Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Trolling
#1
I have a 250 and I am not happy. I am not happy not because it isn't a good product with great potential, but because of the company behind it. Here are the facts and I will let you, owners and potential buyers, make your own judgement.

I wanted a one box solution coming from a high end Naim system with all the bells and whistles. I was led to believe that this little box of tricks would:

1. have plenty of power but, if needed, I could daisy chain several to get more power. Also at the time of my purchase the 250 would be the only beast in the range to do it this being the main selling point for it.

2. Air as a streamer was not great but everyone hoped that at some point the company would add UPnP support.

3. checking the D-Premier's manual I thought my 250 would have an IR sensor that could be activated in the Configurator, allowing me to integrate the Devialet with a host of other hardware in my listening room

4. It was strongly suggested that some sort of room correction was in the works and would become available sooner rather than later

5. It was also suggested by the manufacturer that the product would be largely insensitive to expensive cables and snake oils.

All of the above would have made it the perfect machine for my needs.

Now here's the reality, after more than a year of ownership:

1. Soon after my purchase the 250 was largely abandoned as a standalone product, their cheaper line received a hefty power boost bringing it more or less in line with my twice as expensive 250 and the 170 received the multiple box treatment as well making it a much better buy at 400W against my one box 250.

It is now time to ask how are these power ratings determined, how did the little 170 jump to 200W and how comes the daisy chained 200 does indeed deliver exactly twice as much power while my 250 on it's own can produce less than a third of the power of its conjoined twins?

It is also the time to confess that, as an owner of a 250, I feel cheated and my investment poorly supported by Devialet who doesn't even manufacture the 250 on it's own anymore.

2. In my communication with the company I was recommended streaming music directly from a Synology NAS using their own app as a control point. I was also given the speech about how great Air and how rubbish UPnP but no answer to the simple question: are they going to support UPnP in the future?

Again, I feel it is time to put things straight. I am the paying customer and I make development of this product possible. I pay their team of engineers and whatever facilities they have.

I see half of this forum talking, on and on and on, about the same banana: streaming and streaming alternatives to the fairly average Air. I see all sorts of recommendations, 5000£ streamers, AES cables costing in the range of 3000£.

All this is great stuff but how about we, owners of Devialet products, unite and lobby for UPnP? Isn't it absurd to put all this time, effort and energy into something that is probably perfectly doable with our shiny boxes alone?

It might not sound as good as Air, Devialet might not like it but I want it and I demand it from the company who sold me the hardware.

I don't know about you guys but in my job one has to prioritise. I am not all that interested in DSD which is the next big rumoured update. I couldn't care less about SAM (with my Duettes it adds a bit of this and that but it's not a life changing experience) but I find the daily pain of having to use a computer or alternative hardware for something that my shiny box could and should do on its own very annoying.

Why invest resources in some odd project which would benefit very few (SAM), when virtually all your customers and every single pro review I have read mention UPnP as a significant omission, one which would hopefully be addressed in a future firmware?! And why this stubborn refusal to talk about it?

As a paying customer I expect a straight answer from the company. Will UPnP ever be implemented? Yes or no because depending on the answer I might consider alternatives.

3. Why was the IR sensor sacked from the 240? The company is a bit inconsistent here. Either Devialet manufactures for monkeys with more money than sense (and then what is the point of a RS232 interface since all the monkey can do is hit play on a computer in his / her iTunes library) or they address a larger crowd in which case IR would make perfect sense. The remote control is quite innovative but frankly it's an accident waiting to happen and believe me, if you ever drop it on your foot, you would end up in A&E!

The omission is hidden in menus within menu's in their FAQ section and frankly, if I would have known about it, I probably wouldn't have bothered with their product at all because for me good sound and convenience is king.

Yes, RS232 is an advanced interface doing a lot more than an IR sensor but it requires hardware and programming so we collide again with the one box solution concept. How is this a unifying one box solution if one needs a streamer, a RS232 interface and various other voodoo (Entreq, power regenerators etc) products to make it work as intended?

4 I am underwhelmed by SAM. I want Trinnov, Dirac and I am happy to pay the licence for it as long as it is implemented without the discomfort of additional hardware. The company has to make up their mind once more: are they manufacturing hardware for monkeys or for discerning audiophiles?

Even a monkey can perform the Audyssey setup on a multichannel receiver so their argument is risible. The dealer can do it if the monkey is not capable of plugging a microphone and running a setup. But if it can be done there is no excuse for not doing it. And this should be another priority for the company because it would benefit all owners and potential buyers and it would be a big selling point compared to alternative products.

5. Devialet is very transparent to all sorts of cables and snake oils. In a way it is a good thing because it allows a certain amount of experimenting but the financial implications are unfortunate. I already have a power regenerator which, indeed makes a significant difference, a 3000£ speaker cable which yes, makes a clear difference and then there is Entreq and all sorts of other "little" (thousand pounds little) tricks and tweaks. Buyers be aware!

So to sum this good trolling up Devialet could be the best hifi product of its generation, a truly revolutionary, amazing, out of this world product. But it fails short, largely thanks to an arrogant support team who ignores us, the paying customers. They are holding back a great hardware platform and they are doing it so well that I am seriously considering selling mine.

