A few weeks ago, I had only known of Devialet through their somewhat obnoxious advertising in the back of Stereophile magazine, showing a Dxxx amplifier with the catchphrase "One day, everyone will own a Devialet". Humph, I thought, dismissing the ad.
Now, as I write these words, I am forced to eat humble pie. I bought two sets of D400 amplifiers, since I liked the first one so much. I sold literally 10 treasured components of mine that I have used and cherished to help pay the way for the new D400s. Thanks to the great resale value of the components I had accumulated, I got much more than I expected, and the monetary blow was much less to my wallet.
Now, I am the proud owner of a pair of Phantom Golds, bought principally for my wife, a music lover, not an audiophile. But, as she says, who's kidding who? I'm sure I'm going to love them as much as I hope she will. (She never comments on equipment unless it annoys her, she just plays music and enjoys it. Radical!).
Initially, when I heard of the Phantom's, I was once again turned off by the absolute over the top advertising. Now, with the Gold's in my house and having listened to them on a wide repertoire of music, my initial reaction is that Devialet needs to rethink that ad in Stereophile. The ad should read "One day, everyone will own a Devialet Phantom Gold". Basically, I can't see a reason for the Dxx line of amplifiers. You don't need them. 99.99% of the discerning public will be entirely happy with the sound quality of the Phantom Gold.
I speak as a 30 year veteran of high end audio. I own or have owned a pair of Quad ESL 57s, Quad 63s, Quad 989s, Harbeth Monitor 40s, Spendor SP1, Spendor S3/5, B&W 800 Nautilus, B&W 800 Diamonds (1st generation), and Mageneplanar 3.6rs. So, I know good sound and how to tell a great speaker from an also ran.
The Phantom Gold's are a great speaker, fully deserving of inclusion in the above list. They are not a boom box, or a toy, but a serious full fledged speaker capable of the highest resolution, of absolute fidelity to the source, and most be treated with the same respect as any of the above speakers. One would not buy a B&W 800D or a Quad and throw them in a closet or a bathroom and expect great sound. Neither should you treat the Phantom Gold's in this way. Hooking them up to a TV to listen to evening news and movies is a sacrilege. What a waste!
They do most things exceptionally well, but like every speaker on the planet, have an Achilles heel. There is no speaker without a weak spot. Let's get it out of the way. They are a small speaker designed to mimic a point source. This affects how they image, and how you should listen to them. You MUST listen to them sitting down in a low chair, not standing up. A stereo pair must be listened to in the middle. I have mine set up in my living room on either side of a wide door connecting the living and dining rooms. Set up like this, they image like nothing I've heard. A singer recorded further back sounds like he/she is singing in the dining room or sometimes outside the house!
They are not bright in the least. They are if anything a bit warm sounding, very easy on the ears. Of course, as befits a true monitor, if you play the latest pop/rock/rap MP3 garbage through them, that's exactly what they will sound like. Leave these for your car stereo where they will sound better. Listen to the Phantom Gold's on music that is well recorded, and they will reward you with boundless pleasure.
When auditioning them, don't make the noobie mistake of cranking them up to hear the "great bass". They are not a toy, but a serious product. Listen to them as you would at home listen to your favorite recording, to relieve stress, to ponder life's deeper mysteries, to relax, to ease the stress of the day's work, for every reason you listen to music. They do have plenty of natural bass, but don't start by looking for gut wrenching bass. You won't find it here. That's not their design, they are not a cheap Velodyne subwoofer. They are far more intelligently designed, and will produce bass of a kind that no subwoofer ever does.
If you own a D120 or a D200, and are considering upgrading to a D400 or to the new Pros, I have only one word of advice for you. DON"T! You are wasting hard earned money. Spend it on a pair Phantom's and the Dialog, which is needed to pair up the Phantom's. Not only have you saved a lot of money, but you will find it hard to go back and listen to your "conventional" speaker.
In the overused sense of the term, they are a true breakthrough. If the Quad 57 was the greatest hifi product of the 20th century, the Phantom Gold could well be running for the greatest hifi product of the 21st century. They show the way forward. This is how to exploit advances in materials, in D/A conversion, amplifier design, wireless technology, and a countless other things that were involved in the design of the Phantom Gold (they even have experts in explosives on the team, since the shock waves generated by this little thing have similar physics to explosives).
One word of final advice. Buy this before Devialet realizes the horrible marketing mistake. They are selling each for $3K in the US. I got mine at an additional discount. They could easily ask $10K for each, and it would be still entirely reasonable.
