03-Feb-2016, 06:25
Hans, Thanks for joining here, and since you're here may I ask a few questions?
First I want to thank you again for writing a real review of the Phantom as audiophile speakers not lifestyle devices. Your comparisons to other speakers were great as far as you went. I would enjoy your comparison of the Phantom to the Revel F208 in the same way you compared the KEF R900. You wrote about the Definitive Technology’s Mythos ST-L but just glanced over the similarly semi-active GoldenEar. If you have more to say in the way of such comparisons I'm sure there's interest here. Also since you wrote about the Phatom vs. a passive speaker and associated costs for amplification what about comparing the Phantom to fully active speakers such as the ATC? I'm also always interested when reviewers compare not just within a price bracket but overall, especially with a speaker you yourself compared to the KEF Blade (a bit more expensive than the Phantom). So without asking for a whole other review I'd love to hear anything more you have to say about such comparisons.
You wrote that the Phantom imaging "remained relatively stable even when I sat off axis" but I'm unclear if you thought they did that well or only decently. How would you compare the Phantom in that regard to other high-end speakers you've heard in your room?
Devialet told you that the Phantom will support surround sound. Did they say anything about what they mean by "surround sound"? The biggest thing that keeps me from buying into the Phantom system is the lack of integration with home theatre so I'm very interested if Devialet told you anything about whether they mean true multi-channel surround sound or some extension to the "mix" that they currently provide if using a third Phantom as a center channel speaker.
Have you ever heard someone from Devialet explain why they made the power cord bright yellow? I wondered if they're making fun of cable-tweakers, or if they're just being French (loved your comments about the packaging in that regard). I assume the cord is easy to replace, and that the cord out of the Branch isn't bright yellow, but I'm just curious why they would choose the only color highlight on a minimalist wireless speaker to be a bright yellow cord.
You wrote that Devialet assured you that the DAC chip in the Phantom and Expert have identical performance except for thermal performance, but when I read the TI site those chips have difference specs.
TI PCM1798 (Phantom): 123dB SNR, 123dB dynamic range, & 0.001 THD+N
TI PCM1792 (Expert): 127dB SNR, 132/129dB mono/stereo dynamic range, & 0.0005 THD+N
I'm not saying that the specs of the chip mean anything about the sound of the device, but since you went to the effort to list the chips and Devialet says that they perform the same I wonder about the difference in the chip specs. I also wonder why they chose the TI chips over the ESS Sabre (ES9018: 130dB SNR, 135/133dB DNR), but I've read that the TI are easier to code for than the ESS so that may explain that one. Anyway, if you know more about their chip choices I'm interested.
I was glad to read in your review the specs. of the Phantom power supply. Did Devialet tell you any power-consumption figures or did you measure that? Devialet specifies <5W for the D200 yet we in this forum measure at least five times that in real life so I'm interested in what Devialet tells journalists about the Phantom's power consumption.
Again, thanks for an extremely useful review. I hope you don't mind me being full of questions still. I just enjoy reading your reviews and want more.
First I want to thank you again for writing a real review of the Phantom as audiophile speakers not lifestyle devices. Your comparisons to other speakers were great as far as you went. I would enjoy your comparison of the Phantom to the Revel F208 in the same way you compared the KEF R900. You wrote about the Definitive Technology’s Mythos ST-L but just glanced over the similarly semi-active GoldenEar. If you have more to say in the way of such comparisons I'm sure there's interest here. Also since you wrote about the Phatom vs. a passive speaker and associated costs for amplification what about comparing the Phantom to fully active speakers such as the ATC? I'm also always interested when reviewers compare not just within a price bracket but overall, especially with a speaker you yourself compared to the KEF Blade (a bit more expensive than the Phantom). So without asking for a whole other review I'd love to hear anything more you have to say about such comparisons.
You wrote that the Phantom imaging "remained relatively stable even when I sat off axis" but I'm unclear if you thought they did that well or only decently. How would you compare the Phantom in that regard to other high-end speakers you've heard in your room?
Devialet told you that the Phantom will support surround sound. Did they say anything about what they mean by "surround sound"? The biggest thing that keeps me from buying into the Phantom system is the lack of integration with home theatre so I'm very interested if Devialet told you anything about whether they mean true multi-channel surround sound or some extension to the "mix" that they currently provide if using a third Phantom as a center channel speaker.
Have you ever heard someone from Devialet explain why they made the power cord bright yellow? I wondered if they're making fun of cable-tweakers, or if they're just being French (loved your comments about the packaging in that regard). I assume the cord is easy to replace, and that the cord out of the Branch isn't bright yellow, but I'm just curious why they would choose the only color highlight on a minimalist wireless speaker to be a bright yellow cord.
You wrote that Devialet assured you that the DAC chip in the Phantom and Expert have identical performance except for thermal performance, but when I read the TI site those chips have difference specs.
TI PCM1798 (Phantom): 123dB SNR, 123dB dynamic range, & 0.001 THD+N
TI PCM1792 (Expert): 127dB SNR, 132/129dB mono/stereo dynamic range, & 0.0005 THD+N
I'm not saying that the specs of the chip mean anything about the sound of the device, but since you went to the effort to list the chips and Devialet says that they perform the same I wonder about the difference in the chip specs. I also wonder why they chose the TI chips over the ESS Sabre (ES9018: 130dB SNR, 135/133dB DNR), but I've read that the TI are easier to code for than the ESS so that may explain that one. Anyway, if you know more about their chip choices I'm interested.
I was glad to read in your review the specs. of the Phantom power supply. Did Devialet tell you any power-consumption figures or did you measure that? Devialet specifies <5W for the D200 yet we in this forum measure at least five times that in real life so I'm interested in what Devialet tells journalists about the Phantom's power consumption.
Again, thanks for an extremely useful review. I hope you don't mind me being full of questions still. I just enjoy reading your reviews and want more.
