psaudio.com Devialet makes a fairly radical self amplified speaker called the Phantom. PS Audio's Paul McGowan shares his opinion of their performance.
The company that owns Devialet is LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy). As for the speaker (I have 2 golds), the sound is subjective. I went for a demo and the guy was playing rock ballads (not my thing), and I wasn't impressed at all, but once you put electronic/chill/house/deep house music (more my thing) through them they come alive. They have a beautiful range between 40 - 70% but go above that and the sound changes quite a lot. I am sure there are many speakers out there with a better sound, but these things sound great and look the part and disappear in a room unnoticed until you turn them on. For me, that's the perfect home speaker.
Ive heard the 900 vs the gold, and they both sounded the same. if used in a small room Im assuming you wouldn't need the larger Gold. what do you think?
Thanks for your input. What do you mean saying the sound changes a lot above 70%? I'm very curious, as I am not sure yet wether to buy the small Phantom or the bigger one...
By 70% I only mean volume range, the sweet spot (for me) is 65 (volume level on the app). Anything above that and the mids and highs take over the bass, yes you can run a EQ over the app to adjust t his but that defeats the object of what the Devialet is trying to do by playing the sound the way it was intended. Sorry but anyone who thinks the 900s are on par with the golds is dreaming. I will add, there are better sounding speakers on the market, but for me, I love the way they look and sound.
I really enjoy the Phantom golds, but they fit a specific set of criteria I had at the time of purchase: price, simplicity, full range, small footprint, portable, and approved by my partner. I would disagree about it not being audiophile grade as we have had so many musical moments with such a variety of music, with so many friends and family enjoying it like no other system I have seen except possibly and audio expo, well not many systems can do that. The biggest con, they are fairly dependent on software such that there have been occasional handshake problems which can be frustrating. Every time there is an update in the chain be it software, device, or source, I prepare myself to be frustrated.
Go listen to a pair Phantom Golds in stereo, in a dedicated room like you would with separates. Give the Silver and Reactor a pass, they are nowhere near the standards we seek for. Then find a system that sounds better than them for the same price or even higher, youll be hard pressed. Dont judge it in an Apple store, dont judge it in mono mode, dont judge it in any normal store. Even a 20k speaker wont sound good with only 1 side in an 'untreated' space. Treat it like a high end speaker, youll be surprised. It is not really that neutral like a Revel, but the musicality it produces is second to none in its price range. Its not flat, boring and dry, like a Revel. Until you have heard it in a controlled environment, dont bash it. It aint no Bose or B&O, thats for sure. Also, make sure they are on stands, stands transform their sound into something magical. From my experience in a showroom here in my country, the bass produced was punchy, deep and super quick, the mids were fluid and mesmerizing albeit a little reccessed, the treble had that airy sparkle that speakers twice its price wouldnt necessarily produce. Its that good. In mono mode, it was rubbish, sounded nearly 1 dimensional and sound stage almost non existant. In stereo, it was like a totally different speaker altogether, imaging was spot on. Dont believe me? Go listen for yourselves under the right conditions.
@@Watchmyarm True, in treated spaces, stereo and on stands, the Phantom Gold would impress most audiophiles, regardless the size. Its no snake oil like Bose or B&O, sound quality is way way way up there. Problem is too many people are bashing this speaker without listening to them setup up right. They listen to 1 speaker and come to a conclusion. Well, I can put up one side of a Wilson Audio WAMM Master Chronosonic speaker and it would sound worse than a speaker thats 1/10th of its price. I dont understand why audiophiles would come to conclusions with only 1 speaker and not setup up right, I thought audiophiles would know better. Keyword : thought. The Phantom Gold will give many setups 5 times its price a run for its money, its a bold statement but its true.
Well that is exactly why I thought they were so awesome just hearing one in an untreated space. I buy, sell and collect used high end gear, so I’m often listening to one speaker only for repair, purchasing, etc. I knew right away they were something special. Now I have a pair of golds with a lot of setup time invested and they are basically my mains. They are like a prefab high-end system. Now all the other stuff is just for Tinkering and having fun and making money. PS I do see these shaking up the high-end market, All that work, all the time switching cables, power supplies, cartridges getting just the right combination, the giant battle all to get a set up that probably sounds worse than some plug and play phantoms. Peace ✌🏻
Too many so called “High-end” speakers have terrible bass response. That’s a BIG omission in my view. Devialet takes bass seriously. And they do it in such a small package. Simply amazing. And their sound is of audiophile quality. Ur wrong on that point. I would be curious to know what full range speakers you have that can’t reproduce the bass devialet does. That omission would deem those speakers in your home of not having audiophile quality wouldn’t you agree?.
Class H is where the power supply changes voltage to improve the energy efficiency within the power amplifier, this is done by tracking the input analog waveform. It has nothing to do with Class D, but there are a few designs about that use this process, maybe Paul will go into more detail about Class G and H in a future video.
I did listen to silver, gold and reactor personally, gold and reactor being greater. Though it was Bluetooth(!) connection, output sounded as if I heard from earphones, bass included, but not entirely, it was better, dreamy, upscaling and power to deliver in that small package means it packs some awesome tech. As for gold, it sounded like beast ready to tear my eardrums, voices were clear, as if people were standing before me singing, bass were coming from every corner of room, like when heavy vehicle pass trough or plane breaks sound barrier. Specs is like its not complete flat, bass powerful and 1k-5k freq is less, it got no jack and connection is not stable from what I hear. Sound also changes with direction, but its that kind of device - frequencies do not come out from the same direction, its stupid to expect impossible, listen from the front for more flat output. Shame its so pricy though, not fully autonomous factory is at fault I think, reactors are better one though. Should learn from Musk.
I was one of the first purchasers in the world (yes, I can make that claim) of Devialet's D-Premier amplifier. Bought it in HK more than a dozen years ago. Connected it to my German loudspeakers, Canton Reference range. To boot, I threw in a German CD player, the Burmester. The assembly was mesmerising. The base that came out from my jazz CDs came out in layers, some of which you can almost hear the "wind". When the Cantons were properly toed in, the soundstaging was staggering: I could hear the location of the guitar and the singer. Fast forward some 10 years and Devialet has very regrettably gone the way of commercialism when they got acquired by what Paul calls "fashion brand" (I don't know which it is) and betrayed their purity, "went all Apple", by producing abominations like the Phantoms. Anyone who's heard the music from my D-Premier amp would be totally scarred when they listen to the rubbish coming out of those Phantoms. When the D-Premier amps first came to the market, there wasn't one, not ONE, audiophile magazine in the UK that didn't salivate over themselves giving their absolute top rating. To hear them, the French engineers from Devialet completely chucked the audiophile amplifier rulebook of the previous decades out the window and started from a clean sheet of paper. It was those reviews that convinced me to give the amp a listen. The test of pudding is in the eating and, to me, that amp was the real deal and I've never regretted it. But Devialet's commercial direction now (with these bulbous abominations for the millennials) is totally regrettable for someone who's bought their first audiophile product and so wanted to have them for life.
