Phantom reviwed in August Hi-Fi Choice

[IanG-UK]

3 page review of the Silver variant and scores 5 stars for sound quality and overall - plus a short Q&A with Calmel

[MountainGuy]

3 page review of the Silver variant and scores 5 stars for sound quality and overall - plus a short Q&A with Calmel

Can anyone give extensive quote on the sound quality review?  And do they compare side by side with other systems? 

MtnGuy

[NickB]

3 page review of the Silver variant and scores 5 stars for sound quality and overall - plus a short Q&A with Calmel

Can anyone give extensive quote on the sound quality review?  And do they compare side by side with other systems? 

MtnGuy

Buy the review on an apple or android device its £2.77. I did last night and they like it very much.

[Confused]

3 page review of the Silver variant and scores 5 stars for sound quality and overall - plus a short Q&A with Calmel

Can anyone give extensive quote on the sound quality review?  And do they compare side by side with other systems? 

MtnGuy

The review is very positive from start to finish, but no, the writer stays well away from any direct comparisons.  More or less every word in the sound quality section is very positive.  However, it does use terms such as "Despite it's modest size", prior to praising the scale of the sonics.  Which does leave you wondering how good it is in absolute terms, but makes it clear that it's very good for a small thing.  I have never had a proper listen to the Phantom, so I was intrigued to see where hi-fi Choice positioned the thing in the market, but I was left none the wiser after reading the article.  Although the conclusion does state that it is a "genuine hi-fi proposition that's firmly rooted in high-end audio".  Does "rooted in" just mean it's from a company that makes expensive "expert" amps, or does the writer mean it is truly "hi end" in it's own right?  The magazine does normally do a short section in a "how it compares" box, and in this case we get a comparison with the Naim mu-so and Dynaudio's active Xeo range.  So no, not the head to head with a "$50,000 system" you might hope for......

I often find that after reading extensively about a product in hi fi magazines and myself forming a particular view on a product, when I finally get to hear for myself I wonder what on earth the reviewers were listening to, my ears telling me something very different to the viewers words.  I'll reserve judgment on the Phantom until I have had a chance for a decent listen myself, which will be next Wednesday as it happens at OAC's dealer launch.  I know that a number of people planning to visit this event do have what could be broadly termed "$50,000 systems" (and at least one individual, considerably more than that!)  Should be interesting!

[MountainGuy]

I often find that after reading extensively about a product in hi fi magazines and myself forming a particular view on a product, when I finally get to hear for myself I wonder what on earth the reviewers were listening to, my ears telling me something very different to the viewers words.  I'll reserve judgment on the Phantom until I have had a chance for a decent listen myself, which will be next Wednesday as it happens at OAC's dealer launch.  I know that a number of people planning to visit this event do have what could be broadly termed "$50,000 systems" (and at least one individual, considerably more than that!)  Should be interesting!

Thanks.  I would love to hear your thoughts after your audition.  Of all user reviews, none have taken issue with the clean, tight bass.  It's the mids that some feel falls short. Love to hear yours. 

By the way, how did it compare with the Naim and Dynaudio actives in the HifiChoice review?

Thanks,
UL

[f1eng]

I often find that after reading extensively about a product in hi fi magazines and myself forming a particular view on a product, when I finally get to hear for myself I wonder what on earth the reviewers were listening to, my ears telling me something very different to the viewers words.  I'll reserve judgment on the Phantom until I have had a chance for a decent listen myself, which will be next Wednesday as it happens at OAC's dealer launch.  I know that a number of people planning to visit this event do have what could be broadly termed "$50,000 systems" (and at least one individual, considerably more than that!)  Should be interesting!

Thanks.  I would love to hear your thoughts after your audition.  Of all user reviews, none have taken issue with the clean, tight bass.  It's the mids that some feel falls short. Love to hear yours. 

By the way, how did it compare with the Naim and Dynaudio actives in the HifiChoice review?

Thanks,
UL

PMFJI I have had silver Phantoms for 4 months now and have experience of the Naim Muso which I quite like. If I score my main system as 10 the Phantoms are a good 9 and the Naim Muso around 3.

[midi]

You´re system is great - so "9" ? The Phantoms must be fantastic !

[MountainGuy]

Thanks everyone.

Does anyone know if Hifi Choice always give glowing reviews, or are the credibly critical so that their views are weighty?

Thanks again for all the replies.

MtnGuy

ps: f1eng, that is REALLY high rating. Wow.

[JohnnySix]

I bought the magazine, and there really isn't much in it that you haven't already read on the internet. I was pleased to see that the reviewer found that pointing almost straight worked best for him, which is a conclusion I also arrived at after 2 months of experimentation. The only surprise to me was that SAM is applied to ALL its drivers; not just woofers.

There is no way any HiFi magazine is going to compare 3K worth of product with anything more than twice its price. HiFi Choice is not particularly critical, although it is the sister magazine to HiFi News, which I consider the sternest critic (and to which I subscribe). They share resources, so there might be some similarities in review policy.

My take on why the Phantoms cannot replace proper high end systems, is simply: size. They are not big enough to sculpt palpable lifesize images in space (with their own "airspace") like large speakers do. In my opinion, weighty bass - although fabulously fun in a Phantom -doesn't contribute to the "body" of the entire instrument across the rest of its frequency range.

Good HiFi can create an enveloping 3D soundstage, but I believe most people don't realise they are listening to flattened instruments (in the Z-plane). I have heard HiFi starring huge valve amps and speakers that actually gives instruments a round, three-dimensionality *in themselves*. It really sounded like there was a saxophone and a double-bass in the room shrouded with an invisibility cloak (!)

I don't intend to be negative - after all I've abandoned my D120 for Phantoms since they are several times better than my old 1K XTZ speakers, brilliant VFM, and I enjoy them immensely. I just don't think we should fool ourselves into thinking that Phantoms have absolutely *everything* covered!

[MountainGuy]

I too read the review by exploring the whole issue. (digital copy) While I don't have a critical spirit, I was critically assessing the entire issue. To me, the magazine seem primarily to be about marketing whatever they were reviewing. There were numerous reviews and almost all five stars ratings. It seems that only a couple were 4 1/2 stars. Everything they reviewed were wonderful. As to the Phantoms, the impression I have is that they are particularly enamored by the lower frequencies as that was mentioned three times. The highs were mentioned as being laid back or something along those lines. The two other active systems mentioned were not really compared in any specifics - just generalities that gave no data. In all, for me, the review did not give confidence to objectivity of the article.

MtnGuy