Devialet Astra Solo Amplifier
REFERENCE AUDIO – WITHAM ESSEX
BOB’s Review Series - No 83 – Devialet Astra Solo (Gold Leaf Version) Amplifier
INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVIALET ASTRA SOLO
It’s 15 years since Devialet stunned the audiophile world with the release of their D-Premier amplifier although it feels like much longer ago than that. At the time this slim and attractive box did everything you were ever likely to need, just add speakers, and everyone aspired to own one, or two. At the time they got great reviews, and they sold well and continued to do so with later versions and upgrades being released, but over time Devialet took their eye off the amplifier ball somewhat when they geared their business to focus much more on their Phantom speakers. The speakers sold like hot cakes, but most audiophiles were simply not that interested and now it appears that Devialet have seen the light and are refocusing on where it all started for them, their well-regarded amplifiers. However Devialet will probably remain a lifestyle product in the eyes of most audiophiles rather than a serious maker of amplifiers which is a real shame because these new Astra amplifiers have a lot to offer in terms of convenience and most importantly sound quality.
The Astra Solo retails at £14,000 but a second one can be added so they act as monoblocs when the price doubles to £28,000. There is also a gold leaf Astra Solo version that retails at £18,000 or £36,000 if purchased as a pair but in everything but the finish the standard and the gold leaf options are identical, more on this later. Twin Astra are known as Astra Dual and for those with big pockets it’s possible to run four or more of them in a bi-amp or multi speaker set up.
CONNECTIONS
I was only able to listen to the Astra Solo in our showroom, not at home but being a one box solution building a system around it was easy, provided you don’t want to connect multiple analogue devices because the number of analogue inputs are limited. The review system comprised:
- Devialet Astra Solo Gold Leaf (acting as streamer, DAC and amplifier)
- Kudos Titan 505 speakers
- Roon Nucleus acting as the Roon Core
And that was it, nothing else needed. As simple as it gets.
SPECIFICATION
This is a 150w amplifier into an 8 ohm load, doubling to 300w into 4 ohms. It will work with Airplay, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, UPnP and is Roon Ready. The casing is machined from a single block of aluminium and measures 386mm wide, 386mm deep and just 47mm high. It weighs in at 7.2kg.
IN USE AND PERFORMANCE
As a stand-alone streamer with Ethernet connection, it will only resolve data files up to 24 bit 192kHz but should you connect an external streamer to it via USB it will resolve 24 bit, 384kHz files and DSD. But this is the same with most other streaming devices because USB is always the way to go for those high-resolution files. However, finding files on Qobuz or Tidal higher than 192kHz is virtually impossible and to be honest not really necessary, 192 is mostly all you will find and all you will ever need for high-definition replay. Just listen to Pink Floyds ‘The Division Bell’ at 24 bit 192 kHz from Tidal or Qobuz using Roon and you won’t be disappointed. On our showroom system it was as clear, open, engrossing and as dynamic as I have ever heard it. Absolutely no colouration, but that was always the Devialet way, and the new Astra Solo only builds and builds on what they achieved before. I was very impressed and even though it might seem pricy at £12,000 think how much you are saving on not needing other boxes, shelf space, mains leads, interconnects and your electricity bill and it suddenly becomes somewhat of a bargain. The Astra Solo is a Class D amplifier resulting in limited draw from your mains supply.
It does have limited inputs but in today’s world not many of us have a need for more than one or two connected devices. It has a single phono input which can be configured via their app for MM or MC cartridges, and it has a single pair of analogue inputs on RCA only. It has two digital coax inputs on RCA and twin optical inputs as well as twin USB inputs and a single ethernet input for direct streaming.
The lovely circular display on the top of the Astra is not touch sensitive, so don’t lose that remote. To get into the core settings of the Astra Solo you will need to connect a laptop or computer to it and using their downloadable app you will be able to change almost every aspect of the Astra including selecting MM or MC phono stage, analogue and coax input use and this is where you can also set it up to run two units in dual mode. Until you have used the interface for yourself it’s not possible to understand just how flexible and customisable the Astra amplifier is, almost every possibility is catered for. One of those setting is called SAM, and this enables you to tell the amplifier exactly what speakers you are using so that it can set its own parameters to get the best from those speakers. Over the years Devialet have tested hundreds of speakers to determine their performance criteria and they have saved this into a comprehensive database such that your choice of speaker has probably already been measured and saved by Devialet in their SAM settings so it’s very likely that your speakers have already been measured. You don’t have to use SAM of course but generally it helps to be setup to work best with your own choice of speakers.
CONCLUSION
Sound wise this latest amplifier from Devialet is something very special. It is open and dynamic and nothing like those early brittle sounding Class D amplifiers, in fact its hard to tell the difference from the more common Class AB amps we are all used to, except that is in the way it grips and drives your speakers better than most. Everything I listened to drew me in and astounded me with the way the Astra Solo can enliven music, not by being overly bright but by making it sound more expansive than you may have heard before, I really liked it. Probably not the first choice for those SET valve amplifier enthusiasts but for the majority of us it will be a revalation.
There are a couple of things worth noting however before taking the plunge. This new version of Devialets amplifier no longer has the removeable rear top panel that was designed to cover and give easy access to the recessed terminals on the rear of the device. From an aesthetics point of view the Astra looks cleaner but it does make access to those terminals more difficult. They are recessed around 40mm or so and it’s also worth noting that the Astra will not accept high end mains cables with those exotic round C15 plugs that are used by many cable manufacturers (think Furutech) and will only accept standard kettle type C15 plugs so if you are intending to use your existing high end mains cable you will almost certainly have to have it re-terminated.
The new remote control is fabulous but don’t lose it as there are no touch controls on the amplifier. If total control of your speakers is what you are looking for then the Astra Solo may just be what you have been waiting for. All this performance including a streamer, DAC, Phono Stage and amplifier in such a slim one box solution is going to sell like hot cakes.
But before I go, I do have to say something about the Gold Leaf version which in all ways other than finish is the same product as the standard light bronze version except you have to pay an additional £4,000 for the gold leaf finish. I know one of my colleagues thinks it’s a great finish but when I first set eyes on it, I thought it hadn’t been cleaned for ages. It is an applied overlapping type of gold leaf finish not a highly polished mirror like gold finish. I have never tried my hand at applying gold leaf to anything, but the Astra Solo Gold Leaf version looks like I gave it my best shot and failed miserably. You might disagree of course, and I guess Devialet have done their market research on this but for me I’d save four grand and go for the standard finish.
From a performance point of view the new Devialet Astra Solo is a major return to form for this French amplifier manufacturer, don’t miss out, call us today for a demo.
February 2025
Bob – Team Reference Audio