Fat Rat ... I saw one for sale locally. Just a couple of months old. Asking for less than half the original price. Turns out to be a darn scammer. Lol I sold my Martens. Feeling sad but they are more like home ornaments.
I have a pair of reactors. The first thing to do is ditch the power cables for a pair of good audioquests. Next, run them in analogue mode via a good tube preamp. You'll need to custom make the speaker cables so that the stereo pins deliver a single mono signal. High-end audiophile speakers? You betcha.
@@AVStore-India Thanks! I might do that sometime in the future when I can actually get back to my beloved music system! We got stranded ( sort of) at our yearly summer retreat. Meanwhile, here's a rundown of the system , as far as I can remember. The stereo pins' left and right pins need to be shorted to supply one signal. The server uses roon and hqplayer out direct to Dac. The topping tube pre is a cheapo but creates an adequate soundstage. I have a custom tube pre on order but when it will be ready is anyones guess. Here are the details: Mains iFi AC iPurifier - Music Server Quiet PC Sidewinder Fanless Media PC - Streacom FC5WS ALPHA Silver Fanless Chassis, without Optical Slot - Gigabyte GA-Z390I-AORUS PRO WIFI LGA1151 Mini-ITX Motherboard - Intel 8th Gen Core i7 8700 3.2GHz 6C/12T 65W 12MB Coffee Lake CPU PSU - TeraDak 12v 15A Linear PSU with HiDiamond Mod. Diamond 3 power cable (for Server) - Allo.com “Shanti” Dual Ultra Low Noise Linear Power 5V with HiDiamond Mod. Diamond 2 power cable (for 3 internal HDDs@ 5tb each), Cable from PSU to Server replaced by an selfmade solidcore cable (wire from SolidcoreAudio Germany, Mundorf MSolder Supreme) - HiDiamond USB A to USB B with iFi iPurifier3 DAC Chord Hugo 2 Selfmade cotton clad RCA Cable (SolidcoreAudio wire) Preamp Nobsound Mini 6J1 Tube PSU - SBooster BOTW P&P Eco MKII 12V - HiDiamond Mod. Diamond 3 cable Selfmade RCA to 3.5mm Jack cotton clad solidcore cable (SolidcoreAudio Germany) Speaker Devialet Phantom Reactor 900 (two) - Audioquest 2-Pole NRG1.5 power cables. Both plugged into a separate mains conditioner. WiFi Router TP-Link - PSU SBooster BOTW P&P Eco MKII 10V - Pangea Audio AC-9SEMKII TP-Link Deco
I’m agree with you Kong ! 😂😂😂 The Devialet design do the job for the eyes 👀 - A Cupertino looks 😉 - but for My hears, i prefer my Vacuum tubes Ampl. And a Good pair Of speakers ! It’s my choice ...
No I think when devialet say pressure they mean it's pressurised inside??? Not just a sealed box. When the driver is to push air forward it's assisted with the internal postive pressure.. that's how I understood the design.
First time hearing of the power supply following the signal. That would be tricky at higher frequencies. Must be decoupled somewhere no? I'm no audio guy but I have my strengths in building and designing circuits.
The power is provided by the class D amplifier. Class Ds use PWM which is why they need the output filter that can colour the sound, particularly at higher frequencies. The class D steps power for a class A/B which outputs to your speakers. This stepping is at a finer granularity than most class A/B amps (think about 10v steps versus 150v). This stepping is what Paul is referring to as power "following the signal". The Class A/B is of course much less efficient than the switching design of the Class D, as it's conducting more of each cycle than then Class D pulses, but has a truer high frequency reproduction without much of the higher order switching harmonics (or the dampening of highs from the filter) This makes the BASH amplifier sound like a Class A/B while giving efficiency closer to a Class D. In an abstract sense, it decouples the signal equation to use an efficient class D for amplitude and a class A/B for frequency. It's not perfect but sounds better than a Class D, which possibly contributes to the dynamic high frequency response of the Devialets. They're nice speakers IMHO. Certainly if someone is considering a single box (or 2 box) solution then they're worth considering.
Ah, I've just heard Paul doesn't like the high frequency performance of the Devialets.. Personally I think it's quite dynamic but these are "all about that bass" and it dominates the listening experience at first. Another note on this is the gold phantom has a titanium tweeter and a Class A amp instead of an A/B. I've never heard the silvers but the gold was very impressive and I'd imagine the high frequency response is better than the silvers or their smaller models. A stereo pair is worth a listen for someone looking for a dramatic system with minimal install hassle. They're not really aiming at the classic audiophile market. They're more a lifestyle offering like a B&O, but better to my ears.
@@cliffordcostley9798 thanks but my engineering days are done.. I'm glad I found PS Audio's channel however as Paul talks about the engineering challenges of audiophile grade equipment rather than just the listening experience. The channel is therfore quite technical and reminds me a bit of Tyll Hertsen's Inner Fidelity for headphones.
@Fat Rat lol.. B&O is high end...the best Bang for buck (pun) speaker system out there.. Any beolabs will blow any other speakers in its price class out of the water, no questions asked.
@Fat Rat are you saying prices of your amps cables loudspeakers etc.. all combined will beat a beolab in same price class? lol. I mean I don't want to get into the looks, because we all know B&O will beat any coffin looking speaker any day of the week.
@Fat Rat if you say so.. no problem with me. I like to pay good money for frequencies that my ears interpret as well as for the frequencies my eyes interpret!
No. It is not by no means. First, try a listening to them and you'll change your mind. (BTW.: I don't own a pair, but have had the opportunity to hear them... They rock like crazy. If you wanna party, its difficult to find something better. But take care: the police can knock to your door).
@@AVStore-India Oh really ? Since when is Bose a benchmark ? I admit thier headphones sound pretty good.... Lemme guess 301?s Yeah i had those ....not bad nothing special
Hi Paul, Devialet is backed by Bernard Arnault, France’s richest man who is also the head of luxury goods company LVMH, and by taiwanese electronic giant Foxconn
Is the rigidity of woofer’s suspensions adapted to the power given by the amplifier? if correct, the suspensions of the gold phantom should be more rigid than the suspensions of the Classic phantom, because gold phantom has more power, so the maximum excursion of the woofers is the same. Is it correct?
