New Expert Pro 'Streamer and OS board'

Audio Gear Talk Devialet
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As some people may already know, there is a new ‘streamer board’ in development for the Expert Pro line - which will be a free retrofit upgrade for most people that either bought an Expert Pro new, or upgraded during the qualifying period.

After a lot of forum speculation during total silence from Devialet, they have finally announced they have a prototype board. The specifics are not yet known and questions are - as usual for Devialet - falling in deaf ears.

It’s a Linux based board, and would be capable of running Roons RAAT. Many customers have requested it be RoonReady certified, but of course, silence…

There is a comments section available for the board on Devialet’s official site.
Many of us have been asking for Roon support, while it seems a small contingent of users have commented that they’d be happy with Spark or to leave it up to Devialet engineers. So far, the only specs mentioned regarding Ethernet are (bearing in mind this is 2017), upnp / dlna, and ‘others that may become available’.

If you have an Expert Pro and want RoonReady to feature on the new streamerboard, I’d strongly suggest you voice your opinion directly on their website:

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@hifi_swlon. Many thanks. I have made my views known.

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I suppose that it would be interesting to know what, exactly, Devialet would need to do to incorporate ROON functionality onto the “Streamer and OS Board”. It might be useful for the ROON Team to explain what is required - in reasonable layman’s terms? It might also be useful to know whether Devialet have actually approached the ROON Team re incorporating ROON - I assume that some sort of licence, or approval, is required to allow Devialet to proceed, if, of course, they wish to. I am completely in the dark as to what is required of a Company who wishes their product to become a ROON “end Point” - perhaps Devialet are also in the dark on this too?

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As far as I’m aware, Devialet started talks in the past but it didn’t come to anything. So they’d at least be aware of what was required at that time.

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Ah, thanks. If that’s the case it doesn’t look hopeful :unamused:. Perhaps the ROON Team could throw some light on where they think the situation lies?

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My fear is that Devialet is well down the path of defining what the new board and OS will do for streaming. Given that they have stated that the new OS is linux-based, one would assume that they realize the need for flexibility to enable new and changing streaming solutions that arise in this rapidly changing environment. But their total wall of silence is a mystery which may not bode well for adopting anything but their own proprietary solutions - and that would be a mistake. Yet I remain hopeful (if not optimistic) that they will ultimately exceed my expectations.

While integrating Roon RAAT would be ideal, I will continue to use ROON (via AIR, the uRendu, SMS-200 or whatever solution best enables it) regardless.

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I also fear that you are right. I am sure that if Devialet were going to include ROON they would already be in discussion with ROON but it would appear, from what @hifi_swlon says above, that that is not the case :disappointed:.

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It may or may not be. They could have re-started talks or even be working on it as we speak. I’d imagine there would be Nda’s and the next we’d hear is when its certified. Unlikely? Yeah, I guess so. But I try to remain optimistic.

The only thing I really want to do is lose the reliance on AIR without having any extra boxes. Ok AIR works for me now ( a very occasional glitch I can live with) but since it didn’t work for two years, I know at some point Devialet will probably break it again. Also, it’s an extra buffer that can cause sync issues, and another process that needs to be running, and only on a Mac or PC. At some point if I needed a hardware upgrade I’d like the option of going Linux NUC or whatever.

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An update on this one : official announcements made by Devialet : the Streamer and OS board will be available on Oct 17th. Free upgrade for all Expert Pro owners. I am not but I am looking forward to the reports :slight_smile:

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I saw the “official” email from Devialet on this awhile back, but nothing recently and not much in the way of details regarding what this new board will bring. I talked with my dealer a week ago and he said he still hasn’t heard any details yet either. It will be interesting to see how they handle logistics on this.

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So no further details from Devialet. No RoonReady unfortunately for the start of Infinity Core.

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Yeah, it seems so. Very disappointing! :rage:

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That is for sure! Sad to see - hopefully Devialet is soon following up with Roon.

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Here’s a link to where @danny indicated that the new Core Infinity should be capable of fully supporting Roon RAAT. https://community.roonlabs.com/t/why-is-devialet-not-roon-ready-and-what-are-the-consequences/31982/22?u=mdconnelly As to whether it will be… only Devialet knows for sure.

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Patience everyone…

You’d think that by now, all you Devialet owners would be patient as tortoises…

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Only if we know the tortoise is still going to win the race, eventually :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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Good work Danny - Roon has been mentioned by Devialet CEO in his letter to Expert Customers, I am happy with the delay as these guys working hard on so many different fronts on getting their streamer board ready for us. Good work o both Devialet and Roon

"
Dear friends,

I know you’ve been patiently awaiting the arrival of our Core Infinity software update for some time now. We had initially slated it for release today, and I regret to inform you that we are not yet able to roll out the current version. Unfortunately, it remains incomplete and fails to meet our stringent quality and safety controls. I am only too aware of the disappointment this additional delay will cause you.

