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Newbie to Devialet
#1
Hello All,

My name is Kevin and I'm from Sunny Singapore.

Firstly, it is a pleasure to be here and to learn from all the members here.

My predicament is I have always been a headphone person enjoying the soundstage of my Meze Emphyrean and Audeze LCD2  as I always thought that speakers needed treated rooms to be enjoyed. Then I got bitten by the hifi bug when I listened to a Bluesound Powernode to a pair of Kef R5. Then I started looking into naim uniti atom  and used McIntosh amp and to cut the story short, my search ended with Devialet.

Now I am wondering if it is better to get a pair of Phantom II 98db or a used Expert 140pro or 220pro? Phantoms makes everything simple without the need for expensive speaker cables while the Expert amp allows me to experiment with a variety of speakers. 

I am not sure if the Phantoms are detailed when played at low volumes for musicality and soundstage? They sound great when played loud. I listen mostly to jazz most of the time using either Roon or Audirvana.

Thank you for your advise. Hope I did not post this in the wrong chat group!

Kef
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#2
Hi.
I'm also new here, and very fresh owner of a pair of Phantoms II 95 db (2 weeks old).
I don't want to say - go for it or something like this, because it will sound like an advice, and I'm in no position to give advices. There are more experienced users here.
But I want to say 3 things that I've learned in my short experience with the phantoms :
- placement is very important. You will not listen to the speakers, you will listen to the speakers + your room. Mine are on the wall (Geko mounting). I did not expected them to give me such an intimate audition experience, but they do. I've tested them firstly on some chairs (before making holes in the wall) and they sounded ordinary.
- the only speakers I know of (taking into consideration also their size) that does not give me the impression that I will ever need a subwoofer. That doesn't mean there aren't others, that is why I said : the only speakers I KNOW OF. They go down extremely well imho - they respond to frequencys that I did not heard on my Sennheiser 599 headphones + FiiO dac.
Search on youtube Tyga - Rack City, or Bassotronics. I don't know if I am allowed to give youtube links. I was curious if my phone's microphone will be able to capture that kind of low frequency, so I've recorded mine and I've played the recording via bluetooth on the Phantoms. To my surprise - I could feel the bass under me - on the couch. It was not like the original (when I listened directly from youtube on the Phantoms) , but the low frequencys was still there. Here's the link : https://youtu.be/ji1bWs1GbaM
- the only speaker I know of (again ...) that sounds so good at low volume. I think not many speakers can do that.
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#3
(19-Aug-2021, 07:38)KevinKoolkef Wrote: I am not sure if the Phantoms are detailed when played at low volumes for musicality and soundstage? They sound great when played loud. I listen mostly to jazz most of the time using either Roon or Audirvana.
Welcome to the forum...

The do very well for musicality and sound stage at low volume.  But you should treat them as proper stereo speakers by:
  • putting them on stands
  • position them properly in the room

Far too many people place them anywhere they like, to suit their lifestyle. Devialet have to take the blame for this because their marketing. However, treated properly as a hifi product, the Phantoms will reward you with excellent sound quality.

(19-Aug-2021, 12:56)marius23mvp Wrote: - placement is very important. You will not listen to the speakers, you will listen to the speakers + your room. 

Welcome too and fully agree with your statement.
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#4
(19-Aug-2021, 12:56)marius23mvp Wrote: Hi.
I'm also new here, and very fresh owner of a pair of Phantoms II 95 db (2 weeks old).
I don't want to say - go for it or something like this, because it will sound like an advice, and I'm in no position to give advices. There are more experienced users here.
But I want to say 3 things that I've learned in my short experience with the phantoms :
- placement is very important. You will not listen to the speakers, you will listen to the speakers + your room. Mine are on the wall (Geko mounting). I did not expected them to give me such an intimate audition experience, but they do. I've tested them firstly on some chairs (before making holes in the wall) and they sounded ordinary.
- the only speakers I know of (taking into consideration also their size) that does not give me the impression that I will ever need a subwoofer. That doesn't mean there aren't others, that is why I said : the only speakers I KNOW OF. They go down extremely well imho - they respond to frequencys that I did not heard on my Sennheiser 599 headphones + FiiO dac.
Search on youtube Tyga - Rack City, or Bassotronics. I don't know if I am allowed to give youtube links. I was curious if my phone's microphone will be able to capture that kind of low frequency, so I've recorded mine and I've played the recording via bluetooth on the Phantoms. To my surprise - I could feel the bass under me - on the couch. It was not like the original (when I listened directly from youtube on the Phantoms) , but the low frequencys was still there. Here's the link : https://youtu.be/ji1bWs1GbaM
- the only speaker I know of (again ...) that sounds so good at low volume. I think not many speakers can do that.