Pic of my setup below.
Now, as I write these words, I am forced to eat humble pie. I bought two sets of D400 amplifiers, since I liked the first one so much. I sold literally 10 treasured components of mine that I have used and cherished to help pay the way for the new D400s. Thanks to the great resale value of the components I had accumulated, I got much more than I expected, and the monetary blow was much less to my wallet.
Now, I am the proud owner of a pair of Phantom Golds, bought principally for my wife, a music lover, not an audiophile. But, as she says, who's kidding who? I'm sure I'm going to love them as much as I hope she will. (She never comments on equipment unless it annoys her, she just plays music and enjoys it. Radical!).
Initially, when I heard of the Phantom's, I was once again turned off by the absolute over the top advertising. Now, with the Gold's in my house and having listened to them on a wide repertoire of music, my initial reaction is that Devialet needs to rethink that ad in Stereophile. The ad should read "One day, everyone will own a Devialet Phantom Gold". Basically, I can't see a reason for the Dxx line of amplifiers. You don't need them. 99.99% of the discerning public will be entirely happy with the sound quality of the Phantom Gold.
I speak as a 30 year veteran of high end audio. I own or have owned a pair of Quad ESL 57s, Quad 63s, Quad 989s, Harbeth Monitor 40s, Spendor SP1, Spendor S3/5, B&W 800 Nautilus, B&W 800 Diamonds (1st generation), and Mageneplanar 3.6rs. So, I know good sound and how to tell a great speaker from an also ran.
The Phantom Gold's are a great speaker, fully deserving of inclusion in the above list. They are not a boom box, or a toy, but a serious full fledged speaker capable of the highest resolution, of absolute fidelity to the source, and most be treated with the same respect as any of the above speakers. One would not buy a B&W 800D or a Quad and throw them in a closet or a bathroom and expect great sound. Neither should you treat the Phantom Gold's in this way. Hooking them up to a TV to listen to evening news and movies is a sacrilege. What a waste!
They do most things exceptionally well, but like every speaker on the planet, have an Achilles heel. There is no speaker without a weak spot. Let's get it out of the way. They are a small speaker designed to mimic a point source. This affects how they image, and how you should listen to them. You MUST listen to them sitting down in a low chair, not standing up. A stereo pair must be listened to in the middle. I have mine set up in my living room on either side of a wide door connecting the living and dining rooms. Set up like this, they image like nothing I've heard. A singer recorded further back sounds like he/she is singing in the dining room or sometimes outside the house!
They are not bright in the least. They are if anything a bit warm sounding, very easy on the ears. Of course, as befits a true monitor, if you play the latest pop/rock/rap MP3 garbage through them, that's exactly what they will sound like. Leave these for your car stereo where they will sound better. Listen to the Phantom Gold's on music that is well recorded, and they will reward you with boundless pleasure.
When auditioning them, don't make the noobie mistake of cranking them up to hear the "great bass". They are not a toy, but a serious product. Listen to them as you would at home listen to your favorite recording, to relieve stress, to ponder life's deeper mysteries, to relax, to ease the stress of the day's work, for every reason you listen to music. They do have plenty of natural bass, but don't start by looking for gut wrenching bass. You won't find it here. That's not their design, they are not a cheap Velodyne subwoofer. They are far more intelligently designed, and will produce bass of a kind that no subwoofer ever does.
If you own a D120 or a D200, and are considering upgrading to a D400 or to the new Pros, I have only one word of advice for you. DON"T! You are wasting hard earned money. Spend it on a pair Phantom's and the Dialog, which is needed to pair up the Phantom's. Not only have you saved a lot of money, but you will find it hard to go back and listen to your "conventional" speaker.
In the overused sense of the term, they are a true breakthrough. If the Quad 57 was the greatest hifi product of the 20th century, the Phantom Gold could well be running for the greatest hifi product of the 21st century. They show the way forward. This is how to exploit advances in materials, in D/A conversion, amplifier design, wireless technology, and a countless other things that were involved in the design of the Phantom Gold (they even have experts in explosives on the team, since the shock waves generated by this little thing have similar physics to explosives).
One word of final advice. Buy this before Devialet realizes the horrible marketing mistake. They are selling each for $3K in the US. I got mine at an additional discount. They could easily ask $10K for each, and it would be still entirely reasonable.
Pic of my setup below.
