Phantom I White Classic Glossy 103dB

[supaDean]

I'm in my 50s and still get super-excited when I've new gear enroute. 

I've a pair of refurbished Phantom I White Classic Glossy 103dB and Tree stands coming my way from Devialet. I don't know if they offer refurb Phantoms across the globe but in Canada they do. I'm curious if anyone has experience with this model and knows their history in the Phantom lineup. With the various models and name changes I don't know where they fit in in terms of their date of manufacture etc.

Also, if anyone has experience with a stereo pair of this model that would be great to know. I've a pair of Phantom Reactors 900 (Phantom II 98dB) which I've enjoyed for a couple of years now.

Going from a 2-way Phantom to a 3-way Phantom... I'm hoping it'll be an upgrade in terms of the mid-range.... I see the specs also note slightly better performance with the highs and lows, so we'lll see if my ears hear a difference. 

Cheers.

https://www.devialet.com/en-ca/phantom-s...t-airplay/

[Hannes]

SupaDean,

Owning one „Refurbished Phantom 103 Glossy“ and two 103db Glossy Phantoms that I bought in 2020, I can at least confirm that stereo paring works between the refurbished one and either one of the 2020 Phantoms.

I bought the refurbished Phantom 103db „w/o Airplay“ in late 2021. For some reason my Refurbished Phantom, despite the marking „w/o airplay“, plays pretty well over Airplay 2. I know at least of one „Refurbished Phantom w/o Airplay“ that really does not do any Airplay from a friend of mine. For that reason, not sure if I was just lucky with the one I‘ve got. Would be interesting to hear back from you regarding any unexpected Airplay capabilities of your Refurbished Phantoms.

Concerning the sound of the Refurbished Phantom: No difference to the Phantoms I bought before. Simply terrific…

[supaDean]

Thanks! I hadn’t planned to use airplay with them but it’s interesting to know that they may work that way.

[struts]

SupaDean,

Owning one „Refurbished Phantom 103 Glossy“ and two 103db Glossy Phantoms that I bought in 2020, I can at least confirm that stereo paring works between the refurbished one and either one of the 2020 Phantoms.

I bought the refurbished Phantom 103db „w/o Airplay“ in late 2021. For some reason my Refurbished Phantom, despite the marking „w/o airplay“, plays pretty well over Airplay 2. I know at least of one „Refurbished Phantom w/o Airplay“ that really does not do any Airplay from a friend of mine. For that reason, not sure if I was just lucky with the one I‘ve got. Would be interesting to hear back from you regarding any unexpected Airplay capabilities of your Refurbished Phantoms.

Concerning the sound of the Refurbished Phantom: No difference to the Phantoms I bought before. Simply terrific…

Hi @Hannes and @supaDean.  Airplay capability was introduced at the end of 2016 (see this post) although we are still trying to pin down the date these revisions went into production for the "Premier Classic" and "Premier Silver" models.  We have a project underway to try to figure this out (thread here).  It would be helpful if you could log the serial numbers of each of your speakers (and your friend's if possible @supaDean) and note whether they are Airplay-capable or not.

Please note that in a stereo configuration (two Phantoms and optionally a dialog) only one of the units needs to be Airplay-capable in order for the stereo pair to play Airplay content.  So the only reliable way to test is to stream to each speaker individually (i.e. while not configured in a stereo pair).

[supaDean]

Thanks. With the name changes, glossy and matte versions, I find it hard to get a clear idea of the Phantom I history.

I contacted Devialet to get a better idea of the Phantom's model history I purchased: the Phantom Classic I Glossy 103 dB. 

The customer service rep advised the refurb Phantom I Classic Glossy 103dB was the last glossy model before the release of the matte version of the Phantom I which comes in 103dB and 108 dB versions, (released in 2021).

I had asked if the matte Phantom I 103dB matte version was a replacement (upgraded version) to the Phantom I Classic Glossy 103dB. It wasn't clear from her reply, but it would appear this is the case as the sonic specs are the same. She also mentioned there was a Phantom I Premier and a Phantom I Silver (which was a 105dB version?) which are no longer produced... I don't know where these models fit in the timeline of the Phantom history.

She sent a link to a YouTube video that has footage of their automated assembly line, which I found interesting to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmingbh9jYU

From the serial number research you have done, it appears the pair I've just purchased were manufactured 2021.

Cheers.

[struts]

Thanks. With the name changes, glossy and matte versions, I find it hard to get a clear idea of the Phantom I history.

I contacted Devialet to get a better idea of the Phantom's model history I purchased: the Phantom Classic I Glossy 103 dB. 