HI Marius23mvp,

Thank you for the helpful advise. It is good to hear that you are enjoying your new Phantoms. Placement is very important and I do agree with you on that. 

Could not open the YouTube link as its private but you have given me much to think about.

Thank you once again for your reply  Wink
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#5
(19-Aug-2021, 13:50)Snoopy8 Wrote:
(19-Aug-2021, 07:38)KevinKoolkef Wrote: I am not sure if the Phantoms are detailed when played at low volumes for musicality and soundstage? They sound great when played loud. I listen mostly to jazz most of the time using either Roon or Audirvana.
Welcome to the forum...

The do very well for musicality and sound stage at low volume.  But you should treat them as proper stereo speakers by:
  • putting them on stands
  • position them properly in the room

Far too many people place them anywhere they like, to suit their lifestyle. Devialet have to take the blame for this because their marketing. However, treated properly as a hifi product, the Phantoms will reward you with excellent sound quality.

(19-Aug-2021, 12:56)marius23mvp Wrote: - placement is very important. You will not listen to the speakers, you will listen to the speakers + your room. 

Welcome too and fully agree with your statement.

Hi Snoopy8,

Thank you. It is a pleasure to be here.
That is very good advice to treat them as proper speakers. I was initially think of just having them on my TV console but that would not allow them to project properly.

What stands would you recommend? The ones from Devialet or other bookshelf stands?

Appreciate your reply. Thank you once again!!!
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#6
(19-Aug-2021, 16:10)KevinKoolkef Wrote: Could not open the YouTube link as its private but you have given me much to think about.

Sorry, now it's not private anymore
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#7
(19-Aug-2021, 16:14)KevinKoolkef Wrote: That is very good advice to treat them as proper speakers. I was initially think of just having them on my TV console but that would not allow them to project properly.

What stands would you recommend? The ones from Devialet or other bookshelf stands?
The ideal stand is obviously the Devialet Legs.  However, any speaker stand will do, but it may look odd?

If you are placing on something flat, suggest getting the iso-puck minis.
https://isoacoustics.com/pro-audio-isola...ck-series/

As a guide, try to arrange the speakers and listening position in an equilateral triangle, away from the walls, and the speakers point to your ear level. But, this may not be always possible.  And lastly, avoid corners...

Hope you have many hours of enjoyment...
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#8
(21-Aug-2021, 09:09)Snoopy8 Wrote:
(19-Aug-2021, 16:14)KevinKoolkef Wrote: That is very good advice to treat them as proper speakers. I was initially think of just having them on my TV console but that would not allow them to project properly.

What stands would you recommend? The ones from Devialet or other bookshelf stands?
The ideal stand is obviously the Devialet Legs.  However, any speaker stand will do, but it may look odd?

If you are placing on something flat, suggest getting the iso-puck minis.
https://isoacoustics.com/pro-audio-isola...ck-series/

As a guide, try to arrange the speakers and listening position in an equilateral triangle, away from the walls, and the speakers point to your ear level. But, this may not be always possible.  And lastly, avoid corners...

Hope you have many hours of enjoyment...

Wow!

Thanks for the link to the iso-pucks. I’m sure it will come in handy. .
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#9
hey man

honestly right, if you wanna go the audiophile route there are a lot of options out there, BUT!

I myself came from a super hifi background and eventually decided that i dont wanna have a 7-8 box setup with tons of wires behind,

One pair of Phantom II 98 dB does more than some of my traditional hifi

of course if you talk about the fine details, midrange, separation the whole audiophile blah blah yes there are better ones for much more money, but for what they do in that form factor, im pretty happy with my 98dB Stereo

I have floor standing speakers (10 times the size of the phantom II) that nowhere near hit as low as the Phantom II's - these things are a marvel in engineering i must say!

Treat the Phantom's as audiophile components with proper placement, isolation, file format playback , and youd be surprised at what these little guys can achieve
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#10
(26-Aug-2021, 08:56)Wyvrn Wrote: hey man

honestly right, if you wanna go the audiophile route there are a lot of options out there, BUT!

I myself came from a super hifi background and eventually decided that i dont wanna have a 7-8 box setup with tons of wires behind,

One pair of Phantom II 98 dB does more than some of my traditional hifi

of course if you talk about the fine details, midrange, separation the whole audiophile blah blah yes there are better ones for much more money, but for what they do in that form factor, im pretty happy with my 98dB Stereo

I have floor standing speakers (10 times the size of the phantom II) that nowhere near hit as low as the Phantom II's - these things are a marvel in engineering i must say!

Treat the Phantom's as audiophile components with proper placement, isolation, file format playback ,  and youd be surprised at what these little guys can achieve

+1
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