Munich HIGH END Show Report 2015
High End Society Munich Germany

Devialet @ HIGH END 2015 

 At the Devialet company press conference they announced their expansion to an outstanding 160 people from 7 back in 2010. They are broadening from their home country of France to now being in the USA and soon Asia. They currently have 88 patents and earned 40 awards to date. Their new Expert line will reach newfound heights for their audio products and to date have sold 3500 amplifiers during 2014. This year, 2015, will mark a change to be more software-based to provide new features for free. In 2015 their new SAM technology (Speaker Active Matching) is now in V2, with over 200 speakers now being compatible. SAM is a way to customize their amplifier to work with specific speakers. What I find interesting is that manufacturers allow them to do this without any fee or license.

As many within the professional audio field know, we use DSP and plug-ins to emulate/handle a wide variety of effects, etc. With Devialet's ability to gain all this DSP data and offer it completely free of charge is quite impressive. Generally, plug-ins cost money and the proper owner of what the DSP effect is based on receives a proper fee for using their data. Seems like high-end audio is a free-for-all in many ways.

Devialet's SAM laser module fits behind a loudspeaker and then this module calculates many parameters, such as impedance. Within eight minutes a loudspeaker can be laser measured and computed. On another front, Devialet's new 8.0 firmware includes more than 130 cartridge settings, which is similar to speaker matching, to provide a perfect match to their amplification products. EQ curves include RIAA, Telefunken, and many others. You can control the cartridge gain as well… all for free. Thus, instead of wasting $10,000 on a single-use and highly limited Burmester unit, for free you can have it all with the Devialet unit.

Their new MAT DSD Engine (Minimal Arithmetic Transform) is embedded within their new products that have remained at the same pricing as previous comparable models. The point is to offer a product that is nearly infinitely updatable at no additional cost to the owner. Bottom line, Devialet seeks to provide a high-end audio system for everyone that fits within their modern life. Size matters and they offer two different amplifier spec'ed DSP speakers that work wirelessly.

Near the end of the conference they played various tracks on their Phantom speakers and the bass was indeed deep and highs extended. Imaging was very impressive too. Dynamics might have a been a bit compressed and lower midrange/upper bass around 160 to 400 Hz sounded a bit recessed as compared to other frequencies. Perhaps it was my seating position or a simple EQ setting adjustment could be the solution.

Naturally the Devialet system comes with an app for your mobile device / tablet. Think of it like Sonos, which virtually everyone seems familiar with these days. There are three panels so you may choose which specific room for the music, the music itself and content. As I said, basically it is like Sonos when it comes to choosing room and music, yet unlike Sonos their system handles high resolution music such lossless FLAC and DSD. Of course it also handles TIDAL, Deezer, etc. online music services. Of course it also has Wi-Fi, is Bluetooth capable and provides a port for hardwired Ethernet. You can synchronize up to 24 of their Phantom powered loudspeaker units, with pricing starting at €1690 for each unit. A matching speaker stand is available as it a carrying / transport case. They are also wall mountable.

Enjoy the Music.com is honoring Devialet with our Innovation Award for their SAM technology. With the company's ability to analyze speakers in only 8 minutes and add them into their extensive database, this technology has the ability to revolutionize how DSP is integrated within a high quality audio system to benefit music enthusiasts worldwide. 

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