Before I watched this, I had to take a quick trip to Devialet’s website as I had never heard of this products. My very first thought after reading their blurb about high output amplifier technology was Bob Carver’s Sunfire Sub. I’m very familiar with that piece...it was and remains very impressive for the low frequencies and SPL it can generate despite its very small size. But musical? No. No it wasn’t.
Hmm...personally the only way to really know if they are any good or not is go demo and listen to them.after all tastes and opinions on anything can vary greatly. Or better still if possible demo them in your own home and system...and return if not happy.
What is your Opinion on Devialet amps? They are class D but in the Test of Stereo.de www.stereo.de/hifi-test/kategorie/vollverstaerker they have a sound quality ranking of 95% (in comparison the PS Audio Sprout got 50%). The price of 4990 € sounds highly competative.
Bob Carver's subwoofer was called the Sunfire and it had the Tracking Downconverter technology. It was kind of amazing in what it could do but sometimes it was hard to fix the amplifier. The place I worked for was a Carver dealer. I went to Carverfest a couple times and built his tube amp kit. I think that Devialet speaker was priced at around $3000. It worked and produced sound but I would never own one. I have yet to try a subwoofer at my house that improves my low end without coloring the sound I have now.
@@andershammer9307 I would give my thoughts on that. They would be just my opinon. There is too much emphasis on lower extension. Pushed by manufacturers. To roll off a subwoofer is to create phase differences. Its overlooked because so many want to rumble. Most instrument's fundamental tones are 50hz and up. To attempt to redesign a speaker and compensate for your ideas that there is something missing, is a great challenge. If you added stereo subs to your system they will not "couple" properly with the panel because of the physical placement. If subs could have a steep crossover and fall off like a cliff with no side effects then maybe you would have a chance at success. PSA was/is trying to Intergrste a sub in with a loudspeaker. See how long its been since that idea? It was to be revolutionary.
Hey Paul... Are you making reference to the original Sunfire Truesub.... I home trialed one about 25 years ago? (ish) shockingly impressive bass output....... But fast, tight, musical!?!? ... It didn't hit the spot.... Near damn ruined the found rooms of the house though!!!
I agree with mr McGowan about the Devialet speakers. In France there are excellent manufacturers of Hifi and especially loudspeakers, some with very long experience (Supravox, Elipson, Cabasse ...) or more recent (JMR, Triangle, Focal ...) often poorly known. in the USA, but which often surprise those who have the opportunity to listen to them. Nothing to do with Devialet's very "bling bling" approach ...
And all the ones you think are better probably don’t come close to the bass of the devialet. Sooooo pick your poison. I prefer the devialet. Unmatched bass. Unmatched size unmatched convenience (all in one).
The idea of making an active speaker with servo subwoofer in small size but shocking bass is a great idea and I see no reason why it couldn’t be an outstanding speaker also. Servo subs using a closed box can be more precise than ported designs and the mid and treble performance is a matter of selecting some great transducers. The amp side and DSP incl. cross over filtering can be highly optimized and superior to discrete amps. But it won’t be cheap. PS Audio, please use your outstanding passion for great audio to make a “Devialet killer” that blows away the Phantom on impressive bass but also as an impressive resolving audiophile super speaker. It needs to be a 3 way design. Add an app to it that can enable audiophile room acoustics tuning and other tweaking (how about a tube clipping mode?) using the build-in top notch DSP.
I picked up two phantom reactor 900s and returned them after a week. Loud, yes, bass yes, but the huge but is they sound like the volume is stepped. What I mean by that is you need a certain amount or volume to get the bass going, but that level makes the treble and midrange harsh. Turn it down to softer the highs and you don’t get any bass. They also don’t have any eq in the app so you’re stuck with whatever you get. I don’t want to be playing them at 75% volume all the time to get the sound I want so they were effectively nice looking but ultimately poor speakers.
@@AVStore-India I don’t have a small room. Nothing in my post related referenced the room size. They just sound inconsistent depending on the volume. A flawed product.
@@phiiplujan5090 personally I just wouldn’t bother with anything they make if you’re interested in sound quality of any sort. As someone else said - french Bose
I listened to pair of Gold Phantoms and for audiophile listening I wasn't impressed. They can play clean and loud, but fail with imaging and detail. But they'd be great as a party speaker that you can easily transport and setup.
For the half of the price of a devialet reactor 600 i bought in second hand 2 studio monitors prodipe pro 5 (french equivalent of jbl lsr 305) with svs sb1000 subwoofer. What is better according to you ? My 2.1 system or a devialet reactor 600
@Fat Rat consumer unfriendly, regardless of manufacturer, or speaker product. Hey, don't be angered by one person's opinion. We're fortunate to (currently) be allowed our own opinion, without fear of retribution, or retaliation.
@@mrpositronia Do not give too much importance to the insults and rage of this guy. I know him by my own experience. Let him going ahead with his hysteria. Best regards.
I don't know anything about Devialet. I haven't even seen the speakers. My thought, though, is that if it was actually pressurized the air inside would be pushing the speaker cones forward, which would limit their movement (not a good thing). Also, I doubt that any speaker box is truly airtight. Variations in barometric pressure, either due to daily weather or due to elevation at your particular town, would alter the sound of your speakers if the inside of your "sealed box" couldn't breathe a little bit to equalize the pressure inside and outside the box. In other words, an airtight sealed box designed and built at sea level would sound a little bit different if it were installed up in the mountains. The air inside acts like a spring to limit or control the motion of the driver. If that spring is out of whack with its environment, it would be like having a stronger or weaker "spring" than what was intended by the designer. I have read that some sealed box speakers have a small pinpoint hole drilled in them specifically for this reason. I would assume that there is leakage around speaker cone surrounds as well.
i only heard Devialet Phantoms once, a pretty good stereo setup in a shop on stands. i would call them good sounding but with some drawbacks that normal speakers dont have. that the sound change with volume increase is really bad design, and all reviews i read have troubles setting them up and use them, then say they work perfectly in the end, seriously.... and you have to use wireless to get them to work, literally the worst thing for hifi and its gets you in trouble in daily use, not to mention need internet to get updates. kind of ridiculous. the other main complaints about them is that they are bookshelf size things, and you wont get the best bass from where those are supposed to be placed for 300hz and above. wasted subwoofers placed in the worst place. its the compromises for all in one solution. or all in 3 solution because they sells in single unis active speaker and you have to buy a seperate box to connect more than one speaker. so it gets all the drawbacks of all in one box solutions and the hassle of more boxes that the competition.
It says -15db at 3 meter's that means the tones are not well established and do not carry. Don't care for modular stuff. When it breaks and all things do, throw away....didn't give it too much of a look.
