Devialet 170

[DaveF]

I'm still not sure how they managed to 'unlock' this extra power from all the units though. I'd guess that there is a combo of some sort of Microproccessor and FPGA at work here (Never actually seen a close up of any of the internals). Is it the power supply control or the Class A and Class D control that has been altered?

As for SAM, well it only works up to 150Hz and thats bass region. The listening room comes into play here and would have the most influence on bass performance. But interesting to see how it will work. DSP room correction is the one feature that most Devialet owners are looking for.

Another new feature set to be announced is that the USB port is going to be made bidirectional which would allow you to digitize your LPs onto an computer. Not really of much interest to me but some might find it useful to compare an LP with a CD version of the same recording. (Assuming it came from the same master)

[KenMoran]

The only criticism I'd have of the Dev is the streaming which seems to have a lot of issues and is restricted in its usage. I dont use the streaming anyway.
A lot of talk on the wam about the unit always needing constant software updates. I've only updated mine once since I purchased it so I dont know where thats coming from.

I've tried AIR and it works OK, but I still prefer using the Squeezebox/ipeng ecosystem, via my iPad. I also intend to dem the Auralic Aries, which looks to be a nice piece of kit, and the Control Point looks very good. Must give Ivan a call and see if he can get one on loan.

Am expecting Sablon Petit Corona PC in a few weeks, specifically designed to fit under the Devialet back panel, unlike a lot of after market PCs. I've heard positive feedback on this with the Devialet - will report back.

[DaveF]

The only criticism I'd have of the Dev is the streaming which seems to have a lot of issues and is restricted in its usage. I dont use the streaming anyway.
A lot of talk on the wam about the unit always needing constant software updates. I've only updated mine once since I purchased it so I dont know where thats coming from.

I've tried AIR and it works OK, but I still prefer using the Squeezebox/ipeng ecosystem, via my iPad. I also intend to dem the Auralic Aries, which looks to be a nice piece of kit, and the Control Point looks very good. Must give Ivan a call and see if he can get one on loan.

Am expecting Sablon Petit Corona PC in a few weeks, specifically designed to fit under the Devialet back panel, unlike a lot of after market PCs. I've heard positive feedback on this with the Devialet - will report back.

I think the official firmware release is tomorrow so lets see what that brings. Impressed with the beta version this past 2 weeks anyway.
I'll have to do a bit more research on the proper method/equipment in using the 'Air' interface.

[KenMoran]

The only criticism I'd have of the Dev is the streaming which seems to have a lot of issues and is restricted in its usage. I dont use the streaming anyway.
A lot of talk on the wam about the unit always needing constant software updates. I've only updated mine once since I purchased it so I dont know where thats coming from.

I've tried AIR and it works OK, but I still prefer using the Squeezebox/ipeng ecosystem, via my iPad. I also intend to dem the Auralic Aries, which looks to be a nice piece of kit, and the Control Point looks very good. Must give Ivan a call and see if he can get one on loan.

Am expecting Sablon Petit Corona PC in a few weeks, specifically designed to fit under the Devialet back panel, unlike a lot of after market PCs. I've heard positive feedback on this with the Devialet - will report back.

I think the official firmware release is tomorrow so lets see what that brings. Impressed with the beta version this past 2 weeks anyway.
I'll have to do a bit more research on the proper method/equipment in using the 'Air' interface.

All my music is on a NAS and I didn't really want to migrate this onto a Mac or PC, and use that as - effectively - the music server. I know it's possible, but the idea of using one of them as a source component doesn't appeal - portability, another device to include in backup strategy etc.

What I experimented with - and it worked really well - was using a MacBook Pro as a Control Point (using JRiver Media Centre as the media player); all music still in FLAC on NAS upstairs, and adding the NAS as a shared resource on the MBP. So, if you have a uPnP / NAS set up already, you can keep this intact, get a small, lightweight notebook, install AIR - and you're good to go. However, what stopped me going further down this path was that I couldn't hear any discernible difference between AIR on the MBP approach, and the Squeezebox Touch, via digital output into the Devialet 200. That might be just my advancing years, so don't take it as read that there is no difference ... !

[DaveF]

Official release 7.1 of the new firmware made available on the Devialet site today. I think its more or less the same as the beta I tried 2 weeks ago. My own speakers arent SAM supported yet but I've sent them my speakers details anyway.
They've also promised at least 2 upgrades each year to the machine. For free.