Phantom II Custom 5.0 surround system experience and suggestions. 6 months listening to surround content
After having read and benefitted from the great postings on the Devialet chat I wanted to share my experience with the installation and listening of a Devialet Phantom II Custom 5.0 surround system in my living room after 6 months of listening.
System
5 Phantom II Custom speakers
4 Gecko in wall brackets
Processor: Integra DTC 9.8
Audio Cables: Van Damme
XLR connector: Neutrik
Euroblock connectors
No subwoofer
Installation: Robert Taussig London
Phantom II Custom was previously branded as Reactor Custom (this is what I purchased) but it is exactly the same model (I checked with Devialet)
There are 4 mains differences in comparison to the Phantom II line
Devialet calls the surround setup 5.5 to stress the fact that each speaker can go so low in terms of frequencies that is basically like having 5 subwoofers
I call it 5.0 as this helps when you set up your surround processor as I explain below.
Why Phantom II Custom for surround?
The main reasons I got the custom speakers for surround is latency and ease of connection as I am using balanced cables.
This is also the suggested setup for Devialet and they are right.
Latency is basically 0 and that is super important for surround sound.
Second, given you will need to use long cables to reach the surround speakers and to some extent the front L & R you want to use balanced cables. This is the only Devialet model that accepts balanced input.
You need of course to have a surround preamp processor with XLR out.
This vastly reduces the number of models out there, but also makes your life easier to choose one.
Finally, you could consider using Dante but given my setup I did not want to purchase Dante XLR to Lan Avio adapters. Call me old fashioned, but in general I want the shortest path from the output to the speaker input with nothing in between.
There are very few surround processors that come with Dante already integrated but they are generally meant for professional installation like the JBL SPD-55 (which by the way is not cheap!).
Unboxing
The reactor customs are super well packaged, double boxed in an undisclosed external box.
Do not touch the woofers!
This is the best and most important instruction to follow.
Technical guide
The custom comes with a one page manual, so you might want to download a longer and more detailed version of the manual called CI technical Guide.
Not that in this version the screenshots for the Reactor are out of date as in the new DOS version there are 5 menus and not 4.
Firmware update
Before you install the speakers I suggest doing a firmware update as it must be done plugging a lan cable to each of them, so this is easier to do before you place them in your room.
As of today the DOS version for the reactor custom is not available on the Devialet website so I had to email support and they shared a dropbox folder with me.
The latest DOS version is 1.1.12 as of September 2020
You need a computer plugged to the same network
Steps:
The setting menu is super important as it is the only way you have to set up these speakers.
As with the software update, you need to connect to the speaker via a lan cable. Remember that the Reactor customs are NOT wifi.
Device name: You can rename the reactor with your naming conventions like “center speaker”.
Max SPL: I leave it as the default
Channel Mix: Mono mix as each reactor is connected to a single channel of the processor via a balanced cable
Analog sensitivity: start with 4 (see discussion below)
Startup source: Analog
Current source: Analog
Led mode: Up to you but when you unplug the speakers that LED setting goes back to its default which is off
Startup volume: 100%
Current volume 100% I set startup and current both to 100 % as if the power goes away this setting reset
The most important setting if you connect the custom via analog audio is the analog sensitivity
The most important setting and so far “undocumented setting” is the analog sensitivity of the speaker.
It is measured in Vrms
A setting too low such as 0 to 2 resulted in my case to a loss of low frequencies because the reactor started entering in protection mode and compressed the input therefore cutting down low frequencies.
Think about this setting as as gain but the other way around, a low setting means that almost all signal is let through when a low gain setting is the opposite (high value = almost all signal goes through)
The ideal way to test it, is to measure the voltage output coming out from your receiver at 0db.
I did many experiments especially by changing the analog input sensitivity from 0 to 10 and measuring the sound via REW using a calibrated microphone (Minidsp UMIK 1) at 1 meter distance by sending a pink noise from Rew to the receiver via an HDMI cable.