That’s why I want to be perfectly open with you and provide you with a detailed update on our software progress.

Devialet OS is based on an audio Linux kernel that enables your Expert Pro to receive regular updates, providing you with various services and features. Our new hardware support and the system foundations have been fully tested and approved. However, the update mechanism has revealed certain weaknesses that we are in the process of correcting. This is vital to our product integrity, and we are now in the final stages of performing checks.

The other features we initially announced need more validation.

First and foremost, Devialet AIR, designed to stream your content in bit-perfect quality. Tailoring it to Core Infinity has required more adjustments than we first thought. We are still encountering issues with 192kHz HD files. Over the next few weeks, we should have a fully operational version of AIR 3 for Core Infinity via both Ethernet and WiFi.

The Roon team are working hard to make the necessary improvements to Expert Pro | Roon integration. We feel confident they will meet the same time frame.

As for Spotify Connect, we now have a functional first version, though there are still a few bugs to correct, including volume management. During trials, we met further complications, such as the need to limit volume control to -12dB from the Spotify app so as to protect both your ears and your systems. Once the next phase of development is complete, we will need to be fully Spotify-Connect.

AirPlay: I have been using AirPlay at home all weekend, and with significant stability. Here again, there are a few minor volume issues to resolve prior to becoming Apple-certified.

UPnP: We are a only few days from releasing UPnP internally. It will then move forward for final testing and approval.

Last but not least, automatic source-to-source switching continue to generate occasional software crashes. Our engineers are working tirelessly to correct them, one by one.

Software development is always a complex and lengthy process and often leads to overly-protracted delays in release dates. I can only imagine your frustration and hope you’ll trust me when I say that we’re doing everything in our power to provide you with software that meets your expectations as quickly as possible.

Here’s a quick recap of our roadmap:

By tomorrow, November 8, we will deliver a 2.2 Alpha version to our dealers and retailers so they can test it and let you request a demo should you so wish. This version features AIR, Spotify Connect and AirPlay. It is not yet sufficiently stable to be made publicly available.
On November 16, Core Infinity will be presented to the press, along with AIR, Spotify Connect, AirPlay and UPnP. Once again, this version will not be made public.
By the week commencing November 20, two versions will be made available. They will still be in Beta, without critical bugs but with a few residual bugs.
2.1 Release Candidate with AIR 3 and UPnP
2.2 Beta, with AIR, Spotify Connect, AirPlay and UPnP.
We aim to release the official 2.2 Version by mid-December.
For regular progress updates on Core Infinity, you can follow our logbook here and share your thoughts with us.
Please be aware that we consistently take into account your comments and suggestions shared across different channels. More new features will follow all throughout 2018.

We will begin installing your Core Infinity boards as a priority over the coming days and continue through to late December. We’ll keep you posted as soon as our technicians reach your country to organize your personal Expert Pro Core Infinity set-up. You will then be able to choose from the 2.1 Release candidate and 2.2 Beta versions or wait for our stable release. It goes without saying that any physical removal of your Expert Pro system will remain on a needs-only basis.

You were among our earliest and strongest supporters and I know how much we owe you. We are doing our utmost to regain your trust. I shall make sure of it personally.

Warm regards,

Quentin Sannié
Devialet CEO"

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Note that although Quentin did not state this explicitly, I can tell you that he is speaking about Roon supporting AIR on the “Core Infinity” board. We are currently working with them to make sure the AIR support remains fully stable in this hardware upgrade.

According to the schedule above, either they are not planning on releasing Roon Ready/RAAT by version 2.2 of the Core Infinity in mid-December, or they are not ready to announce it yet. Makes sense, since we would have to certify it first, and they don’t like publicly talking about stuff that isn’t in their hands.

Nothing has changed here… please be patient.

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Software development is complex and tricky business (I employ developers in my financial services business, delays always result after beta testing) - I say both Roon and Devialet should take their time before any release - I am more than happy to sit back and wait as the current Devialet AIR integration with Tidal streaming is more than sufficient for my listening needs. Keep up the excellent work done by you & Roon and the team at Devialet! You guys are at the forefront of audio excellence in this new paradigm that has made my old stereo completely redundant.

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Danny, thanks for the update :+1:

Back to tortoise mode :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: