Oxford Audio Consultants - Astra launch event - 21 November

[ada]

It will be worst, the Astra will play more warm and less analytic. Based on data on paper that’s my guess. It is less powerful, less heating (lower power A class amp?), less power demanding and less damping. It will have less punchy basses which HIFI people love and will fit much better to vinlys. Anyways, I am waiting for you guys to sell your Experts for nuts price to have a 1000s for my Bass and 440 for my treble channels of Scalas

[Drifter]

Any feedback on this event? If I'm not mistaking this was today 21 Nov.

Even though I have sold my 440PRO I am still a very interested in what Devialet does (or don't do). I agree that on paper the Astra seems to be step backwards from the Expert but I do prefer the new brushed case and remote to the shiny fingerprint and scratch magnet case of the Expert.

Interesting read https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.p...tra-reboot

[thumb5]

@Drifter Watch this space...writing up my notes.

[thumb5]

While it's fresh in my mind, here's a "brain dump" from this afternoon's launch of the Devialet Astra at Oxford Audio Consultants.  I'll just write it as it happened, without too much editorial [other than my off-the-cuff comments in brackets like so].

The session was hosted by Phil and Nico from Devialet UK, with Mathieu P providing his usual technical insight - thanks to all of you.  Apparently this was the world premier outing for Astra in a partner store.

We started with some background about Devialet, although most if not all people attending were already familiar with the brand, most being existing customers.  Phil spoke about the 250 or so patents lodged by Devialet and represented by technology embodied in their existing product range - ADH, SAM, etc.  Devialet are licencing some of this technology to other major companies including Alpine (cars) and Safran (aviation).  They also work with cultural organisations including Opéra de Paris, whose name is lent to the special editions of Phantom and Astra.

Then on to the Astra itself.  Nico explained how it builds on the Expert Pro with improvements to the ADH core, particularly affecting performance at high frequencies [a weak spot of the Expert series which has already been noted in reviews by ASR and John Atkinson].  The Astra also includes a new processor and operating system which provides better support for streaming services, enabling Tidal Connect and Chromecast, for example.  Configuration is as flexible as it was for the Expert but instead of the familiar SD card, the configuration built on line is now transferred to the amp by the Devialet phone app. over a local network.  [Meaning the Astra requires a LAN connection, either wired or wireless.]  The wireless network now uses WiFi 6, and Bluetooth 5.3 is added.  Apart from the obvious cosmetic changes to the case, there are now separate power and source selection buttons mounted on the front right-hand side.  [In my opinion, somewhat less elegant than the single button front and centre on the Expert, but least a better decision than Apple's design to put the power buton on bottom of the new Mac Mini!]  The matching remote control now has its own screen [which is a great improvement in usability].

[I was surprised by how much I like the Astra's casework in the light bronze finish; it's much subtler than it looks in photos, which I think don't really do it justice.]

The Astra uses a new version of the main Devialet phone app. which has been extended to support it.  This includes support for sending a pre-built configuration to the amplifier and streaming directly to it.

A short Q&A followed, with these topics covered (in no particular order):

• Devialet would like to integrate support for Qobuz, and there is no technical reason why it can't be done apart from the fact that Qobuz do not provide a proper streaming API; apparently Qobuz Connect is just a remote control mechanism and is not analogous to Tidal Connect or Spotify Connect
  
• The Astra uses the same phono stage as in the Expert, although it provides a slightly wider selection of cartridge loading
  
• Astra runs cooler than Expert and there is no problem stacking a dual-mono pair directly on top of each other (unless you have the Opéra de Paris version with the more delicate gold leaf finish)
  
• A dual-mono pair of Astra is rated to provide only twice the power of a single unit rather than four times as is the case for Expert.  Mathieu said that this is deliberately conservative and in fact a dual Astra will sustain high power delivery for longer than a dual Expert.
  
