Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Phantom 5.5 / 7.7 Immersive Theatre System
#1
Anyone had an audition of the 5.5 & 7.7 setup?  Would love to hear your review!

I was asking at the showroom and a sales person referred me to someone else and said the 5.5 would cost some USD $20-25k to setup.

I already had 2 Golds, tried many movies and am impressed specifically at the bass effects shifting left & right on top of the superb standard stereo experience.  So I was quite sold that a 5.5/7.7 setup would be awesome.  I'm renovation a new place and have been contemplating a KEF mixed Reference 5 + R-series 5.1.2 setup.

The system seems to use Xilica which takes in analogue signals from the source (maybe it be your receiver or BD player), transform it to digital signal, send it through ethernet and then converted back to digital signal before entering the Phantoms.  While this sounds inefficient doing A2D, D2A, then A2D again, I also wonder how much of a loss there could be.  I'm no sound engineer so I have no idea how well the Xilica and whatever the device that transform the last A2D work.

I feel that the KEF setup is safer and longer lasting because analogue speakers are not going to disappear.  With all the tech built-in, who knows if and when something new comes out the tech will get obsolete.  Maybe I'm thinking too much.

Would you consider the KEF setup vs this 5.5?  Love to hear some thoughts!

Chris
Reply
#2
(23-Aug-2017, 17:30)cbleehk Wrote: Anyone had an audition of the 5.5 & 7.7 setup?  Would love to hear your review!

I was asking at the showroom and a sales person referred me to someone else and said the 5.5 would cost some USD $20-25k to setup.

I already had 2 Golds, tried many movies and am impressed specifically at the bass effects shifting left & right on top of the superb standard stereo experience.  So I was quite sold that a 5.5/7.7 setup would be awesome.  I'm renovation a new place and have been contemplating a KEF mixed Reference 5 + R-series 5.1.2 setup.

The system seems to use Xilica which takes in analogue signals from the source (maybe it be your receiver or BD player), transform it to digital signal, send it through ethernet and then converted back to digital signal before entering the Phantoms.  While this sounds inefficient doing A2D, D2A, then A2D again, I also wonder how much of a loss there could be.  I'm no sound engineer so I have no idea how well the Xilica and whatever the device that transform the last A2D work.

I feel that the KEF setup is safer and longer lasting because analogue speakers are not going to disappear.  With all the tech built-in, who knows if and when something new comes out the tech will get obsolete.  Maybe I'm thinking too much.

Would you consider the KEF setup vs this 5.5?  Love to hear some thoughts!

Chris

Hi Chris,

I faced a somewhat similar situation. I went from a 2.1 set up to the devialet phantom gold's. The reason back then was to downsize and have a more compact system.

While I liked it for music, for movies it was not optimal. However, I was only using a stereo set of Phantoms, but when driven hard, I noticed some struggle on louder volume to play well in the lower hz region (20-35hz). They can't reach the 108 db in this region.  Movies sounded fine, but the oomph was missing. 

Recently I send the phantoms back again and went to a 2.2.2 set up. With the kef r300 as mains, r50 and 2x sb13ultra. There it was again, oomph in movies and having tons of headroom. Also having some atmos effects certainly enhance the movie experience, I doubt the phantoms will ever see that.

I think the KEF set up you have in mind will provide more joy in movies than the 5.5 set up of the Phantoms, while they certainly provide good bass, they can't reach the lower hz region without distortion and authority. Also with going for 5 Phantoms, you're fully investing in the Devialet eco system, you will never have 100% guarantee how the future will look like.

Daniel
Reply
#3
I would wait a bit to see what the new streamer board of the Expert PRO system brings in terms of compatibility to Phantoms. When Phantoms could be grouped with the Xpert line a lot would become possible. Maybe also the rumoured RAAT compatibility could open some paths for mixed speakers with Phantoms in a multichannel setup. Of course all this is pure speculation.
Reply
#4
If you contact Devialet they can organise installation and setup for you. They also can advise you. Since now they officially offer the Home Theatre solution.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Devialet Phantom (White)
Reply
#5
(23-Aug-2017, 17:30)cbleehk Wrote: The system seems to use Xilica which takes in analogue signals from the source (maybe it be your receiver or BD player), transform it to digital signal, send it through ethernet and then converted back to digital signal before entering the Phantoms.  While this sounds inefficient doing A2D, D2A, then A2D again, I also wonder how much of a loss there could be.  I'm no sound engineer so I have no idea how well the Xilica and whatever the device that transform the last A2D work.

I am also curious how this setup works. In particular the conversion from ethernet to digital (optical?) prior to being fed into the Phantoms. Although I have seen the schematic, does anyone have some specifics?
Kii Three Speakers | JL Audio Fathom Subwoofer  | KEF LS50 Speakers | Samsung 850 Soundbar
Innuos Statement | Trinnov Altitude 32 | PS Audio Stellar S300 Amp | T+A HA 200 Headphone Amplifier | Meze Empyrean Headphones
Sean Jacobs DC-3 Custom Build LPS | Roon Core DIY Server | SOtM sNH-10G Modded Switch | Oppo UDP-205 Blu-Ray/SACD Player
T+A G 2000 R Turntable | DS Audio E1 Optical Stylus | Gordian Lab 12 Power Conditioner | Artesania Audio Rack
Reply
#6
(25-Aug-2017, 13:40)baconbrain Wrote:
(23-Aug-2017, 17:30)cbleehk Wrote: The system seems to use Xilica which takes in analogue signals from the source (maybe it be your receiver or BD player), transform it to digital signal, send it through ethernet and then converted back to digital signal before entering the Phantoms.  While this sounds inefficient doing A2D, D2A, then A2D again, I also wonder how much of a loss there could be.  I'm no sound engineer so I have no idea how well the Xilica and whatever the device that transform the last A2D work.

