Devialet predictions for 2019 (The 2019 Devialet Almanac)

[David A]

Everything is working just fine with my Expert Pro, EVERYTHING. I really don't get all the negativity.

I'm glad everything is working fine for you but that isn't the case for all people and if you were following the thread on problems with RAAT and ethernet connections here and on the Roon forums you would understand the negativity. I haven't been as lucky as you, I've had occasional problems, but there are quite a few people who are experiencing severe problems and, despite all of Devialet's promises in recent years about better communication we've heard extremely little from Devialet about the problem during the 7+ months now that it has been present and absolutely nothing about progress towards a fix.

There are most definitely reasons for the negativity, especially when Devialet have a history of introducing new firmware with problems, poor communication about those problems, and slow process on fixing their software. On the other hand, on the one occasion I had a hardware problem with my Expert Pro it was fixed quickly and the service was excellent. They're very good with some problems but they can be extremely bad with some other problems. I have no intention of giving up on my Expert Pro, in many ways it's an excellent amp, but Devialet do seem to have regular problems with their software, especially when it comes to streaming, and their response to those problems needs to be improved.

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I am relatively new here, own Phantom Golds and was just as surprised by all the negativity when I first joined.  Unfortunately, many long time members here are very disillusioned and they dominate the discussions and posts.  It is a shame because it creates a poor impression for newcomers....

People talk about the things that don't work because they're looking for answers. They don't talk anywhere near as much about the things that do work because no answer is required. Every product related online forum I've been involved with tends to be dominated by discussion of problems and the number of posts drops off drastically when there are no problems. This forum is no different and people with problems do get disillusioned when the manufacturer's response to their problems is seen as inadequate.

Is this a shame for newcomers? I can understand why you might think that but would you rather have a forum where the problems and complaints weren't reported and discussed? Forums like this are a valuable support resource for owners when they do have issues, and when the manufacturer is also following this sort of forum they can find information in the problem reports which help them to identify and fix the problem. If you want the support forums such as this can provide, then you have to accept that there's going to be a fair bit of traffic on the forum about problems and complaints. I consider this a healthy and helpful forum, and a lot more polite and less judgemental than some other forums I've visited.