Given you will need to tweak the setting after the speakers are in place anyway, I suggest to start at 4 or 5 Vrms and then do more measurements later.
Now that you have updated the firmware and made an initial setting for each speaker, you can mount them either on the wall, to their stands or via other methods and connect them to the power and audio signal.
Wall install with gecko
The Geckos come already with some in wall plugs.
If you have drywall I suggest using the Toogler Snaptoggle anchors as given the way they work, they hold a lot of weight without ripping off your plasterboard.
Analog cable XLR - Euroblock
The custom accepts a euroblock input GND - +
My installer used a Van Damme cable and Neutrik XLR
I then added a heat shrink 10 cm (3 inches) tube to protect the euroblock connectors and the cables from dust.
It also looks nice and clean.
Power.
Each rector needs their own power supply and wall plug so plan accordingly.
In my case each reactor is plugged to a power surge protector plug.
Speaker positioning
Front L & R
I decided to mount the Front Left and Right speakers on the wall with the Gecko.
Given the brackets are angled at 45 degrees you need to place them very high up so you can point them to your ear at your listening position.
I used a laser pointer to help guessing the right height for the front L & R
Photo1
Photo2
Center
The center speaker is position under the TV on the TV stand and given it is angled slightly up it point percently the the listening position
Surround L & R
The surround L & R are pointed at 50 CM (a bit less than 2 feet) over the listening position as per Dolby suggestions
Photo3
Photo4
Surround setup via the receiver & Rew
The main and most important setting for your receiver is to set up the surround without the .1 subwoofer setting.
Given I do not have a subwoofer (nor do I need one- see below in listening experience) I told my Integra that I do not have a subwoofer so the low frequencies are not cut out from the speakers.
I then set up the surround entering into the Integra DTC 9.8 the distance from each speaker to the central listening position.
I then used Rew to do some final tuning but I have to say I had to do very little in terms of EQ but that really depends on your room as well.
I mainly had to cut some low frequencies as the surround speakers are placed in a corder as I have no other way and the lows were a bit too much.
I do not say much more because the setup depends on your receiver as well the in room equalization (e.g. if you use Dirac instead of Audioseey…)
Warranty
The Reactor customs come with a 5 year warranty already included in their price.
Make sure you register them on the website.
The serial number is on the box but also it shows on the user interface when you connect to them via Ip address.
I took screenshots of those pages so I have all the serial numbers.
Listening experience
Finally let’s talk about the listening experience!
The main thing to point out is that after having listened to a lot of surround content for both music and movies for 8 months, I did not miss a subwoofer at all!
I used to have a Velodyne DD10 but the reactor can go so low by themselves that I really believe you can get away without a sub.
I also think that the low frequencies are more controlled this way as the sub is generally placed on the floor so the low frequencies go all over the room and adjacent rooms.
I live in a block of apartments and I have neighbours under me and so far nobody complained.
Stereo content via the front L & R comes super clean and having the speakers mounted on the wall allows me to have a great listening position even if I stand up and move around as the sound comes from the top.
This is the same idea of live concerts when speakers are nowadays mounted in suspended arrays pointing towards the crowd and different angles to cover the whole venue space.
Given you are Devialet users I do not want to go on and on the sound quality of the reactor as I am preaching to the choir.
I have to say that in terms of power the reactor customs have plenty of volume for the size of my living room. 375RMS / 800Peak is a lot!.
I am curious to listen to other reactor custom surround setup users so we can share experiences and tips to improve the listening experience.
I can say more in a separate post about what music and video I used to test the surround system if there is interest.
Thanks for reading this long post until the end!
Mario
After having read and benefitted from the great postings on the Devialet chat I wanted to share my experience with the installation and listening of a Devialet Phantom II Custom 5.0 surround system in my living room after 6 months of listening.