• The Astra remote control is not compatible with the Expert [a great shame!] and in any case is not sold as a separate accessory
  
• There is no mechanism to wall-mount the Astra, and - if I understood correctly - for those intrepid enough to build your own, the display on the Astra does not automatically rotate if it were wall-mounted with the terminals downwards.
  
• The Astra does not support the Devialet AIR streaming protocol
  

Phil and Nico then demonstrated a dual-mono pair of Astra which (I presume) was playing music streamed from the Devialet app, into a pair of Sonus faber Stradivari.  Music included a selection of male and female vocal, jazz, live, trip-hop, and (by audience request!) classical and blues.  Of course, it's hard to mentally A/B this set-up against my own system, but I heard pretty much what I have come to expect from a Devialet system: good tonal balance, plenty of detail, clean and sweet treble, with stable imaging and good control of the speakers.

After the demonstration I had a chat with Mathieu to discuss some more detailed technical points:

• The ADH section is similar to what's in the Expert Pro, but has been optimised to improve power delivery at higher frequencies.  This is most likely to be audible in percussion sounds and may also improve stereo imaging.
  
• The trusty TI PCM1792 DAC remains at the heart of the ADH section; it's still the best available choice for this application.
  
• The dual-mono configuration is slightly different to the Expert series; for Astra it's more symmetrical, rather than master/slave.  The connection between the two amps is still digital, of course, and requires two cables - this enables all inputs on both units to be used.
  

As far as the Expert series is concerned, we should expect no more changes to hardware or firmware.  I also assume that there will be no updates to existing applications or configurator (although presumably if serious defects are found then they should be addressed by customer support).  Devialet do have plenty of parts in stock to repair Expert series hardware if necessary, which is reassuring to hear.

All in all I found it a great opportunity to chat to people in Devialet, especially the ever-helpful Mathieu, and to see and touch the new generation amplifier.  Although it's natural to feel a little disappointed that the Expert is not going to be developed any further, it's also encouraging to see Devialet launching a new product into this market.

Thank you to Jon and his colleagues at Oxford Audio Consultants for hosting the event and providing the requisite hot beverages on a cold and crisp winter day - much appreciated.

Finally, it was good to catch up with a few well-known faces from the forum; I trust you enjoyed the afternoon and had smooth journeys home.

@Confused - I'd be very interested to hear your take on the afternoon's events, too!

ETA: If anyone spots any mistakes in the above, please let me know and I'll correct them.

[tom539]

Thanks a lot @thumb5  - great summary.

atb, Tom

[Stian_Gel]

A very interesting read.
The only thing i am missing with my 250 (right now) is a updated android remote app.
Multiple people here have contacted Devialet about it, but no answer yet apart from the no further updates are coming answer.
The Astra is very nice, but far outside of my current budget. (Orderd some new speakers instead.)

[Confused]

First to say thanks to the guys at OAC and Devialet. Another very well organised event, a very enjoyable event, and I managed to blag some "free" coffee from Jon.

Also, an excellent summary from @thumb5 above. He has written much, which means I can get away with writing less.

Although we attended different sessions, it looks like we mostly covered the same topics, Ian's write up almost reads as a factually accurate summary of the later session that he did not attend. So yes, a great summary.

What can I add? There was quite a bit of chat in our session about the Astra being lower power (on paper) than the Expert Pro that it replaces. We had the same explanation, the Astra is more conservatively rated, and the Astra will sustain high power delivery for longer. In our session, Mathieu made a comment about there being no universal standard for measuring / publishing specifications for audio products. He then clarified that there are some new / updated requirements (legislation?) for publishing specifications for products to be sold in the USA. The figures for the Astra comply with these new regulations, the Expert would not. Essentially, in "real world" terms, the Astra is as powerful as the Expert it replaces.