I listened to those at a dealer to audition the whtie/silver version. Setup was done well in a treated room. However, the things scared me tbh. Never heard such cold, non-musical system ever before. Gave me the chills instead of goosebumps. Bass was great, mids ok, highs sounded plasticy to me? It was very precise in reproducing the bits from the cd in a technical sense. Should be perfect for watching movies, but their cold heartless nature is not suited for music lovers imho. That said, the gold version should be a bit better in this respect but I didn’t audition those.
Hey Paul, suggest you to stop the habit of licking your finger to flip paper under the current coronavirus outbreak. Keep it safe cause I really love to see your daily video. Take care!
I heard the Devialet in person at their store that was set up and Grand Central in NYC. To me they sounded just slightly better than the BOSE wave radio.
margaretsville What? I have to call BS. I’ve been in that store in Grand Central and they do not sound anything like the Bose wave radio. They are actually pretty decent for what they are, which is a modern designed smart speaker. Audiophiles are not going to love them but they are miles ahead of the Wave radio. That’s like a Ferrari driver stating a Chevy is as good as a Mercedes Benz.
@@DWilliam1 Hi, I appreciate your point. The people I was with when we listened to Devialet had the same opinion as you; they thought they were a lot better than I did. Like I said, it was just how they sounded to me. Keep in mind, I don't think they sound bad at all. Nor do I find the Bose radio to sound bad either. In any case I gotta trust my ears, Could had been the choice of music they played for us (Beyonce, Brubeck, and Buble, but no classical). The highs were very watery to my ears. But would you agree that for the price of the Devialet, (or less) you could assemble a much better sounding system with individual components like Marantz, NAD, JBL, etc?
margaretsville Yup, they are very pricey. As a person who has owned NAD and Marantz they could have done better, then again my NAD and Marantz equipment was from the 1980’s. LOL
sorry brother I clicked your username... You are at that age, you lose your hi freq hearing...It is your ears. I bet "traditional" audiophile speakers sound good to you right?
Loud, louder, loudest. Sounds like a big bluetooth speaker. Because it is. No nuance, no definition. Just made to impress and to sell to people with more money than brains. Also form over function.
Don’t do this, Paul. Not cool. Besides, you could be blowing off potential DirectStream DAC sales to owners of these speakers. In my mind this looks like a great combo for a certain segment of the hobby.
It's junk. It could be decent for people who like those kind of systems (I don't) if it wasn't for their fantastical claims and the total non-repairability.
this is the case of an audiophool defending a fellow’s audiophool snakeoil 🤦♀️ when you are into snakeoil, it’s your only choice, otherwise your own snakeoil will escape
@@mag-wp6yt Are your blinds all cattywonked in your windows at home for all to see? I bet not and he is running a business. Trust me I did retail for decades and it would shock you on what people pick up and judge you by. The same way some look at a full dumpster as a company that is doing something or others look at it as a company that is doing nothing including emptying their dumpster. I've done classes, seminars and even had experts come in to tell us what we were doing wrong over the decades. Everyone would have mentioned that stupid blind before they walked in the door. A high end retail business like Paul's every blind in the building should be set exactly the same. At least the side (north, east, south, west) that is facing you. It's called attention to detail. If you cant get the blinds right what else are you too busy to miss? Everyone knows a crap hole storefront that does business in spite of the way they look but they are the exception not the rule and I'm sure you thought walking through the door, "if they would just clean this place up it would be a goldmine". Paul just moved to the new building just a couple months ago. It should be perfect especially if you come to it to drop 30 or 40 grand on a stereo system.
The company that owns Devialet is LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy).
As for the speaker (I have 2 golds), the sound is subjective. I went for a demo and the guy was playing rock ballads (not my thing), and I wasn't impressed at all, but once you put electronic/chill/house/deep house music (more my thing) through them they come alive. They have a beautiful range between 40 - 70% but go above that and the sound changes quite a lot. I am sure there are many speakers out there with a better sound, but these things sound great and look the part and disappear in a room unnoticed until you turn them on. For me, that's the perfect home speaker.
Ive heard the 900 vs the gold, and they both sounded the same. if used in a small room Im assuming you wouldn't need the larger Gold. what do you think?
@@phiiplujan5090 in a small room no, the Reactors are all excellent for the size of them.
Thanks for your input. What do you mean saying the sound changes a lot above 70%?
I'm very curious, as I am not sure yet wether to buy the small Phantom or the bigger one...
By 70% I only mean volume range, the sweet spot (for me) is 65 (volume level on the app). Anything above that and the mids and highs take over the bass, yes you can run a EQ over the app to adjust t his but that defeats the object of what the Devialet is trying to do by playing the sound the way it was intended.
Sorry but anyone who thinks the 900s are on par with the golds is dreaming.
I will add, there are better sounding speakers on the market, but for me, I love the way they look and sound.
i heard a pair of Gold Phantoms, they were way better than many traditional brands that had 5X the cabinet volume
I really enjoy the Phantom golds, but they fit a specific set of criteria I had at the time of purchase: price, simplicity, full range, small footprint, portable, and approved by my partner.
I would disagree about it not being audiophile grade as we have had so many musical moments with such a variety of music, with so many friends and family enjoying it like no other system I have seen except possibly and audio expo, well not many systems can do that.
The biggest con, they are fairly dependent on software such that there have been occasional handshake problems which can be frustrating. Every time there is an update in the chain be it software, device, or source, I prepare myself to be frustrated.
Go listen to a pair Phantom Golds in stereo, in a dedicated room like you would with separates. Give the Silver and Reactor a pass, they are nowhere near the standards we seek for. Then find a system that sounds better than them for the same price or even higher, youll be hard pressed. Dont judge it in an Apple store, dont judge it in mono mode, dont judge it in any normal store. Even a 20k speaker wont sound good with only 1 side in an 'untreated' space. Treat it like a high end speaker, youll be surprised. It is not really that neutral like a Revel, but the musicality it produces is second to none in its price range. Its not flat, boring and dry, like a Revel. Until you have heard it in a controlled environment, dont bash it. It aint no Bose or B&O, thats for sure. Also, make sure they are on stands, stands transform their sound into something magical. From my experience in a showroom here in my country, the bass produced was punchy, deep and super quick, the mids were fluid and mesmerizing albeit a little reccessed, the treble had that airy sparkle that speakers twice its price wouldnt necessarily produce. Its that good. In mono mode, it was rubbish, sounded nearly 1 dimensional and sound stage almost non existant. In stereo, it was like a totally different speaker altogether, imaging was spot on. Dont believe me? Go listen for yourselves under the right conditions.
