Devialet and Apple (odd couple?)

[realhifi]

The first thing that popped into my head as saw this announcement was David Lee Roth singing..."Running with the devil..."

The future of music technology | Watch the video - Yahoo Finance

[orgel]

It's potentially a good deal for Devialet. The Apple Stores that are going to sell the Phantoms get a lot of traffic (more than any high-end audio store) and customers drop a lot of money in there — I've read in the past that Apple Stores generate more sales dollars per square foot than do Tiffany & Co. stores.

 

It'll be interesting to see how many Phantoms they sell. I'd guess they're the highest-dollar non-Apple items in the Apple Store.

 

--David

[Dr Tone]

It's potentially a good deal for Devialet. The Apple Stores that are going to sell the Phantoms get a lot of traffic (more than any high-end audio store) and customers drop a lot of money in there — I've read in the past that Apple Stores generate more sales dollars per square foot than do Tiffany & Co. stores.

 

It'll be interesting to see how many Phantoms they sell. I'd guess they're the highest-dollar non-Apple items in the Apple Store.

 

--David

 

Some of the preloaded storage options are ridiculously priced in the Apple stores.

[JJinPDX]

I was just in an Apple Store the other day and saw the speakers. They fit right in. They are white, after all. Even though you can't demo them in the store that I could see, Apple gives you two weeks to try at home. I might, just for the heck of it. They aren't my aesthetic, so I doubt I'd keep them, but who knows. They look cool, but they also look like one of those products that will not have broad appeal over time. A gimmick, if you will.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[realhifi]

I was just in an Apple Store the other day and saw the speakers. They fit right in. They are white, after all. Even though you can't demo them in the store that I could see, Apple gives you two weeks to try at home. I might, just for the heck of it. They aren't my aesthetic, so I doubt I'd keep them, but who knows. They look cool, but they also look like one of those products that will not have broad appeal over time. A gimmick, if you will.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile mobile app

 

It's not the aesthetic that I think is an odd coupling but the simple fact that iTunes is such a low resolution medium and the Devialet has been touting high resolution music playback since the companies inception.

[davidbeinct]

It's not the aesthetic that I think is an odd coupling but the simple fact that iTunes is such a low resolution medium and the Devialet has been touting high resolution music playback since the companies inception.

 

iTunes is not inherently a low resolution medium. iTunes isn't really even a medium. It is both music playback software and a music downloading store. The download side is limited to lossy compressed files, but the music playback software part can certainly play back high resolution (24/192) files.

[orgel]

It's not the aesthetic that I think is an odd coupling but the simple fact that iTunes is such a low resolution medium and the Devialet has been touting high resolution music playback since the companies inception.

 

Admittedly, Apple has drawn away from the pro creative market in many areas, but they still develop and sell Logic Pro, which is not so low res. Audition, part of Adobe Creative Cloud, likely runs on more Macs than Windows boxes, and is also not so low res.

 

A lot of CA'ers use various models of Macs as a core part of their playback systems and iPads as control points, so all in all, including aesthetics, it's not all that incongruous a pairing. It's a retailing/marketing experiment that seems pretty easy for either party to back out of if it doesn't work out, so it's hard to see what the issue is … unless, of course, you really don't like Apple or Devialet, in which case it's pretty clear.

 

--David

[wkhanna]

i think it may be reflecting part of apple's reaction to dealing with losses in all markets as they look at outsourcing & acquisition for some alternative revenue generation. ?

[Audio_ELF]

i think it may be reflecting part of apple's reaction to dealing with losses in all markets as they look at outsourcing & acquisition for some alternative revenue generation. ?

Yeah I'm sure taking ONLY 94% of the profits from the smart phone market is worrying Apple so much they need to sell half a dozen Devialet units...

 

As for David's initial thoughts, I would disagree and think a small but significant minority of Apple customers are exactly the kind of customers that Devialet would be targeting... High income who like well designed (industrial design) products offering high performance.

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I was just in an Apple Store the other day and saw the speakers. They fit right in. They are white, after all. Even though you can't demo them in the store that I could see, Apple gives you two weeks to try at home. I might, just for the heck of it. They aren't my aesthetic, so I doubt I'd keep them, but who knows. They look cool, but they also look like one of those products that will not have broad appeal over time. A gimmick, if you will.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile mobile app

 

I heard one of the 750w speakers at the Vancouver Audio show last fall. They sounded fantastic, especially the bass extension. Many will buy one for eye candy and use it for background or party music. You need two for stereo imaging, and I have not read any reports on their soundstage performance.

[orgel]

Yeah I'm sure taking ONLY 94% of the profits from the smart phone market is worrying Apple so much they need to sell half a dozen Devialet units...

 

Indeed. Take a look at this. The second tweet is perhaps the more amazing (because, hell, my company has more revenue per employee than MSFT — that stat doesn't mean much).

 

--David

[realhifi]

As for David's initial thoughts, I would disagree and think a small but significant minority of Apple customers are exactly the kind of customers that Devialet would be targeting... High income who like well designed (industrial design) products offering high performance.

 

Of course they are. My post was strictly about the fact that Devialet is a company campioning high resolution digital playback and Apple....well, I think everyone here knows what they sell and stream as far as digital music. There is no doubt that Apple will sell these to high end (income) folks and many have no idea about differing digital resolutions or formats or even care.

[maelob]

In my book is great news that Apple is selling "high end" products. I don't see any negative in that - if that means rich people that don't have a clue buy the phantoms to listen to PANDORA it will still sound way better than a crappy sound bar.

[realhifi]

In my book is great news that Apple is selling "high end" products. I don't see any negative in that - if that means rich people that don't have a clue buy the phantoms to listen to PANDORA it will still sound way better than a crappy sound bar.

 

You are confusing negative with simple questioning. I just think it's an odd fit musically. Certainly the more that people are exposed to quality playback the more that their friends, relatives, etc will be and consequently more people wanting better sound.

[maelob]

Agree