophy.  To do it well would require significant resources and neither would provide a direct income stream from it.  Of course, I have to believe their products success would be that much greater if they did these two things better, but who knows. 

The impact on me, a Devialet customer for over 5 years, is that I have a hard time recommending Devialet to others for these reasons.  But, I'm still an Export 440 Pro owner and it still sounds as good as ever.  If/when I ever replace it, rest assured I will pay a lot more attention to how well a company supports its products and customers well beyond the initial sale.

+1.

I've been a Devialet owner for a bit under 5 years and I agree entirely with your assessment of Devialet's weaknesses though I would say one thing slightly differently. I think their product success depends more on the software development than the customer support/communication and I think that doing the software development better, doing a better job of releasing new firmware without bugs and fixing any bugs that occur much faster and better would reduce the dissatisfaction owners feel with their support and communication.

The first Experts were truly innovative and one of the few if not the first amplifiers to combine the inclusion of a DAC and streaming capabilities in the same device. That was the feat that in my mind gave some credibility to the "one day everyone will own a Devialet" slogan. Now that one box combination of DAC, streaming capabilities, and amplifier is much more common and while I don't think anyone else has quite done it with the design flair of Devialet, I do think that some of the others are now doing it with fewer bugs and more reliability. If Devialet can't do better on the software development front then fixing the customer support and communication won't let them stay competitive. It's fixing the software development issues that is essential to keeping them competitive in a market that is becoming a lot more competitive with every year in my view.

[yanc]

Dev developers should be working day and night to release an open source access API to the expert.
... and this from an otherwise *very* happy customer :-)

[RvdH]

I think it would be realistic to give up hope Devialet meets their promise to keep the Experts up to date with regular updates. As all companies that start enthousiasticly but become shareholders driven ones, driven by profits and marketing, Devialet earns far more money with their Phantoms than with the Experts. So if the management has to decide to spend millions on upgraing the Experts (of which far less sold than of the Phantom) or keeping the money come in selling the Phantoms, the choice is obvious.

The Devialet we got to know in the early yeras is dead I am afraid. The enthousiasm has gone. Excel sheets took over. Let's re-calibrate our expectations. In the mean while the Experts still make great music. Enjoy!

[daniel.avasilichioaei]

I think it would be realistic to give up hope Devialet meets their promise to keep the Experts up to date with regular updates. As all companies that start enthousiasticly but become shareholders driven ones, driven by profits and marketing, Devialet earns far more money with their Phantoms than with the Experts. So if the management has to decide to spend millions on upgraing the Experts (of which far less sold than of the Phantom) or keeping the money come in selling the Phantoms, the choice is obvious.

The Devialet we got to know in the early yeras is dead I am afraid. The enthousiasm has gone. Excel sheets took over. Let's re-calibrate our expectations. In the mean while the Experts still make great music. Enjoy!

I totally agree. Unfortunately...

[Nickname]

To my point a view of a user of Expert 120 since 2013 I agree the software development has stopped from a while new BUT it works for me like a charm ! and a mean I wouldn't expect anything new from this product. It does amplifying perfectly ! and for the "modern connectivity" they are many solutions that you can plug in.

What would you expect from updates ? (don't tell me a good wifi , I know this is absolutely not the best input here)

[Nickname]

... and the question was asked and answered, Yes Mathieu is still working at Devialet.

[markush]

Just sad to see the many promises made with the CI upgrade - and its huge potential that isn’t used to what it is capable of.