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+--- Thread: HiFi News & Record Review: Astra August 27th (/Thread-HiFi-News-Record-Review-Astra-August-27th)
HiFi News & Record Review: Astra August 27th - Peter van der Laarse - 30-May-2025
I am a HiFi News & Record Review subscriber and today I see an announcement for the review of the Devialet Astra amplifier(s) in the September 2025 issue; will be published August 27th 2025. I am very curious whether they will compare the Astra sound with the Expert Pro range a little more than zero. If anyone can do this...., but perhaps I am living in the old world.....
RE: HiFi News & Record Review: Astra August 27th - wiresandmore - 24-Jun-2025
I think it’s actually coming in the August issue, due any day now….very interested to see what it says!
RE: HiFi News & Record Review: Astra August 27th - iamwappie - 25-Jun-2025
Is Hifi News a magazine that does critical reviews or one of those we're always positive magazines just to keep the vendor happy for next reviews?
RE: HiFi News & Record Review: Astra August 27th - audio_engr - 25-Jun-2025
(25-Jun-2025, 19:48)iamwappie Wrote: Is Hifi News a magazine that does critical reviews or one of those we're always positive magazines just to keep the vendor happy for next reviews?
Those days of critical reviews are 'gone with the wind' ... these days, all reviews are to keep everyone
RE: HiFi News & Record Review: Astra August 27th - mdconnelly - 26-Jun-2025
(25-Jun-2025, 22:01)audio_engr Wrote:(25-Jun-2025, 19:48)iamwappie Wrote: Is Hifi News a magazine that does critical reviews or one of those we're always positive magazines just to keep the vendor happy for next reviews?
Those days of critical reviews are 'gone with the wind' ... these days, all reviews are to keep everyone
I suspect you're correct, but I would also expect the review to do a reasonably professional job of focusing on the strengths of the Astra and hopefully assess the competition at the Astra pricepoint. Unfortunately, I seriously doubt that they would dig into any detailed comparison with the Expert Pro nor do I think Devialet would ever want them to do so.
RE: HiFi News & Record Review: Astra August 27th - wiresandmore - 27-Jun-2025
So, it’s out - and I’m aware of copyright issues as I post this - so I’ll say they give it 86%, it’s a very good review, not outstanding but still very good. Reviewer talks about the journey from the D-Premier in terms of functionality but doesn’t do a head-to-head comparison with the Expert models.
The only strange thing I noted was that they used SAM but it wasn’t for the exact model of the Wilson speaker he used, it was for the prior version. I would have thought that was not ideal, it has to be the right match or not?
RE: HiFi News & Record Review: Astra August 27th - audio_engr - 28-Jun-2025
(27-Jun-2025, 08:00)wiresandmore Wrote: So, it’s out - and I’m aware of copyright issues as I post this - so I’ll say they give it 86%, it’s a very good review, not outstanding but still very good. Reviewer talks about the journey from the D-Premier in terms of functionality but doesn’t do a head-to-head comparison with the Expert models.
The only strange thing I noted was that they used SAM but it wasn’t for the exact model of the Wilson speaker he used, it was for the prior version. I would have thought that was not ideal, it has to be the right match or not?
Going by numbers, I'd say if they gave the Astra 86%, it's very good as they gave 89% to the Gryphon Diablo 333.
Nevertheless, I'm hanging on to my 440-Pro CI regardless of Devialet's newer products.
RE: HiFi News & Record Review: Astra August 27th - Dougiet - 07-Jul-2025
Me too! It is still one hell of a piece of kit 😀
RE: HiFi News & Record Review: Astra August 27th - Pim - 07-Jul-2025
(27-Jun-2025, 08:00)wiresandmore Wrote: So, it’s out - and I’m aware of copyright issues as I post this - so I’ll say they give it 86%, it’s a very good review, not outstanding but still very good. Reviewer talks about the journey from the D-Premier in terms of functionality but doesn’t do a head-to-head comparison with the Expert models.
The only strange thing I noted was that they used SAM but it wasn’t for the exact model of the Wilson speaker he used, it was for the prior version. I would have thought that was not ideal, it has to be the right match or not?
Having SAM on from a different model could stuff up the timing between the drivers, so it's far from ideal.
I know because I am running a pair of Perlisten speakers at the moment (No SAM available) and, because I'm planning on selling them and going back to my previous speakers for a while, I haven't changed the configuration. The Expert remembers that SAM was turned off usually, but, after a power outage, it went back to SAM on. Something sounded off, so I checked and sure enough, SAM was back.
Shameless plug: The Perlisten speakers I'm talking about.
https://devialetchat.com/Thread-FS-Perlisten-S7T-in-Ebony-High-Gloss