The customer service rep advised the refurb Phantom I Classic Glossy 103dB was the last glossy model before the release of the matte version of the Phantom I which comes in 103dB and 108 dB versions, (released in 2021).

I had asked if the matte Phantom I 103dB matte version was a replacement (upgraded version) to the Phantom I Classic Glossy 103dB. It wasn't clear from her reply, but it would appear this is the case as the sonic specs are the same. She also mentioned there was a Phantom I Premier and a Phantom I Silver (which was a 105dB version?) which are no longer produced... I don't know where these models fit in the timeline of the Phantom history.

She sent a link to a YouTube video that has footage of their automated assembly line, which I found interesting to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmingbh9jYU

From the serial number research you have done, it appears the pair I've just purchased were manufactured 2021.

Cheers.

It certainly is confusing.  And Devialet makes it so by retrospectively renaming products along the way.  For instance my own Phantoms, purchased as "Phantom Premier Golds" in 2017, now appear as "Phantom I 108 dB"s in my Devialet app whereas they are listed as "Gold Phantom Glossy" on my My Products page.  Apparently Devialet have even managed to confuse themselves!

In actual fact the history of the Phantom range is much simpler than it looks.  There have basically been three different Phantom I (originally Phantom Premier) models:
- Phantom Premier Classic (gloss white with chromed side plates and white woofers)
- Phantom Premier Silver (gloss white with silver side plates and silver woofers)
- Phantom Premier Gold (gloss white with gold side plates and white woofers, as well as an "Opéra de Paris" version with side plates in moon gold, a gold/palladium alloy - otherwise identical).

When Devialet updated the line in Feb 2021 they changed the finish on the speaker bodies from gloss white to matte white.
- Phantom Premier Classic became the Phantom I 103 dB, available in two finishes, "Light Chrome" (matte white with chromed side plates) and "Matte Black" (matte black with black side plates)
- Phantom Premier Silver was discontinued but posthumously renamed Phantom I 105 dB in the app.
- Phantom Premier Gold became the Phantom I 108 dB, available in two finishes, "Gold" (matte white with gold side plates, as well as an "Opéra de Paris" version as above) and "Dark Chrome" (matte black with dark chrome side plates)

There have been continuous changes/upgrades to the internals along the way which have enabled new capabilities such as Airplay streaming, a couple of power increases to the "Classic" model, reduced power consumption (esp on standby), updated Wi-Fi version support etc.  

However the new models have identical driver configurations to the models they replace and users who have compared them report no measurable or audible sound quality differences between the old and new versions.  

Hope that helps!

[supaDean]

Thanks. With the name changes, glossy and matte versions, I find it hard to get a clear idea of the Phantom I history.

I contacted Devialet to get a better idea of the Phantom's model history I purchased: the Phantom Classic I Glossy 103 dB. 

The customer service rep advised the refurb Phantom I Classic Glossy 103dB was the last glossy model before the release of the matte version of the Phantom I which comes in 103dB and 108 dB versions, (released in 2021).

I had asked if the matte Phantom I 103dB matte version was a replacement (upgraded version) to the Phantom I Classic Glossy 103dB. It wasn't clear from her reply, but it would appear this is the case as the sonic specs are the same. She also mentioned there was a Phantom I Premier and a Phantom I Silver (which was a 105dB version?) which are no longer produced... I don't know where these models fit in the timeline of the Phantom history.

She sent a link to a YouTube video that has footage of their automated assembly line, which I found interesting to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmingbh9jYU

From the serial number research you have done, it appears the pair I've just purchased were manufactured 2021.

Cheers.

It certainly is confusing.  And Devialet makes it so by retrospectively renaming products along the way.  For instance my own Phantoms, purchased as "Phantom Premier Golds" in 2017, now appear as "Phantom I 108 dB"s in the Devialet app whereas they are listed as "Gold Phantom Glossy" on my My Products page.  Apparently Devialet has even managed to confuse themselves!

In actual fact the history of the Phantom range is much simpler than it looks.  There have basically been three different Phantom I (originally Phantom Premier) models:
- Phantom Premier Classic (glossy white with white side plates)
- Phantom Premier Silver (glossy white with silver side plates)
- Phantom Premier Gold (glossy white with gold side plates, as well as an "Opéra de Paris" version with side plates in moon gold, a gold/palladium alloy - otherwise identical).