System
5 Phantom II Custom speakers
4 Gecko in wall brackets
Processor: Integra DTC 9.8
Audio Cables: Van Damme
XLR connector: Neutrik
Euroblock connectors
No subwoofer
Installation: Robert Taussig London
Phantom II Custom was previously branded as Reactor Custom (this is what I purchased) but it is exactly the same model (I checked with Devialet)
There are 4 mains differences in comparison to the Phantom II line
- Power of Custom is 375RMS
- The Custom do not have WiFi or bluetooth, airplay, or other wireless connections and no app
- The input is balanced audio via Euroblock, digital AES/EBU via Euroblock, or Dante via Ethernet cable
- They also support Creston and Control 4
Devialet calls the surround setup 5.5 to stress the fact that each speaker can go so low in terms of frequencies that is basically like having 5 subwoofers
I call it 5.0 as this helps when you set up your surround processor as I explain below.
Why Phantom II Custom for surround?
The main reasons I got the custom speakers for surround is latency and ease of connection as I am using balanced cables.
This is also the suggested setup for Devialet and they are right.
Latency is basically 0 and that is super important for surround sound.
Second, given you will need to use long cables to reach the surround speakers and to some extent the front L & R you want to use balanced cables. This is the only Devialet model that accepts balanced input.
You need of course to have a surround preamp processor with XLR out.
This vastly reduces the number of models out there, but also makes your life easier to choose one.
Finally, you could consider using Dante but given my setup I did not want to purchase Dante XLR to Lan Avio adapters. Call me old fashioned, but in general I want the shortest path from the output to the speaker input with nothing in between.
There are very few surround processors that come with Dante already integrated but they are generally meant for professional installation like the JBL SPD-55 (which by the way is not cheap!).
Unboxing
The reactor customs are super well packaged, double boxed in an undisclosed external box.
Do not touch the woofers!
This is the best and most important instruction to follow.
Technical guide
The custom comes with a one page manual, so you might want to download a longer and more detailed version of the manual called CI technical Guide.
Not that in this version the screenshots for the Reactor are out of date as in the new DOS version there are 5 menus and not 4.
Firmware update
Before you install the speakers I suggest doing a firmware update as it must be done plugging a lan cable to each of them, so this is easier to do before you place them in your room.
As of today the DOS version for the reactor custom is not available on the Devialet website so I had to email support and they shared a dropbox folder with me.
The latest DOS version is 1.1.12 as of September 2020
You need a computer plugged to the same network
Steps:
- Plug the speaker to the power and to a lan cable connected to your router
- Find the IP Address of the speaker by using an app like Fing or your router app
- Log into the Reactor via your browser by typing its IP address in the URL bar
- Go to the menu number 2 Update
- Upload the update from your computer via the browser using the menu called Update
- It takes about 3 minutes to update and restart each speaker
The setting menu is super important as it is the only way you have to set up these speakers.
As with the software update, you need to connect to the speaker via a lan cable. Remember that the Reactor customs are NOT wifi.
Device name: You can rename the reactor with your naming conventions like “center speaker”.
Max SPL: I leave it as the default
Channel Mix: Mono mix as each reactor is connected to a single channel of the processor via a balanced cable
Analog sensitivity: start with 4 (see discussion below)
Startup source: Analog
Current source: Analog
Led mode: Up to you but when you unplug the speakers that LED setting goes back to its default which is off
Startup volume: 100%
Current volume 100% I set startup and current both to 100 % as if the power goes away this setting reset
The most important setting if you connect the custom via analog audio is the analog sensitivity
The most important setting and so far “undocumented setting” is the analog sensitivity of the speaker.
It is measured in Vrms
A setting too low such as 0 to 2 resulted in my case to a loss of low frequencies because the reactor started entering in protection mode and compressed the input therefore cutting down low frequencies.
Think about this setting as as gain but the other way around, a low setting means that almost all signal is let through when a low gain setting is the opposite (high value = almost all signal goes through)
The ideal way to test it, is to measure the voltage output coming out from your receiver at 0db.
