I wonder why since my rather early upgrade to 220 PRO in december 2016 I only noticed one PRO review - 1000 PRO in dec. Since then I didn't notice any more reviews or even Devialet advertisements in German high end magazines. Neither I didn't notice that dealers promoted the brand new models. And as I read somewhere here Devialet will not exhibit at high end in Munich. What do You think:
- Is Devialet still busy to produce the PRO upgrades?
- Are they waiting until the new streamer board is ready before they go public (when will that be...)?
- Are the dealers acting against D because of its sales policy (flagship stores, google)?
- What else?
Looking forward to read Your thoughts!
I have the same feeling here in Germany, my Devialet dealer in Frankfurt announced some weeks ago to upgrade a Dev 200 to 220 Pro and to invite me to a listening session... still waiting... I think it's not really financially attractive for a high end dealer to offer an upgrade for one unit fitting to all needs instead of offering multiple devices...
They know right now they are behind the technology curve. I think we are going to hear a lot about the Expert Pro models once the new streamer board is going to be released. Devialet will also be very busy with software development and working on an iOS app. With the streamer board you are essentially getting rid of one more box, companies like Auralic, and Lumin are in the direct sight of Devialet. I bet you we are going to be reading pages and pages of reviews comparing the DLNA/UPnP streaming quality of Devialet as compared to others. With an OS on-board I am very sure this is going to be a Roon Ready device.
With so much in the works, don't think Devialet is going to waste any precious money on ads right now.
(28-Mar-2017, 21:37)devi63 Wrote: [ -> ]I wonder why since my rather early upgrade to 220 PRO in december 2016 I only noticed one PRO review - 1000 PRO in dec. Since then I didn't notice any more reviews or even Devialet advertisements in German high end magazines. Neither I didn't notice that dealers promoted the brand new models. And as I read somewhere here Devialet will not exhibit at high end in Munich. What do You think:
- Is Devialet still busy to produce the PRO upgrades?
- Are they waiting until the new streamer board is ready before they go public (when will that be...)?
- Are the dealers acting against D because of its sales policy (flagship stores, google)?
- What else?
Looking forward to read Your thoughts!
At the end of the day they're actively announcing their ambitions for global domination in areas other than high end audio, so Munich seems like the last place on the agenda.
What would they show anyway? A blurry picture of half a streamer board, with a caption 'Some day* every expert pro will have a streamer board (* actual day TBC, details TBC)' dwarfed by a full-scale mockup of a Foxconn robot diligently plugging ADH chips into an infinitely tall stack of circuit boards, blissfully unaware that the mortals around it are having their ears torn apart by a 1000kW Phantom Platinum.
In terms of dealer promotion, I'd say they just aren't flavour of the month any more. I'm pretty sure the dealers Devialet haven't upset will still be pretty bored of fobbing off their customers as to why AIR hasn't worked, or why the iOS app is years out of date.
(29-Mar-2017, 00:01)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ] (28-Mar-2017, 21:37)devi63 Wrote: [ -> ]I wonder why since my rather early upgrade to 220 PRO in december 2016 I only noticed one PRO review - 1000 PRO in dec. Since then I didn't notice any more reviews or even Devialet advertisements in German high end magazines. Neither I didn't notice that dealers promoted the brand new models. And as I read somewhere here Devialet will not exhibit at high end in Munich. What do You think:
- Is Devialet still busy to produce the PRO upgrades?
- Are they waiting until the new streamer board is ready before they go public (when will that be...)?
- Are the dealers acting against D because of its sales policy (flagship stores, google)?
- What else?
Looking forward to read Your thoughts!
At the end of the day they're actively announcing their ambitions for global domination in areas other than high end audio, so Munich seems like the last place on the agenda.
What would they show anyway? A blurry picture of half a streamer board, with a caption 'Some day* every expert pro will have a streamer board (* actual day TBC, details TBC)' dwarfed by a full-scale mockup of a Foxconn robot diligently plugging ADH chips into an infinitely tall stack of circuit boards, blissfully unaware that the mortals around it are having their ears torn apart by a 1000kW Phantom Platinum.
In terms of dealer promotion, I'd say they just aren't flavour of the month any more. I'm pretty sure the dealers Devialet haven't upset will still be pretty bored of fobbing off their customers as to why AIR hasn't worked, or why the iOS app is years out of date.
I had a laugh (not in a sarcastic way) reading this excellent post. As someone who recently upgraded from a D400 to D440Pro the sonic improvements speak for themselves. I do agree about lack of information on the streamer board, however there is a lot of information on that blurry picture. We see a processor, a wifi card for (UPNP/DLNA), and some surface mount SSD. I know the demand to have this fitted in the Expert Pro is going to be high. I just wish the upgrade could be done by the user, however this is going to be a dealer thing. Maybe the reason for dealer not promoting is the fact that they know how much stress (man hours) is going to be put on their business, performing the upgrades. I think the dealer would much rather prefer selling the Expert Pro once the streamer board come pre factory fitted. Just my 2 cents...
I happen to have a copy of the April '17 edition of 'hi-fi-news & Record Review' next to me as I write this. A quick review reveals the following:
Devialet is mentioned in the review of Muraudio Domain Omni PX2 speakers (Devialet used as reference amp). There is also a mention of Devialet in the letters page.
There is no mention of Devialet in the show report for the Bristol Sound and Vision show. It is perhaps interesting to note they do mention Spendor, who were using Devialet amplification at the show.
No Devialet adverts are featured. Devialet are included in a product listing on a full page Oxford Audio advert, which primarily focuses on Martin Logan, Audio Research and dCS products. I have noticed Devialet featured prominently in dealer adds in fairly recent editions of the magazine, but this month, nothing.
What does all this mean??
I think it must be clear by now that Expert is not Devialet's future, not the center/core of it anyway. They even call the Phantom, which sold 50k units, a niche product. The most recent interview linked to elsewhere on this forum never even mentioned Expert, not once.
At best the Expert remains some type of showcase for their high-end technology but their envisioned future is in mass produced, miniaturized ADH/Phantom tech in everything and everywhere.
Therefore think currently just a small percentage of their resources is used to develop dedicated to Expert tech and software. At best a larger percentage is dedicated to tech/software for both Phantom/Expert. Probably most is working on their world domination goals of embedding their tech in everything anywhere.
(28-Mar-2017, 22:06)blair.athol Wrote: [ -> ]I have the same feeling here in Germany, my Devialet dealer in Frankfurt announced some weeks ago to upgrade a Dev 200 to 220 Pro and to invite me to a listening session... still waiting... I think it's not really financially attractive for a high end dealer to offer an upgrade for one unit fitting to all needs instead of offering multiple devices...
Update: today my dealer informed me having received back the upgrade to the 220 Pro and he claimed honestly to hear no difference to the 200. At least he offered me to make my own audition and decision
Not really a kind of aggressive marketing to get higher sales for Devialet
(29-Mar-2017, 22:35)blair.athol Wrote: [ -> ] (28-Mar-2017, 22:06)blair.athol Wrote: [ -> ]I have the same feeling here in Germany, my Devialet dealer in Frankfurt announced some weeks ago to upgrade a Dev 200 to 220 Pro and to invite me to a listening session... still waiting... I think it's not really financially attractive for a high end dealer to offer an upgrade for one unit fitting to all needs instead of offering multiple devices...
Update: today my dealer informed me having received back the upgrade to the 220 Pro and he claimed honestly to hear no difference to the 200. At least he offered me to make my own audition and decision Not really a kind of aggressive marketing to get higher sales for Devialet
I'd be surprised if you didn't think it sounded better, but I do think there was a bit of overhyping going on (what a surprise). Thinking about it more logically now, its very much an iterative upgrade - and while I much much prefer the pro to the 200, I would have liked to see more. Maybe an update to the DAC - chipset or sample rates, to add a bit of future proofing (the competition is at PCM 700-odd, and DSD256/512, not DSD64 and 192). A new streamer board at the same time as the pro would have been nice too (like a whole product rather than some of it missing).