When Devialet updated the line they changed the finish on the speaker bodies from gloss white to matt white.
- Phantom Premier Classic was discontinued
- Phantom Premier Silver became the Phantom I 103 dB, available in two finishes, "Light Chrome" (matt white with silver side plates) and "Matt Black" (matt black with black side plates)
- Phantom Premier Gold became the Phantom I 108 dB, available in two finishes, "Gold" (matt white with gold side plates, as well as an "Opéra de Paris" version with side plates in moon gold, a gold/palladium alloy - otherwise identical) and "Dark Chrome" (matt black with black side plates)

There have been continuous changes/upgrades to the internals along the way which have introduced new capabilities such as Airplay streaming, a power increase to the "Classic" model, reduced power consumption (esp on standby), updated Wi-Fi support etc.  However the new models have identical driver configurations to the models they replace and users who have compared them report no measurable or audible sound quality differences between the old and new versions.  

Hope that helps!

Thanks. If I understand, the refurbished Phantom I Glossy Classic 103dB I've just purchased were once named the Phantom Premier Silver 103dB (white woofers and silver side plate)?

https://www.devialet.com/en-ca/phantom-s...t-airplay/

Cheers.

[struts]

Thanks. If I understand, the refurbished Phantom I Glossy Classic 103dB I've just purchased were once named the Phantom Premier Silver 103dB (white woofers and silver side plate)?

https://www.devialet.com/en-ca/phantom-s...t-airplay/

Cheers.

No, sorry, I believe yours is a refurbished Premier Classic, not a Premier Silver.  There were a couple of errors in my previous post above which I have corrected. Apologies for that.  Devialet has even succeeded in confusing me!

And yes, the (discontinued) Premier Silver had a max SPL of 105 dB.

[ragwo]

Thanks. With the name changes, glossy and matte versions, I find it hard to get a clear idea of the Phantom I history.

I contacted Devialet to get a better idea of the Phantom's model history I purchased: the Phantom Classic I Glossy 103 dB. 

The customer service rep advised the refurb Phantom I Classic Glossy 103dB was the last glossy model before the release of the matte version of the Phantom I which comes in 103dB and 108 dB versions, (released in 2021).

I had asked if the matte Phantom I 103dB matte version was a replacement (upgraded version) to the Phantom I Classic Glossy 103dB. It wasn't clear from her reply, but it would appear this is the case as the sonic specs are the same. She also mentioned there was a Phantom I Premier and a Phantom I Silver (which was a 105dB version?) which are no longer produced... I don't know where these models fit in the timeline of the Phantom history.

She sent a link to a YouTube video that has footage of their automated assembly line, which I found interesting to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmingbh9jYU

From the serial number research you have done, it appears the pair I've just purchased were manufactured 2021.

Cheers.

It certainly is confusing.  And Devialet makes it so by retrospectively renaming products along the way.  For instance my own Phantoms, purchased as "Phantom Premier Golds" in 2017, now appear as "Phantom I 108 dB"s in the Devialet app whereas they are listed as "Gold Phantom Glossy" on my My Products page.  Apparently Devialet has even managed to confuse themselves!

In actual fact the history of the Phantom range is much simpler than it looks.  There have basically been three different Phantom I (originally Phantom Premier) models:
- Phantom Premier Classic (glossy white with white side plates)
- Phantom Premier Silver (glossy white with silver side plates)
- Phantom Premier Gold (glossy white with gold side plates, as well as an "Opéra de Paris" version with side plates in moon gold, a gold/palladium alloy - otherwise identical).

When Devialet updated the line they changed the finish on the speaker bodies from gloss white to matt white.
- Phantom Premier Classic was discontinued
- Phantom Premier Silver became the Phantom I 103 dB, available in two finishes, "Light Chrome" (matt white with silver side plates) and "Matt Black" (matt black with black side plates)
- Phantom Premier Gold became the Phantom I 108 dB, available in two finishes, "Gold" (matt white with gold side plates, as well as an "Opéra de Paris" version with side plates in moon gold, a gold/palladium alloy - otherwise identical) and "Dark Chrome" (matt black with black side plates)

There have been continuous changes/upgrades to the internals along the way which have introduced new capabilities such as Airplay streaming, a power increase to the "Classic" model, reduced power consumption (esp on standby), updated Wi-Fi support etc.  However the new models have identical driver configurations to the models they replace and users who have compared them report no measurable or audible sound quality differences between the old and new versions.  

Hope that helps!

Thanks. If I understand, the refurbished Phantom I Glossy Classic 103dB I've just purchased were once named the Phantom Premier Silver 103dB (white woofers and silver side plate)?

https://www.devialet.com/en-ca/phantom-s...t-airplay/

Cheers.

They were called Phantom Premier Classic. The Silver has silver coloured woofers and side panels. Your side panels are chromed.

[ragwo]

Phantom Silver, now called Phantom I 105dB