I did many experiments especially by changing the analog input sensitivity from 0 to 10 and measuring the sound via REW using a calibrated microphone (Minidsp UMIK 1) at 1 meter distance by sending a pink noise from Rew to the receiver via an HDMI cable.
Given you will need to tweak the setting after the speakers are in place anyway, I suggest to start at 4 or 5 Vrms and then do more measurements later.
Now that you have updated the firmware and made an initial setting for each speaker, you can mount them either on the wall, to their stands or via other methods and connect them to the power and audio signal.
Wall install with gecko
The Geckos come already with some in wall plugs.
If you have drywall I suggest using the Toogler Snaptoggle anchors as given the way they work, they hold a lot of weight without ripping off your plasterboard.
Analog cable XLR - Euroblock
The custom accepts a euroblock input GND - +
My installer used a Van Damme cable and Neutrik XLR
I then added a heat shrink 10 cm (3 inches) tube to protect the euroblock connectors and the cables from dust.
It also looks nice and clean.
Power.
Each rector needs their own power supply and wall plug so plan accordingly.
In my case each reactor is plugged to a power surge protector plug.
Speaker positioning
Front L & R
I decided to mount the Front Left and Right speakers on the wall with the Gecko.
Given the brackets are angled at 45 degrees you need to place them very high up so you can point them to your ear at your listening position.
I used a laser pointer to help guessing the right height for the front L & R
Photo1
Photo2
Center
The center speaker is position under the TV on the TV stand and given it is angled slightly up it point percently the the listening position
Surround L & R
The surround L & R are pointed at 50 CM (a bit less than 2 feet) over the listening position as per Dolby suggestions
Photo3
Photo4
Surround setup via the receiver & Rew
The main and most important setting for your receiver is to set up the surround without the .1 subwoofer setting.
Given I do not have a subwoofer (nor do I need one- see below in listening experience) I told my Integra that I do not have a subwoofer so the low frequencies are not cut out from the speakers.
I then set up the surround entering into the Integra DTC 9.8 the distance from each speaker to the central listening position.
I then used Rew to do some final tuning but I have to say I had to do very little in terms of EQ but that really depends on your room as well.
I mainly had to cut some low frequencies as the surround speakers are placed in a corder as I have no other way and the lows were a bit too much.
I do not say much more because the setup depends on your receiver as well the in room equalization (e.g. if you use Dirac instead of Audioseey…)
Warranty
The Reactor customs come with a 5 year warranty already included in their price.
Make sure you register them on the website.
The serial number is on the box but also it shows on the user interface when you connect to them via Ip address.
I took screenshots of those pages so I have all the serial numbers.
Listening experience
Finally let’s talk about the listening experience!
The main thing to point out is that after having listened to a lot of surround content for both music and movies for 8 months, I did not miss a subwoofer at all!
I used to have a Velodyne DD10 but the reactor can go so low by themselves that I really believe you can get away without a sub.
I also think that the low frequencies are more controlled this way as the sub is generally placed on the floor so the low frequencies go all over the room and adjacent rooms.
I live in a block of apartments and I have neighbours under me and so far nobody complained.
Stereo content via the front L & R comes super clean and having the speakers mounted on the wall allows me to have a great listening position even if I stand up and move around as the sound comes from the top.
This is the same idea of live concerts when speakers are nowadays mounted in suspended arrays pointing towards the crowd and different angles to cover the whole venue space.
Given you are Devialet users I do not want to go on and on the sound quality of the reactor as I am preaching to the choir.
I have to say that in terms of power the reactor customs have plenty of volume for the size of my living room. 375RMS / 800Peak is a lot!.
I am curious to listen to other reactor custom surround setup users so we can share experiences and tips to improve the listening experience.
I can say more in a separate post about what music and video I used to test the surround system if there is interest.
Thanks for reading this long post until the end!
Mario
Surround preamp: Integra DTC 9.8 Speakers: Devialet Phantom II Custom, Streamer/DAC: Volumio Primo, TV: LG 55EF950V