I did it today in a devialet store only. I was completely impressed
@@Watchmyarm True, in treated spaces, stereo and on stands, the Phantom Gold would impress most audiophiles, regardless the size. Its no snake oil like Bose or B&O, sound quality is way way way up there. Problem is too many people are bashing this speaker without listening to them setup up right. They listen to 1 speaker and come to a conclusion. Well, I can put up one side of a Wilson Audio WAMM Master Chronosonic speaker and it would sound worse than a speaker thats 1/10th of its price. I dont understand why audiophiles would come to conclusions with only 1 speaker and not setup up right, I thought audiophiles would know better. Keyword : thought. The Phantom Gold will give many setups 5 times its price a run for its money, its a bold statement but its true.
@@AbsoluteFidelity how much is a phantom gold setup (for stereo) with stands?
@@alien7161 6000 for a pair of Golds, 800 for a pair of Tree Stands, 300 for the Dialog to pair up the speakers. So total would be around 7000 or so.
Well that is exactly why I thought they were so awesome just hearing one in an untreated space. I buy, sell and collect used high end gear, so I’m often listening to one speaker only for repair, purchasing, etc. I knew right away they were something special. Now I have a pair of golds with a lot of setup time invested and they are basically my mains. They are like a prefab high-end system. Now all the other stuff is just for Tinkering and having fun and making money. PS I do see these shaking up the high-end market, All that work, all the time switching cables, power supplies, cartridges getting just the right combination, the giant battle all to get a set up that probably sounds worse than some plug and play phantoms. Peace ✌🏻
Too many so called “High-end” speakers have terrible bass response. That’s a BIG omission in my view. Devialet takes bass seriously. And they do it in such a small package. Simply amazing. And their sound is of audiophile quality. Ur wrong on that point. I would be curious to know what full range speakers you have that can’t reproduce the bass devialet does. That omission would deem those speakers in your home of not having audiophile quality wouldn’t you agree?.
I’ve heard the Devialet amplifier driving big Maggies. Excellent.
Class H is where the power supply changes voltage to improve the energy efficiency within the power amplifier, this is done by tracking the input analog waveform. It has nothing to do with Class D, but there are a few designs about that use this process, maybe Paul will go into more detail about Class G and H in a future video.
I did listen to silver, gold and reactor personally, gold and reactor being greater. Though it was Bluetooth(!) connection, output sounded as if I heard from earphones, bass included, but not entirely, it was better, dreamy, upscaling and power to deliver in that small package means it packs some awesome tech.
As for gold, it sounded like beast ready to tear my eardrums, voices were clear, as if people were standing before me singing, bass were coming from every corner of room, like when heavy vehicle pass trough or plane breaks sound barrier.
Specs is like its not complete flat, bass powerful and 1k-5k freq is less, it got no jack and connection is not stable from what I hear. Sound also changes with direction, but its that kind of device - frequencies do not come out from the same direction, its stupid to expect impossible, listen from the front for more flat output.
Shame its so pricy though, not fully autonomous factory is at fault I think, reactors are better one though. Should learn from Musk.
I do give them kudos for the minimal diffraction enclosure.
I was one of the first purchasers in the world (yes, I can make that claim) of Devialet's D-Premier amplifier. Bought it in HK more than a dozen years ago. Connected it to my German loudspeakers, Canton Reference range. To boot, I threw in a German CD player, the Burmester. The assembly was mesmerising. The base that came out from my jazz CDs came out in layers, some of which you can almost hear the "wind". When the Cantons were properly toed in, the soundstaging was staggering: I could hear the location of the guitar and the singer.
Fast forward some 10 years and Devialet has very regrettably gone the way of commercialism when they got acquired by what Paul calls "fashion brand" (I don't know which it is) and betrayed their purity, "went all Apple", by producing abominations like the Phantoms. Anyone who's heard the music from my D-Premier amp would be totally scarred when they listen to the rubbish coming out of those Phantoms.
When the D-Premier amps first came to the market, there wasn't one, not ONE, audiophile magazine in the UK that didn't salivate over themselves giving their absolute top rating. To hear them, the French engineers from Devialet completely chucked the audiophile amplifier rulebook of the previous decades out the window and started from a clean sheet of paper. It was those reviews that convinced me to give the amp a listen. The test of pudding is in the eating and, to me, that amp was the real deal and I've never regretted it.
But Devialet's commercial direction now (with these bulbous abominations for the millennials) is totally regrettable for someone who's bought their first audiophile product and so wanted to have them for life.
Devialet is owned by LVMH group. LVMH handles brands like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Loewe and much more.
The Phantoms looks really cool.
Fat Rat ... I saw one for sale locally. Just a couple of months old. Asking for less than half the original price. Turns out to be a darn scammer. Lol
I sold my Martens. Feeling sad but they are more like home ornaments.
Fat Rat ... just the Harbeths. I’m satisfied. 😬
Fat Rat ... that’s why I got subs! Sold the little T5s too. Replacing them with a single Rythmik F12. Digs much much deeper. Vaa vaa voom!
Fat Rat ... click the 3 vertical dots on the right of comment. It gives the option to delete
I have a pair of reactors. The first thing to do is ditch the power cables for a pair of good audioquests. Next, run them in analogue mode via a good tube preamp. You'll need to custom make the speaker cables so that the stereo pins deliver a single mono signal.
High-end audiophile speakers? You betcha.
Luvdac would love if you would post a video on how exactly you got this done... sounds pretty interesting 👀
@@AVStore-India
Thanks! I might do that sometime in the future when I can actually get back to my beloved music system! We got stranded ( sort of) at our yearly summer retreat.
Meanwhile, here's a rundown of the system , as far as I can remember.
The stereo pins' left and right pins need to be shorted to supply one signal.
The server uses roon and hqplayer out direct to Dac. The topping tube pre is a cheapo but creates an adequate soundstage. I have a custom tube pre on order but when it will be ready is anyones guess.
Here are the details:
Mains
iFi AC iPurifier
-
Music Server
Quiet PC Sidewinder Fanless Media PC
- Streacom FC5WS ALPHA Silver Fanless Chassis, without Optical Slot
- Gigabyte GA-Z390I-AORUS PRO WIFI LGA1151 Mini-ITX Motherboard
- Intel 8th Gen Core i7 8700 3.2GHz 6C/12T 65W 12MB Coffee Lake CPU
PSU
- TeraDak 12v 15A Linear PSU with HiDiamond Mod. Diamond 3 power cable (for Server)
- Allo.com “Shanti” Dual Ultra Low Noise Linear Power 5V with HiDiamond Mod.