Mathieu also discussed the better performance for the Astra with high frequencies, saying something along the lines of if you had a high or sustained demand from the amplifier at high frequencies, the performance of the Astra would be "measurably better, and you would be able to hear it". Quite how this would manifest itself in reality is hard to say, I guess it would depend on what you are listening to, at what volume, and how efficient your speakers might be.

There was also some chat about the internals / components. Someone asked why it had less capacitors when compared to the Expert, Mathieu's response was that it did not, the capacitor capacity in the Astra is the same as the Expert.

There was also one guy in our session who did a bit of very straight talking to the Devialet guys, something along the lines of the Expert being a great product, but Devialet as a company had seriously let people down with a lack of support and not promoting the product during the "Pro" era, leading to bad feelings and terrible resale values. This is a much abridged summary, he really did "tell it as it is". The response from the Devialet guys in the room was interesting, they pretty much took it on the chin and agreed. He did then go on to say how much he liked the Astra, make of this what you will.

Now to the subjective stuff. I would agree with Ian's words above, the Astra looked a lot better "in the flesh" than I was expecting based on the photographs. The "grill effect" front and sides serve to give a kind of retro meets modern look, which is not really apparent from the photographs. Subjective of course, but I liked it. That said, in the downstairs showroom of OAC they has a three shelf display of each of the key expert iterations, 170/200/220 style, then 240/250 style, and all topped off with a goldy looking Original D'Atelier. This left me thinking that the "old" Expert still looks like a very nice thing. I liked the look of the Astra too, it is just different. I would not buy the Astra just for it's looks, but if I did want to buy an Astra, I would be happy with it's looks, if that makes sense.

The new remote for the Astra is good, it has the long overdue addition of a display. That said, the "chunky" D-Premier/240/250 style remote is in some ways a little nicer, and more substantial. In feel, the Astra remote is more like the 170/200/220 than the 240/250.

And yes, we were able to actually listen to some music, amplified by a dual mono Astra.

The speakers were Sonus Faber Stradivaris, these seemed to work well in the room and worked well with the Astra. To my ears, the sound was very smooth, very clear, detailed and dynamic. Overall, very impressive. Of course, an Expert Pro would likely have sounded good also, it is impossible to make an absolute comparison with unfamiliar speakers in an unfamiliar room. All that I can say is that on the day and as a system it sounded excellent, I certainly enjoyed everything that we listened to during the session. Based on today's listening, I am pretty sure that the Astra would work well in my system with the Blades, but how exactly it would compare or contrast with the 1000 Pro in absolute terms, I really could not say.

The day also got me thinking about my own history with the Devialet Expert. I bought my first Devialet back in 2013, a single D240 Expert, which later became a 250, then a D800, then part exchanged for a 1000 Pro. If I recall correctly, back in 2013 the D240 Expert was £11900. Looking at the Bank of England inflation checker, this equates to about £16300 today. In the UK the single Astra lists for £14000. Then thinking about what has happened in general to the pricing of audio kit over the same period; in 2024 we have some very good products available for very good prices, some "budget" kit is getting seriously good, technology is getting better. At the same time, the more expensive "ultra high end" kit, seems to be getting ever more expensive, in some cases ludicrously expensive. Maybe the Astra will find it's place in today's market? Time will tell.

[markush]

Thanks for the feedback.

What I find striking though is that Devialet obviously made no comment about how well the Astra performed compared to Pro. That is the most logical thing - every single company is referencing this when introducing a successor product. Like Apple etc they outline how much faster the CPU is, how sharper etc the camera is etc.
So very strange they didn’t outline this in detail.
Just saying in the high frequency they made an improvement is underwhelming.
The „falsely“ claimed in their press release the did research now 15 years to come up with the improvements and the new Astra line. So when investing into R&D for 15 years there must have been a giant leap.

[Pim]

Thanks for the write up guys. With everything I know about the Expert range and what I've learned today, I'd still consider the Astra if I was in the market for new amplification.

[RayMo]

Thank you for your comments about Astra
Were speakers Stradivari G2 or previous model?