Disappointing Demo

[JohnnySix]

My opinion on this comparison with "100K+" systems is that some people go too far up the HiFi chain for the rooms that they own. I've seen pictures of systems with very large & expensive speakers pushed nearly into the corner, and the reasons that Phantoms sound better is because they are more able to be given the space to breathe due to their visual discretion. In other words, a high-quality stand-mounter might have been more suited to the room in the first place. But in a gigantic room, where the big speakers are at least 1-2m from the corners, big speakers would win. (I recently heard two Silver Phantoms demoed by Devialet on Branch stands in a huge suite at the National Audio Show 2015, and I was very underwhelmed. The music was a little harsh and the upper bass was ruined by the room nodes.)
Whenever my floorstanders are any less than 0.8m from the corner boundaries, their sound is ruined and easily bested by the cheaper stand-mounters I've got.