12-Jun-2016, 12:00
I am going to do two very unusual things for an internet forum in this post, I am going to stand up and sing the praises of Hifi dealers and Devialet AIR!
Reading the rumours in this thread, it looks like it is possible that we will be offered UPnP as part of an 'upgrade'. Does this replace AIR? How exactly will UPnP be implemented. My thinking is that AIR, for all it's stability issues, is actually very good on two counts, firstly sound quality (ok, SQ when stable), and secondly flexibility. As a virtual soundcard, you can use AIR in any way you want, Roon, iTunes, HQplayer, JRiver, internet radio, youtube, anything that will run on a PC or Mac. What will UPnP offer? Better sound and flexibility than AIR? I have my doubts! OK, this is just a rumour at the moment, but I do not find this a very encouraging rumour!
Then we have the whole concept of the upgrade program. The reason I own a Devialet is that a hifi dealer once demonstrated one with what ultimately became the speaker of my choice. I tried other amplifiers, but decided I preferred the Devialet. Was the Devialet the best amplifier, or did it just provide the best synergy with my chosen speakers? I am not sure, but the key point is that I have been very happy with the end result, thanks in no small part to the efforts of hifi dealers to let me audition this stuff. To make this point clear, if I am to spend lots of money on hifi, I do like to audition first, and audition rival kit, just to make sure I am buying something I will be happy with and something that offers the best SQ for my money.
So lets take another rumour, that the upgrade may be priced north of 3000 euros. For a UK based dual mono owner, this implies a spend of maybe £6000 or so. OK, I have no idea of the details of the upgrade or if it would be worth £6000 to me or not. However, if I was going to spend this much, I would like the opportunity to audition, and by this I mean with something equivalent to my system, in particular the speakers. So how do I do this? Maybe my local dealer will facilitate this, which would be great. However, my understanding is that the dealers do not make any money from these upgrades, and last time I checked, hifi dealers are not charities. So it kind of works like this, a hifi dealer takes the time and trouble to demonstrate Devialet products, a customer decides to buy. A couple of years later, the customer pays £6000 for an upgrade. Now he would not be a Devialet customer if it was not for the dealer, but the entire profit from the upgrade goes to Devialet. This doesn't seem right to me!
So there you have it, praise for Devialet AIR and sympathy for hifi dealers, all on a hifi forum! It's not often you'll see these two together!
(I'll try to save any further rants until we have some facts!)
Reading the rumours in this thread, it looks like it is possible that we will be offered UPnP as part of an 'upgrade'. Does this replace AIR? How exactly will UPnP be implemented. My thinking is that AIR, for all it's stability issues, is actually very good on two counts, firstly sound quality (ok, SQ when stable), and secondly flexibility. As a virtual soundcard, you can use AIR in any way you want, Roon, iTunes, HQplayer, JRiver, internet radio, youtube, anything that will run on a PC or Mac. What will UPnP offer? Better sound and flexibility than AIR? I have my doubts! OK, this is just a rumour at the moment, but I do not find this a very encouraging rumour!
Then we have the whole concept of the upgrade program. The reason I own a Devialet is that a hifi dealer once demonstrated one with what ultimately became the speaker of my choice. I tried other amplifiers, but decided I preferred the Devialet. Was the Devialet the best amplifier, or did it just provide the best synergy with my chosen speakers? I am not sure, but the key point is that I have been very happy with the end result, thanks in no small part to the efforts of hifi dealers to let me audition this stuff. To make this point clear, if I am to spend lots of money on hifi, I do like to audition first, and audition rival kit, just to make sure I am buying something I will be happy with and something that offers the best SQ for my money.
So lets take another rumour, that the upgrade may be priced north of 3000 euros. For a UK based dual mono owner, this implies a spend of maybe £6000 or so. OK, I have no idea of the details of the upgrade or if it would be worth £6000 to me or not. However, if I was going to spend this much, I would like the opportunity to audition, and by this I mean with something equivalent to my system, in particular the speakers. So how do I do this? Maybe my local dealer will facilitate this, which would be great. However, my understanding is that the dealers do not make any money from these upgrades, and last time I checked, hifi dealers are not charities. So it kind of works like this, a hifi dealer takes the time and trouble to demonstrate Devialet products, a customer decides to buy. A couple of years later, the customer pays £6000 for an upgrade. Now he would not be a Devialet customer if it was not for the dealer, but the entire profit from the upgrade goes to Devialet. This doesn't seem right to me!
So there you have it, praise for Devialet AIR and sympathy for hifi dealers, all on a hifi forum! It's not often you'll see these two together!
(I'll try to save any further rants until we have some facts!)
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
