Munich 2018

[IanG-UK]

They made promises for an online configurator, wifi board, etc. All in all, I must say that many (perhaps not all) were delivered with often long delays and bugs. But, if you look at the whole picture, name another hi-fi brand that upgrades firmware every 2-4 months, many times with new functions, and offers upgrades to hardware every 3 years or so. 
Once you buy a piece of hi-fi equipment, you don't normally need any communication from the manufacturer and vice versa unless your unit is broken. 

In fact, I can't even name any company/product off top of my head in any industry that does that. You don't have to communicate with the manufacturer/dealer of your car, TV, phone, etc unless there is a problem. You don't upgrade the firmware in your car every two months (I haven't ever checked if there is a new one for mine...). 

So they created a new type of product/business model and still haven't figured out the communication channels that would fit it. Actually, that was not discussed in Munich this time either, and I feel a little bad about it. We should have asked them to properly explain how that communication is going to be from now on to ALL customers. 

I heard from an expert who is closely following what's going in "audio software" world that most companies with streaming devices or programmable audio gear have third parties to develop their software and test it before they deliver it. Devialet is one of the few who does it in-house. So that is another source of struggles. 

To summerize my rambling, 

- Devialet has to set up proper channels for bi-directional communication with full-time knowledgeable staff. Not random Q&A event with a handful of people, although it maybe a good start.

- They should employ a few more software engineers or outsource some development to specialized firms. 

- They should test new firmware releases a lot more thoroughly following a strict protocol in-house and with a number of volunteer testers and forget about this constant beta-release. They introduce two new functions and eliminate two bugs while deleting an existing function and introducing a new bug with every beta firmware release. 

Zoltan

Good post.

Devialet are trying to do stuff which customers have never had in the past so it is an untested model. 

In the fullness of time it might prove to be the right model as the low-to-mid hifi retailers get squeezed out by Amazon and the high end hifi is more reliant on customer/manufacturer liaison. In the UK I bet less than half Devialet's UK retailers can really explain what a Devialet can do. And few have time to learn it. So why have an amateur in the communication chain when you have one or two experts at the ends?

I agree with Zoltan's summary with the proviso that it all takes time, internally, through sourcing, with distributors and dealers, with customers. If they deliver it within the rest of 2018 it will be quite an achievement.

(Zoltan - I did ask Joachim a quick question about the communication lines and he said this needed to be more through the dealers, but this does not work if it is merely a conduit so the dealers need training and/or reducing in number)