Diamond 2 power cable (for 3 internal HDDs@ 5tb each), Cable from PSU to Server replaced by an
selfmade solidcore cable (wire from SolidcoreAudio Germany, Mundorf
MSolder Supreme)
-
HiDiamond USB A to USB B with iFi iPurifier3
DAC
Chord Hugo 2
Selfmade cotton clad RCA Cable (SolidcoreAudio wire)
Preamp
Nobsound Mini 6J1 Tube
PSU
- SBooster BOTW P&P Eco MKII 12V
- HiDiamond Mod. Diamond 3 cable
Selfmade RCA to 3.5mm Jack cotton clad solidcore cable (SolidcoreAudio Germany)
Speaker
Devialet Phantom Reactor 900 (two)
- Audioquest 2-Pole NRG1.5 power cables. Both plugged into a separate mains conditioner.
WiFi
Router TP-Link
- PSU SBooster BOTW P&P Eco MKII 10V
- Pangea Audio AC-9SEMKII
TP-Link Deco
I’m agree with you Kong ! 😂😂😂
The Devialet design do the job for the eyes 👀 - A Cupertino looks 😉 - but for My hears, i prefer my Vacuum tubes Ampl. And a Good pair Of speakers !
It’s my choice ...
your ears are whack! get em' checked
No I think when devialet say pressure they mean it's pressurised inside??? Not just a sealed box. When the driver is to push air forward it's assisted with the internal postive pressure.. that's how I understood the design.
How does their signal tracking amplifier differ from Bob Carver's Tracking Down converter?
First time hearing of the power supply following the signal. That would be tricky at higher frequencies. Must be decoupled somewhere no? I'm no audio guy but I have my strengths in building and designing circuits.
The power is provided by the class D amplifier. Class Ds use PWM which is why they need the output filter that can colour the sound, particularly at higher frequencies. The class D steps power for a class A/B which outputs to your speakers. This stepping is at a finer granularity than most class A/B amps (think about 10v steps versus 150v). This stepping is what Paul is referring to as power "following the signal". The Class A/B is of course much less efficient than the switching design of the Class D, as it's conducting more of each cycle than then Class D pulses, but has a truer high frequency reproduction without much of the higher order switching harmonics (or the dampening of highs from the filter) This makes the BASH amplifier sound like a Class A/B while giving efficiency closer to a Class D. In an abstract sense, it decouples the signal equation to use an efficient class D for amplitude and a class A/B for frequency. It's not perfect but sounds better than a Class D, which possibly contributes to the dynamic high frequency response of the Devialets. They're nice speakers IMHO. Certainly if someone is considering a single box (or 2 box) solution then they're worth considering.
Ah, I've just heard Paul doesn't like the high frequency performance of the Devialets.. Personally I think it's quite dynamic but these are "all about that bass" and it dominates the listening experience at first. Another note on this is the gold phantom has a titanium tweeter and a Class A amp instead of an A/B. I've never heard the silvers but the gold was very impressive and I'd imagine the high frequency response is better than the silvers or their smaller models. A stereo pair is worth a listen for someone looking for a dramatic system with minimal install hassle. They're not really aiming at the classic audiophile market. They're more a lifestyle offering like a B&O, but better to my ears.
@@sdemosi You should be working for PS Audio or Parasound.
@@cliffordcostley9798 thanks but my engineering days are done.. I'm glad I found PS Audio's channel however as Paul talks about the engineering challenges of audiophile grade equipment rather than just the listening experience. The channel is therfore quite technical and reminds me a bit of Tyll Hertsen's Inner Fidelity for headphones.
All hi-end audio manufacturers make up special names for old/existing technologies.
Fat Rat Right. Like B&O.
@Fat Rat The price on the Phantom sure is.
@Fat Rat lol.. B&O is high end...the best Bang for buck (pun) speaker system out there.. Any beolabs will blow any other speakers in its price class out of the water, no questions asked.
@Fat Rat are you saying prices of your amps cables loudspeakers etc.. all combined will beat a beolab in same price class? lol. I mean I don't want to get into the looks, because we all know B&O will beat any coffin looking speaker any day of the week.
@Fat Rat if you say so.. no problem with me. I like to pay good money for frequencies that my ears interpret as well as for the frequencies my eyes interpret!
(Alex here) Thanks for the answer Paul. Appreciate it. And yeah the fires seem to be under control now bud. Cheers.
My pleasure. Yeah, heard now the rains have come. Whew!
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio Yes, whew and Geelong is pronunced like G-Long
Your voice at the end as `pickles` made me genuinely LOL
So its French Bose
Great review actually
No. It is not by no means.
First, try a listening to them and you'll change your mind.
(BTW.: I don't own a pair, but have had the opportunity to hear them... They rock like crazy. If you wanna party, its difficult to find something better. But take care: the police can knock to your door).
@@venturarodriguezvallejo9777
Cool , 4500$ is crazy though
@@dednside5229 Yes. Like so many elitist audio products in the market.
There are cables that cost three or four times that price for just one meter.
DED NSIDE doesn’t come anywhere close to Bose...
@@AVStore-India
Oh really ?
Since when is Bose a benchmark ?
I admit thier headphones sound pretty good....
Lemme guess 301?s
Yeah i had those ....not bad nothing special
Hi Paul, Devialet is backed by Bernard Arnault, France’s richest man who is also the head of luxury goods company LVMH, and by taiwanese electronic giant Foxconn
Is the rigidity of woofer’s suspensions adapted to the power given by the amplifier? if correct, the suspensions of the gold phantom should be more rigid than the suspensions of the Classic phantom, because gold phantom has more power, so the maximum excursion of the woofers is the same. Is it correct?
Before I watched this, I had to take a quick trip to Devialet’s website as I had never heard of this products. My very first thought after reading their blurb about high output amplifier technology was Bob Carver’s Sunfire Sub. I’m very familiar with that piece...it was and remains very impressive for the low frequencies and SPL it can generate despite its very small size. But musical? No. No it wasn’t.
did you listen to pair of golds?
What do you mean by musical??
Musical for what it is
Hmm...personally the only way to really know if they are any good or not is go demo and listen to them.after all tastes and opinions on anything can vary greatly. Or better still if possible demo them in your own home and system...and return if not happy.
Hi could you explain how sam speaker active matching works?
Or is it just another marketing ploy?
Btw rocking 600 in stereo pair
They're very good.
What is your Opinion on Devialet amps? They are class D but in the Test of Stereo.de www.stereo.de/hifi-test/kategorie/vollverstaerker they have a sound quality ranking of 95% (in comparison the PS Audio Sprout got 50%). The price of 4990 € sounds highly competative.
I am not sure what answer the person is looking for? It's a Louis Vuitton lifestyle product.
Paul your opinion of "Aperiodic Vents" please.
