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Phantoms..OK, good or simply great?
#1
Hello All,

Moving away from a Expert 440 and big speakers system, in a dedicated room, to a headphone rig for serious listening and, perhaps, a pair of Phantoms for social and easy listening in a condo.  I haven't followed this thread but have noticed some concerns with repairs requiring significant effort and trips to France but am hoping for some of your insight into living with them and what can I expect as to ease of use, etc.  
I am hoping I can drive them by ethernet from a ROON Nucleus and that they are not fatiguing.  Hard to ever audition in hifi stores as they tend to play them to augment the muscular bass.  
All and any thoughts welcomed and encouraged.  
Am I making a mistake in thinking of moving in this direction?

Thanks, in advance.

wdw
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#2
(30-Apr-2019, 23:49)Wdw Wrote: Hello All,

Moving away from a Expert 440 and big speakers system, in a dedicated room, to a headphone rig for serious listening and, perhaps, a pair of Phantoms for social and easy listening in a condo.  I haven't followed this thread but have noticed some concerns with repairs requiring significant effort and trips to France but am hoping for some of your insight into living with them and what can I expect as to ease of use, etc.  
I am hoping I can drive them by ethernet from a ROON Nucleus and that they are not fatiguing.  Hard to ever audition in hifi stores as they tend to play them to augment the muscular bass.  
All and any thoughts welcomed and encouraged.  
Am I making a mistake in thinking of moving in this direction?

Thanks, in advance.

wdw

WDW, if you are in the Wash DC area, you are more than welcome for an audition of a pair of Phantom Gold.  Otherwise, not knowing exactly where you have been audio wise and where you want to go, I can only give you some of my background as a reference, which minimally should give you some food for thought.

Traditionally, having limited funds, I have subscribed to a biggest bang for buck theory, such that I have not ever had an unequivocal "hifi" system and assembled what most would say constitute a decent mid-fi system, focusing more on home theater fun than critical music listening session.  That said, some years ago now, I bought an AKG 1000 headphone and amp, which at the time was highly regarded, and for better or worse, the sound became my touchstone second only to my Yamaha DCG 1 piano.

Fast forward to about 4 years ago, we were living in S. Korea, using a small Sonos system for music and a soundbar for movies.  I was looking to improve my system to focus more on critical listening using a better 2.0 system.  Specifically, I was looking for the fullest speaker, within my budget, which met my partner's standards. Typically, I was looking at speakers in the $4K to $6K range, like Magnepan, Martin Logans, or GoldenEar.  Additionally, I was moving a lot so I needed a speaker that was durable, transportable, and kid friendly.  Of course, along with the speakers, I was looking at purchasing a new amp and pre-amp for about another $6K until I discovered  the Phantom Golds.  Doing some research, I was basically impressed with Devialet's story, and various online reviews.  Subsequently, I showed the speakers to my partner, an industrial designer by trade, who found them acceptable if not tasteful. I pointed out that the way I figured it, I was saving about $4K trying out the Phantoms vice my original plan, making the purchase an easy sell.

Once I got the Phantoms set up, which was pretty easy, everyone was impressed, and everyone - adults down to the kids, enjoyed listening to the music on their terms.  In short, my family and I find the Phantoms easy to use for every day, non-critical listening.  

That said, I do find the Phantoms finicky at times, which can be very irritating when trying to listen to music critically, especially after there is an update within the audio chain after getting things set up just right.  I have experienced missing phantoms, clicks, sudden volume increases, and the left/right channels switching for no known reason.  I do not have any sort of dedicated HQ music device like Roon Nucleus, which I think would allow you to avoid some of the frustrations I experienced. Additionally, I did have issues with my Dialogue, which failed while under warranty.  However, unlike some in this forum, I have had nothing but stellar support from Devialet such that the issues have been promptly addressed and resolved.  

So to sum up, I really enjoy the Phantoms even though they can be quirky.  Fatiguing?   Not to my ears, in fact whenever I am away from them for more than a couple of days, I actually miss them and cannot wait to hear them again. Would I recommend them to everyone? No.  Just like I wouldn't recommend a BMW M3 to everyone, I would only (highly) recommend them to those who could afford them, would appreciate and occasionally take advantage of everything they had to offer, and who are patient with glitches.  For most others, I would recommend using a Sonos/Bose set up or something along those lines.

My apologies for any poor edits  and typos, but those are my initial thoughts to your response.

Best regards,

JD
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#3
I am Phantom owner for 3 years now. Had Silvers, replaced one because of “zero watt Phantom” issue, replaced another two because of constant buzzing sound when playing anything (noticeable on lower volumes). Had optical in dropouts like the many other users. Then switched to Golds and updated Dialog, got Airplay support and subsequently most of the issues I had are gone. Sometime Spotify or some other inputs are lost, but that could be fixed with a reboot. After all, these are computers combined with speakers. Devialet’s software for Phantoms is inexcusable in 2019.

Apart from this, 2 Phantoms setup is aesthetically most pleasant, producing a decent sound without wires, speakers and amplifiers mess that I have replaced with them.

Seems not to be “future prone”, so don’t expect them working effortlessly for 5+ years from now.
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#4
(01-May-2019, 19:35)dmitrek Wrote: I am Phantom owner for 3 years now. Had Silvers, replaced one because of “zero watt Phantom” issue, replaced another two because of constant buzzing sound when playing anything (noticeable on lower volumes). Had optical in dropouts like the many other users. Then switched to Golds and updated Dialog, got Airplay support and subsequently most of the issues I had are gone. Sometime Spotify or some other inputs are lost, but that could be fixed with a reboot. After all, these are computers combined with speakers. Devialet’s software for Phantoms is inexcusable in 2019.

Apart from this, 2 Phantoms setup is aesthetically most pleasant, producing a decent sound without wires, speakers and amplifiers mess that I have replaced with them.

Seems not to be “future prone”, so don’t expect them working effortlessly for 5+ years from now.

Thanks for your thoughtful replies, much appreciated.  Decided to move in another non-Devialet direction
Selling my Expert 440Pro’s as well.  Best wishes to all.
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#5
There is huge difference between Silver and Gold. Gold have upper mid and high frequencies much more pleasant, sharper transients and in my opinion are the only Phantoms to listen classical music.

Best,

Andrzej
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