OK, so Devialet say these things dont matter and Im not agreeing or disagreeing, but from a dealers perspective its hardly a lot to shout about is it? Also, was it really Devialet pushing the boundaries, or was it a relatively easy re-jig of the boards to use technology already developed for Phantoms?
Customer: "So, these new more expensive Pro models, what new features do they have compared to the model that came a few years before"
Dealer: "Well, it looks identical, has the same DAC specs, same firmware, about .000001 less distortion, the old streamer board, the same case, but a new colour on the remote wheel and power button, and it sounds muuuuuuch better"
Customer: "Ah, OK, what do you have that does DSD512, and is RoonReady?"
(29-Mar-2017, 22:48)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ] (29-Mar-2017, 22:35)blair.athol Wrote: [ -> ] (28-Mar-2017, 22:06)blair.athol Wrote: [ -> ]I have the same feeling here in Germany, my Devialet dealer in Frankfurt announced some weeks ago to upgrade a Dev 200 to 220 Pro and to invite me to a listening session... still waiting... I think it's not really financially attractive for a high end dealer to offer an upgrade for one unit fitting to all needs instead of offering multiple devices...
Update: today my dealer informed me having received back the upgrade to the 220 Pro and he claimed honestly to hear no difference to the 200. At least he offered me to make my own audition and decision Not really a kind of aggressive marketing to get higher sales for Devialet
I'd be surprised if you didn't think it sounded better, but I do think there was a bit of overhyping going on (what a surprise). Thinking about it more logically now, its very much an iterative upgrade - and while I much much prefer the pro to the 200, I would have liked to see more. Maybe an update to the DAC - chipset or sample rates, to add a bit of future proofing (the competition is at PCM 700-odd, and DSD256/512, not DSD64 and 192). A new streamer board at the same time as the pro would have been nice too (like a whole product rather than some of it missing).
OK, so Devialet say these things dont matter and Im not agreeing or disagreeing, but from a dealers perspective its hardly a lot to shout about is it? Also, was it really Devialet pushing the boundaries, or was it a relatively easy re-jig of the boards to use technology already developed for Phantoms?
Customer: "So, these new more expensive Pro models, what new features do they have compared to the model that came a few years before"
Dealer: "Well, it looks identical, has the same DAC specs, same firmware, about .000001 less distortion, the old streamer board, the same case, but a new colour on the remote wheel and power button, and it sounds muuuuuuch better"
Customer: "Ah, OK, what do you have that does DSD512, and is RoonReady?"
To be honest I find the lack of native DSD playback on Devialet as a non-issue from a factual point of view. Of course there will always be marketing hype and the numbers game (first it was 16/44 then 24/48...24/96...24/192... DSD 64.. DSD 128.. DSD 256..DSD 512.....).
It cannot imagine downloading a 4-5GB DSD 512 album...just dont have the time, even 24/192 is like 1-1.5GB which is a 20-25 min download on my 10 Mb/sec connection.
Next the issue of availability or lack there of DSD titles. Most of these purported DSD titles are just PCM based masters now being sold off as DSD in the first place. I saw Dire Straits Brothers in Arms as a DSD when its well know that it was originally recorded as PCM. So all we are getting is a large bag of crisps with mostly air inside when it comes to DSD in my opinion.
However the titles that are being produced as native DSD are mostly for audiophiles. The top ten Albums on Tidal are not coming out on DSD, it will be most probably in native PCM format at around 16/44 or 24/48.
As for the lack of Roon, come on guys who wants to pay $500 on metadata. Have you seen the new Qobuz desktop application it is wonderful and full of metadata just like Roon. What we need is 24/192 internet streaming and not MQA, as most people in the western hemisphere have enough bandwidth.