Bob Carver's subwoofer was called the Sunfire and it had the Tracking Downconverter technology. It was kind of amazing in what it could do but sometimes it was hard to fix the amplifier. The place I worked for was a Carver dealer. I went to Carverfest a couple times and built his tube amp kit. I think that Devialet speaker was priced at around $3000. It worked and produced sound but I would never own one. I have yet to try a subwoofer at my house that improves my low end without coloring the sound I have now.
Very true. You are sensitve to phase problems. Always going to be fighting between a sub and the main woofer. Typically. IMO
@@sailingaquarius23 I don't even have a woofer. Full range electrostatic.
@@andershammer9307 I would give my thoughts on that. They would be just my opinon.
There is too much emphasis on lower extension. Pushed by manufacturers. To roll off a subwoofer is to create phase differences. Its overlooked because so many want to rumble. Most instrument's fundamental tones are 50hz and up. To attempt to redesign a speaker and compensate for your ideas that there is something missing, is a great challenge. If you added stereo subs to your system they will not "couple" properly with the panel because of the physical placement. If subs could have a steep crossover and fall off like a cliff with no side effects then maybe you would have a chance at success. PSA was/is trying to Intergrste a sub in with a loudspeaker. See how long its been since that idea? It was to be revolutionary.
IS ETHNOCETRISM AT PLAY HERE?
Hey Paul... Are you making reference to the original Sunfire Truesub.... I home trialed one about 25 years ago? (ish) shockingly impressive bass output....... But fast, tight, musical!?!? ... It didn't hit the spot.... Near damn ruined the found rooms of the house though!!!
Very diplomatic way of saying don’t waste you money on a look that for most of us would get old real quick.
what's wrong with spending money on looks?
Haha… all these guys are just mad they spent $10k on cables and this thing falls off of a UFO.
I have a Sunfire Sub that I bought when it first came out. It’s still bad ass .
I agree with mr McGowan about the Devialet speakers. In France there are excellent manufacturers of Hifi and especially loudspeakers, some with very long experience (Supravox, Elipson, Cabasse ...) or more recent (JMR, Triangle, Focal ...) often poorly known. in the USA, but which often surprise those who have the opportunity to listen to them. Nothing to do with Devialet's very "bling bling" approach ...
And all the ones you think are better probably don’t come close to the bass of the devialet. Sooooo pick your poison. I prefer the devialet. Unmatched bass. Unmatched size unmatched convenience (all in one).
The idea of making an active speaker with servo subwoofer in small size but shocking bass is a great idea and I see no reason why it couldn’t be an outstanding speaker also. Servo subs using a closed box can be more precise than ported designs and the mid and treble performance is a matter of selecting some great transducers. The amp side and DSP incl. cross over filtering can be highly optimized and superior to discrete amps. But it won’t be cheap. PS Audio, please use your outstanding passion for great audio to make a “Devialet killer” that blows away the Phantom on impressive bass but also as an impressive resolving audiophile super speaker. It needs to be a 3 way design. Add an app to it that can enable audiophile room acoustics tuning and other tweaking (how about a tube clipping mode?) using the build-in top notch DSP.
I picked up two phantom reactor 900s and returned them after a week.
Loud, yes, bass yes, but the huge but is they sound like the volume is stepped. What I mean by that is you need a certain amount or volume to get the bass going, but that level makes the treble and midrange harsh. Turn it down to softer the highs and you don’t get any bass. They also don’t have any eq in the app so you’re stuck with whatever you get. I don’t want to be playing them at 75% volume all the time to get the sound I want so they were effectively nice looking but ultimately poor speakers.
Steve Curtis you might be better off with the Reactor 600’s then if you have a smaller room...
@@AVStore-India I don’t have a small room. Nothing in my post related referenced the room size. They just sound inconsistent depending on the volume. A flawed product.
curious about there frequency range, seems that they would produce satisfying sound qual. do. you think that the gold is the only way t0 go?
@@phiiplujan5090 personally I just wouldn’t bother with anything they make if you’re interested in sound quality of any sort. As someone else said - french Bose
Devialet = Alien Egg
Some snobs feel attacked because the devialet gives you pretty great value.
I listened to pair of Gold Phantoms and for audiophile listening I wasn't impressed. They can play clean and loud, but fail with imaging and detail. But they'd be great as a party speaker that you can easily transport and setup.
Great mask! It can even produce another voice at the end :)
Sort of like the stylish B&O systems.....
what's wrong with B&O?
What’s with the Otso mug? Do a little fat biking in your spare time?
LOUD..!!!
Expensive..!!!
Great technology..!!!
Not on my wish list 😀😀
For the half of the price of a devialet reactor 600 i bought in second hand 2 studio monitors prodipe pro 5 (french equivalent of jbl lsr 305) with svs sb1000 subwoofer.
What is better according to you ? My 2.1 system or a devialet reactor 600
reactor 600
I find the fact that you have to buy two of them for stereo consumer unfriendly.
@Fat Rat they're usually priced and sold as a pair though
@Fat Rat consumer unfriendly, regardless of manufacturer, or speaker product. Hey, don't be angered by one person's opinion. We're fortunate to (currently) be allowed our own opinion, without fear of retribution, or retaliation.
@Fat Rat Take a chill pill.
@@mrpositronia Do not give too much importance to the insults and rage of this guy.
I know him by my own experience.
Let him going ahead with his hysteria.
Best regards.
@@venturarodriguezvallejo9777 That's okay. Everyone has their opinions, and they are entitled to them. No harm done. :)
Should give active/DSP-ed speakers a bad name:}
Active servo (motional feedback) systems are awesome. I love my Little/One from Pirate Logic NL.
No worries -- the Kii Three system (with or without the optional BXT bass module) gives them a *great* name. Have you ever heard it?
The Fat Rat is confused.
Where has Ted smith gone ?.
I don't think a sealed box is necessary the same thing as a pressurized box.
it doest matter what u think
So, what do you understand by "pressurized box"?
@@MrBoraki. How's it feel to be a troll? Pretty bad I'm guessing.
@@mag-wp6yt If the enclosure is pressurized at sea level does it go pop in the mountains?
I don't know anything about Devialet. I haven't even seen the speakers. My thought, though, is that if it was actually pressurized the air inside would be pushing the speaker cones forward, which would limit their movement (not a good thing). Also, I doubt that any speaker box is truly airtight. Variations in barometric pressure, either due to daily weather or due to elevation at your particular town, would alter the sound of your speakers if the inside of your "sealed box" couldn't breathe a little bit to equalize the pressure inside and outside the box. In other words, an airtight sealed box designed and built at sea level would sound a little bit different if it were installed up in the mountains. The air inside acts like a spring to limit or control the motion of the driver. If that spring is out of whack with its environment, it would be like having a stronger or weaker "spring" than what was intended by the designer. I have read that some sealed box speakers have a small pinpoint hole drilled in them specifically for this reason. I would assume that there is leakage around speaker cone surrounds as well.