I personally don't have the time or energy to test 15 streamers with 25 digital cables and 50 power cables plugged into 75 various voodoo power and grounding boxes. Linn is there, Naim is there, they have established businesses and one box solutions and they do UPnP out of the box. They might not look as good, thy might not sound as good, but they deliver a no fuss performance without added hardware, cables, software, tweaking. And they respect their customers, the lineup is clear, once you invest in one of their high end offerings you know that you will get your money's worth and you will not see a cheaper, better product within 6 months of ownership.

Oh yes, and they have official forums where they answer questions and are quite open about their plans and future software developments.
Reply


Messages In This Thread
Trolling - by Gurux - 18-Sep-2014, 09:46
RE: Trolling - by Rufus McDufus - 18-Sep-2014, 10:34
RE: Trolling - by Pim - 18-Sep-2014, 11:30
RE: Trolling - by Confused - 18-Sep-2014, 13:44
RE: Trolling - by f1eng - 18-Sep-2014, 13:47
RE: Trolling - by Eddye - 18-Sep-2014, 16:18
RE: Trolling - by Rufus McDufus - 18-Sep-2014, 18:39
RE: Trolling - by Eddye - 18-Sep-2014, 19:56
RE: Trolling - by Rufus McDufus - 18-Sep-2014, 20:03
RE: Trolling - by Eddye - 18-Sep-2014, 20:08
RE: Trolling - by Rufus McDufus - 18-Sep-2014, 20:59
RE: Trolling - by Eddye - 19-Sep-2014, 09:08
RE: Trolling - by Confused - 18-Sep-2014, 18:57
RE: Trolling - by PhilP - 18-Sep-2014, 19:10
RE: Trolling - by Antoine - 18-Sep-2014, 19:34
RE: Trolling - by Jwg1749 - 18-Sep-2014, 20:00
RE: Trolling - by Confused - 18-Sep-2014, 20:42
RE: Trolling - by Confused - 18-Sep-2014, 21:16
RE: Trolling - by mauidan - 18-Sep-2014, 22:26
RE: Trolling - by Confused - 18-Sep-2014, 22:35
RE: Trolling - by Gurux - 18-Sep-2014, 22:56
RE: Trolling - by PhilP - 19-Sep-2014, 09:24
RE: Trolling - by Antoine - 18-Sep-2014, 23:21
RE: Trolling - by gray - 19-Sep-2014, 11:51
RE: Trolling - by Antoine - 19-Sep-2014, 20:07
RE: Trolling - by Gurux - 20-Sep-2014, 21:09
RE: Trolling - by Antoine - 20-Sep-2014, 22:27
RE: Trolling - by Gurux - 23-Sep-2014, 00:58
RE: Trolling - by f1eng - 23-Sep-2014, 16:53
RE: Trolling - by Antoine - 23-Sep-2014, 22:35
RE: Trolling - by Borgen - 23-Sep-2014, 17:47
RE: Trolling - by Confused - 23-Sep-2014, 20:05
RE: Trolling - by Borgen - 23-Sep-2014, 20:43
RE: Trolling - by Confused - 23-Sep-2014, 20:51
Trolling - by madumm - 26-Dec-2014, 06:22
RE: Trolling - by GuillaumeB - 27-Dec-2014, 17:49
Trolling - by mikehughescq - 27-Dec-2014, 00:10
RE: Trolling - by Pim - 27-Dec-2014, 09:33
RE: Trolling - by f1eng - 27-Dec-2014, 17:42
RE: Trolling - by Confused - 28-Dec-2014, 01:13
RE: Trolling - by G51 - 28-Dec-2014, 08:43
RE: Trolling - by GuillaumeB - 28-Dec-2014, 10:59
Trolling - by madumm - 29-Dec-2014, 19:05
Trolling - by mikehughescq - 31-Dec-2014, 01:01
RE: Trolling - by Gurux - 31-Dec-2014, 19:34
RE: Trolling - by Mikeeo - 01-Jan-2015, 14:15
RE: Trolling - by IanG-UK - 01-Jan-2015, 20:45
RE: Trolling - by GuillaumeB - 01-Jan-2015, 18:03
RE: Trolling - by NickB - 01-Jan-2015, 17:39
RE: Trolling - by Gurux - 01-Jan-2015, 19:51
RE: Trolling - by Pim - 01-Jan-2015, 20:00
RE: Trolling - by Damon - 01-Jan-2015, 20:39
RE: Trolling - by Gurux - 02-Jan-2015, 11:54
RE: Trolling - by gtiboy - 02-Jan-2015, 13:15
RE: Trolling - by PhilP - 02-Jan-2015, 18:53
RE: Trolling - by Mikeeo - 02-Jan-2015, 19:03
RE: Trolling - by f1eng - 02-Jan-2015, 13:14
RE: Trolling - by Gurux - 02-Jan-2015, 15:21
RE: Trolling - by GuillaumeB - 02-Jan-2015, 18:02
RE: Trolling - by f1eng - 02-Jan-2015, 18:19
RE: Trolling - by Mikeeo - 02-Jan-2015, 17:12
RE: Trolling - by Damon - 02-Jan-2015, 19:58
RE: Trolling - by thumb5 - 02-Jan-2015, 21:33
RE: Trolling - by Mikeeo - 02-Jan-2015, 23:38
RE: Trolling - by Damon - 03-Jan-2015, 01:49
RE: Trolling - by Mikeeo - 03-Jan-2015, 02:13
RE: Trolling - by Damon - 03-Jan-2015, 07:57
RE: Trolling - by Petter - 03-Jan-2015, 08:25
RE: Trolling - by Mikeeo - 03-Jan-2015, 10:31

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)