Devialet state ‘no further development’ for ‘classic’ (pre Pro CI) Expert line.

[Zappydev]

I think this is a tail of expectations.  I bought an Expert at full retail price in 2013.  (the UK distributor at the time had a zero discount policy)  I had bought the amp because it seamed to offer the best sound quality for the money.  I had read the Evo stuff on Devialet's website, but this was not a factor in my decision to buy.  I was buying an amplifier, so my primary purpose for buying it was for it to power my speakers and make music, I figured that new features might be nice, I also figured that new features might be useless to me.  So, the decision to buy was justified by the performance and features offered at the time of sale, and anything else would be a bonus.  Plus, a bit like @Soniclife above, I had read Devialet's website and dismissed a lot of it as marketing spin, I did not read anything as a promise.  I certainly did not expect immunity from obsolescence or updates for life.  I would have been more than happy with a few updates over maybe five years.  As it happened, the Pro came out within five years, and it looks like that was almost an accident following the Od'A project.

As things turned out, I was very pleased to get SAM, I still use it and consider it a bonus to this day.  Very many were pleased with the power hike that came along too.  I was a bit miffed for a while when it looked like the Phantom project was getting all the attention, but then less miffed when it turned out that SAM was a spin off from the Phantom project.

So I bought with almost zero expectations regarding the updates, and have actually been quite pleased by SAM RAM and so on.  What DID annoy me was that AIR, which was stable in the D-Premier days (and my early Expert days) was updated and became the disaster that it was, I'm sure a few of us will recall the horror of a "white noise" moment.  So that is my one big Expert era negative, not that some apparent marketing hoopla on their website turned out not to be a solemn promise of lifetime updates, but that one of the advertised features at the time of purchase was revised and then did not work properly, one upgrade I could happily have done without.  To add insult to injury here, Devialet's communication regarding the AIR issues was woeful, another big negative.  

Looking forward, Devialet are now publicly stating that in the past they had "over promised and under delivered".  So lets take a look at what they are promising right now:

Expert Pro systems are fitted with our EVO platform, a truly unique electronic architecture designed to help you stay on top of your game with regular software updates. Receive the latest free features and upgrades. First-class performance. Always.


Let's fight programmed obsolescence.


Expert Pro systems are engineered to remain at the forefront of technology. Today and always.


EVO electronic architecture is driven by permanently upgradable software.

Oh dear ....

But, and for the record, I do not take the above as a literal promise, I do not expect my Pro to stay at the forefront of technology today and always.  If Devialet do plan to start under-promising but delivering, they need to have an urgent look at some of the utter nonsense that still pollutes it's website to this day.  

As it happens, I managed to get quite a bit of listening time in last weekend and the 1000 Pro was sounding sensational, which is why I bought it.  Does the above stuff in their website annoy me?  Not in the slightest, in fact I find it quite amusing.  Although I think that if I worked for Devialet, I would find the website rather embarrassing, which might be why I find it a little amusing.  What is the French for schadenfrude?

To be fair to the Devialet guys at Oxford they did say they had started to clean up the exaggerated rubbish on the website but had not finished yet and were hoping to sort out the 'Sales oriented' wording soon.

The trouble is that with Devialet, it is always confiture demain.

Talk is cheap. I hope they now follow up with some actions, otherwise we are no further forward.