Darko gave them a glowing review. I'd bet Paul has never actually heard the Phantoms except possibly in a show setting.
I bought 2 devialet reactor and did A/B with my speakers....i sold the devialet shortly after😂
julien which speakers do you have?
@@AVStore-India most probably a pair of jbl charge 4s. 🤣🤣🤣
Owned by LVMH
Mardak not exactly...
I like KEF uni-Q drivers and do not think that anything can compete with it.
i only heard Devialet Phantoms once, a pretty good stereo setup in a shop on stands. i would call them good sounding but with some drawbacks that normal speakers dont have. that the sound change with volume increase is really bad design, and all reviews i read have troubles setting them up and use them, then say they work perfectly in the end, seriously....
and you have to use wireless to get them to work, literally the worst thing for hifi and its gets you in trouble in daily use, not to mention need internet to get updates. kind of ridiculous.
the other main complaints about them is that they are bookshelf size things, and you wont get the best bass from where those are supposed to be placed for 300hz and above. wasted subwoofers placed in the worst place.
its the compromises for all in one solution. or all in 3 solution because they sells in single unis active speaker and you have to buy a seperate box to connect more than one speaker. so it gets all the drawbacks of all in one box solutions and the hassle of more boxes that the competition.
Bet you’re all driving T Fords;)
Same as Sonos.....functionality is great, sound is not hifi.
Reviewer John Darko would certainly disagree with you on that opinion. He had an endless array of positive things to say about Devialet.
Stephen Koch meh
Sonos is worse...believe me.
Geeee long Jeeee long NOT Gheeee long Jeez Paul lol
It says -15db at 3 meter's that means the tones are not well established and do not carry. Don't care for modular stuff. When it breaks and all things do, throw away....didn't give it too much of a look.
You gave your opinions. Your in trouble. Hahahahaha
The DVLA phantoms gave me 3 points at xmas. Me no likem!
A comment that will be lost on everyone outside the UK lol
Please explain!
@@clemleg123 the Dee Vee LA do speeding penalties here
@@MrCatalysis101 I am dutch and I get it. Top Gear
@Paul, that mask isn't going to protect you from Corona virus. lol...
I listened to those at a dealer to audition the whtie/silver version. Setup was done well in a treated room. However, the things scared me tbh. Never heard such cold, non-musical system ever before. Gave me the chills instead of goosebumps. Bass was great, mids ok, highs sounded plasticy to me? It was very precise in reproducing the bits from the cd in a technical sense. Should be perfect for watching movies, but their cold heartless nature is not suited for music lovers imho. That said, the gold version should be a bit better in this respect but I didn’t audition those.
how old are you?
arunashamal How tall are you?
@@TheNijlie 6feet.. how old are you again?
Hi Paul, it's pronounced Je-long.
Eric Mcmillan
Or G-long might be less ambiguous. Cheers
Fat Rat
I’m a West Aussie so I probably pronounce it wrong. I second ‘Jahlong’ unless there’s any objections.
Hey Paul, suggest you to stop the habit of licking your finger to flip paper under the current coronavirus outbreak. Keep it safe cause I really love to see your daily video. Take care!
Probably good advice! Though, I do wash my hands before I start the round of videos, though I touch plenty along the way. Thanks.
@Fat Rat hahaha
lol
LVMH
I heard the Devialet in person at their store that was set up and Grand Central in NYC. To me they sounded just slightly better than the BOSE wave radio.
margaretsville What? I have to call BS. I’ve been in that store in Grand Central and they do not sound anything like the Bose wave radio. They are actually pretty decent for what they are, which is a modern designed smart speaker. Audiophiles are not going to love them but they are miles ahead of the Wave radio. That’s like a Ferrari driver stating a Chevy is as good as a Mercedes Benz.
@@DWilliam1 Hi, I appreciate your point. The people I was with when we listened to Devialet had the same opinion as you; they thought they were a lot better than I did. Like I said, it was just how they sounded to me. Keep in mind, I don't think they sound bad at all. Nor do I find the Bose radio to sound bad either. In any case I gotta trust my ears, Could had been the choice of music they played for us (Beyonce, Brubeck, and Buble, but no classical). The highs were very watery to my ears. But would you agree that for the price of the Devialet, (or less) you could assemble a much better sounding system with individual components like Marantz, NAD, JBL, etc?
margaretsville Yup, they are very pricey. As a person who has owned NAD and Marantz they could have done better, then again my NAD and Marantz equipment was from the 1980’s. LOL
sorry brother I clicked your username... You are at that age, you lose your hi freq hearing...It is your ears. I bet "traditional" audiophile speakers sound good to you right?
haha
Loud, louder, loudest. Sounds like a big bluetooth speaker. Because it is.
No nuance, no definition. Just made to impress and to sell to people with more money than brains.
Also form over function.
Ghee long lol
Pronounced more like Gel long.
Oh goody, another Bose!
Don’t do this, Paul. Not cool. Besides, you could be blowing off potential DirectStream DAC sales to owners of these speakers. In my mind this looks like a great combo for a certain segment of the hobby.
It's junk. It could be decent for people who like those kind of systems (I don't) if it wasn't for their fantastical claims and the total non-repairability.
First comment for sale!
this is the case of an audiophool defending a fellow’s audiophool snakeoil 🤦♀️ when you are into snakeoil, it’s your only choice, otherwise your own snakeoil will escape
Wow, best show I've ever seen, NOT!!!
The Devialet Phantoms sounds awefull....
Fix your blind. It shows on the face of your building and is not pretty.
Oh boy.
@@mag-wp6yt Are your blinds all cattywonked in your windows at home for all to see? I bet not and he is running a business. Trust me I did retail for decades and it would shock you on what people pick up and judge you by.
The same way some look at a full dumpster as a company that is doing something or others look at it as a company that is doing nothing including emptying their dumpster. I've done classes, seminars and even had experts come in to tell us what we were doing wrong over the decades. Everyone would have mentioned that stupid blind before they walked in the door. A high end retail business like Paul's every blind in the building should be set exactly the same. At least the side (north, east, south, west) that is facing you. It's called attention to detail. If you cant get the blinds right what else are you too busy to miss?
Everyone knows a crap hole storefront that does business in spite of the way they look but they are the exception not the rule and I'm sure you thought walking through the door, "if they would just clean this place up it would be a goldmine". Paul just moved to the new building just a couple months ago. It should be perfect especially if you come to it to drop 30 or 40 grand on a stereo system.
@@finscreenname You should take a laxative, seems you're full of it.
Is your wife beautiful ? It`s a hard question to answer, son.