Switching from High End Expert 1000 + High End Speakers to Stereo Phantom

[eniriop]

Hi fans of great music reproduction.

I am proud owner of a pair of Gauder Berlina 7 Black Edition speakers paired with Devialet Expert 1000 Pro. It is the best sound system I have ever heard.

Due to changes at home (kids), I now have almost no time to listen to music with focus —it is mostly just used for background music.
For that purpose, the setup is far from ideal: from a soundstage perspective, the Gauders are extremely focused and beam-formed, and from a volume perspective, both the speakers and amplifier need a certain minimum power to perform well.

So, I am considering selling the system and getting a pair of Phantom I (108db) speakers instead (for background music, dancing with the kids, a bit of TV, etc.).
It hurts, but I think it makes sense.

Has anyone here moved from a similar high-end setup to the Phantoms? What was your experience, and did you have regrets?

Kind regards, Andreas

Hello Andreas,
I did the same back in 2015, I was a big fan of hifi with tube amplifiers and horn speakers. Spent a lot on expensive cables and so on. The Phantoms gold have the big sound weight of hi-end tube amplifiers, without any distorsion, fatigue or coloration. And they don't need cables or amplifiers. And it is so much simpler to move them in your home and just plug them. But do keep the Mac mini and Audirvana, they sound best with the phantoms. The best audio cables are no cable at all, but audiophiles always crave for "upgrades" . If you suffer from "upgraditis", I have a cure for you: after you have lived with a pair of phantom 1 for a while on each side of the TV, buy them a  DIONE soundbar under the TV set, and stream you music playing them  together with Airplay 2 (I set the phantoms 1 in "living room" and the Dione in "TV room" and I check both "rooms" in Airplay2). This is a definite "upgrade" compared to the phantom 1 pair alone. More details in the center stage and better voices (in my opinion), definitely a must if you still listen "with focus" from time to time...