It is time for the Q1 update. Yes, we are one quarter the way through the year, spring is here. (or winter is coming, as they say "down under", and on Game of Thrones)
I am happy to say that something positive has actually happened. Roon RAAT has arrived, and it works, or at least it mostly works, there are still some bugs as reported elsewhere. It is a very nice feature, the RAAT integration is pretty cool, with SAM indication in the signal path and other nice touches. So, a small but nice step forward.
A big update for the Reactor too, with the new stereo mode arriving. OK - Stereo is not exactly cutting edge stuff, but Devialet promised this and it duly arrived. This is a far cry from the introduction of the Dialog with USB compatibility with the Expert promised, and indeed surround sound compatibility for the Phantom, which was promised around the time of launch, but never happened. Maybe Devialet have learned not to overpromise, but to be fair, they are not promising very much at the moment.
Not much has happened in the world of the "Phantom Premier" that I can recall, other than the range being renamed "Phantom Premier".
One other bit of news is that according to his Linkedin page, Joachim Fritsch has left Devialet. Those with good memories may recall that Joachim presented at Munich 2018 with a PowerPoint slide showing himself as the head of the Expert "Core Team" as "Expert Product Team manager". Those with standard issue memories can check the link below:
https://devialetchat.com/Thread-Munich-2...h#pid75142
So what does this mean? I have no idea. I presume someone else is now running the Expert Core Team? Maybe the Expert Core Team has been abandoned? Plus, I guess it has to be said that there is not much sign of activity from the Expert Core Team, in terms of communication or firmware updates, but on the flip side we have seen Roon RAAT integration arriving, so there are some signs of life. As I said, I have no idea, I do not have any inside information here so I can only speculate.
Only Q1 has passed, and we already have a number of people with correct predictions regarding the implication of RAAT. I have realised that we need a scoring system, so I have made one up retrospectively. 3 points for a correct prediction, 1 or 2 points at discretion for a partially correct prediction, discretionary minus points for something definitively proven incorrect.
So it's 3 points for all those predicting Roon RAAT implementation.
nduchatel gets 3 points for being the only person to clearly state "Stereo for Phantom reactors", he also nails 3 points for correctly predicting RAAT for CI equipped Experts. Pim and DavidA also mentioned stereo for the Reactors, but in the context of longer predictions, so a discretionary point each.
Also, a discretionary bonus point for Bwaze for his prediction "The announcement of a new Expert "Core Team". No explanation given why previous Expert "Core Team" didn't do anything in over a year." I think Joachim Fritsch leaving Devialet indicates that at the very least, something is new in the Expert Core Team, even if we do not know what exactly.
This means that nduchatel storms ahead into what looks like an utterly unassailable lead. He has made it look easy has he not? But it is easy to say that now with hindsight, so well done nduchatel. Will nduchatel hold this early lead to the end of the year? The anticipation and excitement will be almost unbearable.
Ron McKernan gets the kudos for the first ever minus score with his prediction "Devialet announces that after an extensive testing phase, Roon RAAT has been found not to meet Devialet's high quality standards. Therefore, the implementation of RAAT has been abandoned."
In order of predictions being posted, the league table looks like this:
Confused = 3
Fgleason = 0
Pim = 4
David A = 4
Blair.athol = 3
Streamy = 0
nduchatel =6
K4680 = 0
Rchinn = 0
Peter-van-der-Laarse = 0
Bwaze = 1
Axel = 0
mdconnelly = 3
G51 = 0
Ron McKernan = -1
So that is nduchatel on the top step, with Pim and DavidA scrapping for the podium places. A long way to go though.....
I have done this in a bit of a rush, other things to do today, and I have somehow lost an hour with the clocks going forward, so let me know if I have missed anything or missed a score somewhere, and I will update in due course. (although I have completed this post at the correct time, and it is not exactly an issue of national importance, less significant than something like Brexit, for example)
I am happy to say that something positive has actually happened. Roon RAAT has arrived, and it works, or at least it mostly works, there are still some bugs as reported elsewhere. It is a very nice feature, the RAAT integration is pretty cool, with SAM indication in the signal path and other nice touches. So, a small but nice step forward.
A big update for the Reactor too, with the new stereo mode arriving. OK - Stereo is not exactly cutting edge stuff, but Devialet promised this and it duly arrived. This is a far cry from the introduction of the Dialog with USB compatibility with the Expert promised, and indeed surround sound compatibility for the Phantom, which was promised around the time of launch, but never happened. Maybe Devialet have learned not to overpromise, but to be fair, they are not promising very much at the moment.
Not much has happened in the world of the "Phantom Premier" that I can recall, other than the range being renamed "Phantom Premier".
One other bit of news is that according to his Linkedin page, Joachim Fritsch has left Devialet. Those with good memories may recall that Joachim presented at Munich 2018 with a PowerPoint slide showing himself as the head of the Expert "Core Team" as "Expert Product Team manager". Those with standard issue memories can check the link below:
https://devialetchat.com/Thread-Munich-2...h#pid75142
So what does this mean? I have no idea. I presume someone else is now running the Expert Core Team? Maybe the Expert Core Team has been abandoned? Plus, I guess it has to be said that there is not much sign of activity from the Expert Core Team, in terms of communication or firmware updates, but on the flip side we have seen Roon RAAT integration arriving, so there are some signs of life. As I said, I have no idea, I do not have any inside information here so I can only speculate.
Only Q1 has passed, and we already have a number of people with correct predictions regarding the implication of RAAT. I have realised that we need a scoring system, so I have made one up retrospectively. 3 points for a correct prediction, 1 or 2 points at discretion for a partially correct prediction, discretionary minus points for something definitively proven incorrect.
So it's 3 points for all those predicting Roon RAAT implementation.
nduchatel gets 3 points for being the only person to clearly state "Stereo for Phantom reactors", he also nails 3 points for correctly predicting RAAT for CI equipped Experts. Pim and DavidA also mentioned stereo for the Reactors, but in the context of longer predictions, so a discretionary point each.
Also, a discretionary bonus point for Bwaze for his prediction "The announcement of a new Expert "Core Team". No explanation given why previous Expert "Core Team" didn't do anything in over a year." I think Joachim Fritsch leaving Devialet indicates that at the very least, something is new in the Expert Core Team, even if we do not know what exactly.
This means that nduchatel storms ahead into what looks like an utterly unassailable lead. He has made it look easy has he not? But it is easy to say that now with hindsight, so well done nduchatel. Will nduchatel hold this early lead to the end of the year? The anticipation and excitement will be almost unbearable.
Ron McKernan gets the kudos for the first ever minus score with his prediction "Devialet announces that after an extensive testing phase, Roon RAAT has been found not to meet Devialet's high quality standards. Therefore, the implementation of RAAT has been abandoned."
In order of predictions being posted, the league table looks like this:
Confused = 3
Fgleason = 0
Pim = 4
David A = 4
Blair.athol = 3
Streamy = 0
nduchatel =6
K4680 = 0
Rchinn = 0
Peter-van-der-Laarse = 0
Bwaze = 1
Axel = 0
mdconnelly = 3
G51 = 0
Ron McKernan = -1
So that is nduchatel on the top step, with Pim and DavidA scrapping for the podium places. A long way to go though.....
I have done this in a bit of a rush, other things to do today, and I have somehow lost an hour with the clocks going forward, so let me know if I have missed anything or missed a score somewhere, and I will update in due course. (although I have completed this post at the correct time, and it is not exactly an issue of national importance, less significant than something like Brexit, for example)
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