I am also curious how this setup works. In particular the conversion from ethernet to digital (optical?) prior to being fed into the Phantoms. Although I have seen the schematic, does anyone have some specifics?

I'll have a quick go at explaining how I think it works.

1) an Oppo BDP modded to output 4x  stereo SPDIF RCA digital outputs in left/right, centre/sub, side left/right and back left/right pairs.
Or
2) HDMI fed into an Arvus HDMI-2A to output 4x SPDIF AES digital outputs as above

Above digital outputs to be input to a Xilica UNO DSP which can apply EQ, audio delay, bass management etc. before output as 4x SPDIF AES digital outputs.

Electrical digital is then converted to optical digital by appropriate units and fed to each Phantom optical input.

The Xilica and Phantoms are controlled using bespoke Devialet software written for the Control4 hardware/software platform via one of the Control4 control units through ISP.
Reply
#7
(25-Aug-2017, 20:49)alandbush Wrote:
(25-Aug-2017, 13:40)baconbrain Wrote:
(23-Aug-2017, 17:30)cbleehk Wrote: The system seems to use Xilica which takes in analogue signals from the source (maybe it be your receiver or BD player), transform it to digital signal, send it through ethernet and then converted back to digital signal before entering the Phantoms.  While this sounds inefficient doing A2D, D2A, then A2D again, I also wonder how much of a loss there could be.  I'm no sound engineer so I have no idea how well the Xilica and whatever the device that transform the last A2D work.

I am also curious how this setup works. In particular the conversion from ethernet to digital (optical?) prior to being fed into the Phantoms. Although I have seen the schematic, does anyone have some specifics?

I'll have a quick go at explaining how I think it works.

1) an Oppo BDP modded to output 4x  stereo SPDIF RCA digital outputs in left/right, centre/sub, side left/right and back left/right pairs.
Or
2) HDMI fed into an Arvus HDMI-2A to output 4x SPDIF AES digital outputs as above

Above digital outputs to be input to a Xilica UNO DSP which can apply EQ, audio delay, bass management etc. before output as 4x SPDIF AES digital outputs.

Electrical digital is then converted to optical digital by appropriate units and fed to each Phantom optical input.

The Xilica and Phantoms are controlled using bespoke Devialet software written for the Control4 hardware/software platform via one of the Control4 control units through ISP.

Thx, couldn't one just connect the analogue outs from the BD Player to the Xilica via an analogue to d25 cable?

Also, what type of units are you referring to for conversion of electrical to optical digital?
Kii Three Speakers | JL Audio Fathom Subwoofer  | KEF LS50 Speakers | Samsung 850 Soundbar
Innuos Statement | Trinnov Altitude 32 | PS Audio Stellar S300 Amp | T+A HA 200 Headphone Amplifier | Meze Empyrean Headphones
Sean Jacobs DC-3 Custom Build LPS | Roon Core DIY Server | SOtM sNH-10G Modded Switch | Oppo UDP-205 Blu-Ray/SACD Player
T+A G 2000 R Turntable | DS Audio E1 Optical Stylus | Gordian Lab 12 Power Conditioner | Artesania Audio Rack
Reply
#8
(26-Aug-2017, 10:17)baconbrain Wrote: Thx, couldn't one just connect the analogue outs from the BD Player to the Xilica via an analogue to d25 cable?
Probably, yes.
The analogue output would then require conversion to optical digital via something similar to this

(26-Aug-2017, 10:17)baconbrain Wrote: Also, what type of units are you referring to for conversion of electrical to optical digital?
I do not know what is used in the Devialet system.
I have used something similar to This
Reply
#9
A bit cobbled together, no? What is that, 2 unnecessary D/A conversions? Hopefully just interim until an AV Dialog comes out. A box with 1/2 HDMI In (±whatever) -> DSP -> however many Optical Outs shouldn't be too difficult: the Meridian HD621 has been out for several years.

Or, alternatively, how many would be satisfied with even a 3-channel Expert Pro? It wouldn't seem to be a less tidy setup than the same number of Phantoms with multiple external processors, and not much more than the premium they're charging. Actually now that I think about it, a properly developed D1000 could make for a very attractive 7-channel solution.
Reply
#10
(28-Aug-2017, 06:32)antilles Wrote: A bit cobbled together, no? What is that, 2 unnecessary D/A conversions? Hopefully just interim until an AV Dialog comes out. A box with 1/2 HDMI In (±whatever) -> DSP -> however many Optical Outs shouldn't be too difficult: the Meridian HD621 has been out for several years.

Or, alternatively, how many would be satisfied with even a 3-channel Expert Pro? It wouldn't seem to be a less tidy setup than the same number of Phantoms with multiple external processors, and not much more than the premium they're charging. Actually now that I think about it, a properly developed D1000 could make for a very attractive 7-channel solution.

Tend to agree. Appears that most proposed set-ups are a bit of a patchwork. Always felt that an Expert / Phantom multi-channel system could have real potential but unfortunately don't believe that Devialet is placing any focus on the topic.
Kii Three Speakers | JL Audio Fathom Subwoofer  | KEF LS50 Speakers | Samsung 850 Soundbar
Innuos Statement | Trinnov Altitude 32 | PS Audio Stellar S300 Amp | T+A HA 200 Headphone Amplifier | Meze Empyrean Headphones
Sean Jacobs DC-3 Custom Build LPS | Roon Core DIY Server | SOtM sNH-10G Modded Switch | Oppo UDP-205 Blu-Ray/SACD Player
T+A G 2000 R Turntable | DS Audio E1 Optical Stylus | Gordian Lab 12 Power Conditioner | Artesania Audio Rack
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)