14-Feb-2016, 14:12
I have no interest in defending Devialet's software incompetence, but one shouldn't blame UDP for their problems unless it is their problem understanding how to use UDP. The reliability of delivering each networking packet isn't the same as the reliability of the networked product. In the same way that we can't review the sound of a DAC based solely on the chips used, we can't conclude much about a streamer based on the network protocols used. Devialet has done a lovely job using Ti DAC chips and they could have done a great job using UDP, but they didn't. Don't worry, they got way more wrong than their UDP implementation. Look at their packet broadcasting, overhead they add to the network,WiFi software and even hardware (hiding antennas behind metal is idiotic), etc. Maybe the big upgrade to AIR in the Expert line will be to copy the Phantom and use Ethernet, PowerLine, and WiFi to brute-force their way around their inefficient and ineffective network implementation. They'd be wiser to hire some better software talent though. They clearly lack that talent now, and that isn't the fault of UDP.
