New Review | Anthony Kershaw

[cloudkicker]

Done as a stereo pair, single source to follow.
http://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2016/...et-phantom

[jonstatt]

Interestingly using the "white" Phantoms.

I have been trying to ascertain whether the difference between white and silver is just the ability to go louder, or whether that extra wattage improves dynamics at non-excessive volumes and other more subtle aspects of the sound. Has anyone seen a well considered comparison of silver vs white?

[Confused]

Lots and lots of words, but only a passing mention of sound quality. As reviews go, this one is a bit of a waste of time.

[Rodrat2]

You would think he would make the effort to play some higher resolution audio rather than just Bluetooth streamed mp3's.

[MountainGuy]

I noticed that Devialet shifted their review units from Silver to White. Do wonder why.

[bearcatsandor]

I think the fact that he compared them to a $30k system speaks volumes. He didn't say how far the Phantoms fell short however. I asked him in the comments.

[McChicken]

You would think he would make the effort to play some higher resolution audio rather than just Bluetooth streamed mp3's.

Was thinking the same... and then he evaluate with craving music
I LOVE BT...us tons of if i.e Philips Fidelio MB2 Headphones, in my car + + + and BT 3.0 and higher do have 24 Mbit/s, but a lot of devices are still 2.1 and that's 3 Mbit/s

[kameraguy]

"Connected thermally to Phantom [a screw and gasket - Ed]"

Hmmmm.....Thermally? It simply sits on top of Branch ???

[bearcatsandor]

The reviewer responded to my question about sound quality vs his reference system:

Hi 'Bearcat':

Welcome. Thanks for your comment.

Even considering the Law of Diminishing Returns, the 50K disparity is very telling.

First, my system is tube based. And in no way would you ever confuse a Devialet product with tubes. They are very clean, transparent, but IMO in this instance, falls short on accuracy of instrumental timbre. The Phantom's imaging was outstanding but also fell short of my ARC amplifier and bel canto/Antipodes digital front end on soundstage, especially depth.

You'd think that 'ruler flat' and 99dB would be the beginnings of a great product. And in many ways, they are. But my system fleshes out instruments and has a refinement that the Phantoms can only hint.

For 5K you get a really good, stereo set that's idiot/future proof. But musically it can't compete against my system at many times the price. That difference, as I mentioned, may not be as important to certain audiophiles any more.

If I only had 5K to spend, I'd be all over the system I reviewed.

Cheers, a

[jonstatt]

"Connected thermally to Phantom [a screw and gasket - Ed]"

Hmmmm.....Thermally? It simply sits on top of Branch ???

That wording comes from Devialet themselves...it implies that the stand helps act to regulate the overall temperature of the Phantom in some way....hmmm