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Full Version: New Phantom II's or used Silvers (stereo)?
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Thank you all for a very interesting forum. I'm about to pull the trigger on a pair of Phantoms, and the choice is between buying a brand new pair of Phantom II 98 db, or a pair of used Silvers. The trouble is that it's very hard to find a place where I can listen to both under good conditions. The price is about the same where I live. Of course, I'd like to get the Golds, but due to budget restrictions those are out of the question even used. 

The Phantoms are going to be used as stereo speakers in a living room of about 35 m2. I don't need them to be crazy loud, but they should be able to fill the room with music at a reasonable level. I do like a reasonably flat frequency response, and it's kind of important to me that it extends well into the sub bass territory. 

I listen to blues, classic, some rock and a little electronica. I'll also use them hooked up to a TV for movies and shows, but this is not the main priority. I really like the size of the Phantom IIs, but if the sound quality of the Silvers is substantially better I think this would be more important.

So, to the ones who have actually heard both, or maybe even owned both, what would you choose if you were in my situation?
With such a large room, the Phantom IIs may struggle at high volume. However, the Silver's will produce better bass, but may be too much for your music taste?  Also, you need to find out how old the Silvers are and whether they have been updated to DOS2. There were issues with updating a few older models; while they look the same, the internals were not.

Most importantly, place the Phantoms on stands and position them properly in room.

** If it was me, I'll go new Phantom IIs.
If you're willing to bypass the Devialet's software then I would get the Silvers and configure them for optical direct mode and attach a streamer such as a Sonos Connect or Bluesound Node2i to control volume and source selection.
Thanks, interesting responses!

@Snoopy8, provided that the used ones have been updated to Dos2, and they were in pristine condition, would you still go for new Phantom II's instead? If so, I gather you are of the opinion that the difference in sound quality isn't dramatic?

@njaiswal, the list of your Phantoms is quite impressive  Smile and I understand you think the gain in sound quality would making it worth getting the Silvers. Can you elaborate a little on why you think it's important to run them in optical direct and use an external streamer?

As for placement, unfortunately, I'll probably have to place them closer to the wall than I would prefer, maybe even on Geckos. (I have two toddlers running around...) I'm hoping to run Dirac (windows 10 - DLNA - Phantom) to take care of the worst issues from the room.
(04-May-2021, 11:19)northern29 Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks, interesting responses!

@Snoopy8, provided that the used ones have been updated to Dos2, and they were in pristine condition, would you still go for new Phantom II's instead? If so, I gather you are of the opinion that the difference in sound quality isn't dramatic?

@njaiswal, the list of your Phantoms is quite impressive  Smile and I understand you think the gain in sound quality would making it worth getting the Silvers. Can you elaborate a little on why you think it's important to run them in optical direct and use an external streamer?

As for placement, unfortunately, I'll probably have to place them closer to the wall than I would prefer, maybe even on Geckos. (I have two toddlers running around...) I'm hoping to run Dirac (windows 10 - DLNA - Phantom) to take care of the worst issues from the room.
The biggest reason I suggested optical direct mode is that you wouldn't need to worry about upgrading the silvers to DOS2.  You can keep them as is and not worry about if they are upgradeable to DOS2.  The second reason is that in optical direct mode you don't have to worry about sync issues between video and audio when watching TV.  And lastly, (depending on your setup) you can use an existing remote to control the volume of the phantoms.  

My brother was able to integrate my Savant remotes with the Symetrix so now I'm able to use that to control the volume in every room I have the phantoms.
I've heard both and own a couple of Silvers, and I would recommend the Silvers as long as they're upgradable to DOS2. Most speakers are, it is only the first batch without BT that's not upgradable as far as I know. I've had no lipsync problems after DOS2 using the optical output on my TVs. Just remember to set the AV sync latency to 60 ms in the Devialet app. In DOS1 there was definitely lipsync problems, making the speakers unusable for TV. I had fluctuating latency between 150 and 500 ms. If, the unlikely event should occur, you have problems with DOS2 the optical direct mode is easier accessible in DOS2 than DOS1.
(04-May-2021, 11:19)northern29 Wrote: [ -> ]@Snoopy8, provided that the used ones have been updated to Dos2, and they were in pristine condition, would you still go for new Phantom II's instead? If so, I gather you are of the opinion that the difference in sound quality isn't dramatic?
For context, my journey here.

I found that the Silver had too much bass when compared to the Gold.  I compared a pair of Golds side by side to the Reactor 900s (sorry, still used to old names!) and found that while the Golds were slightly better, I could live with the Reactor 900s.  Unfortunately, I have not compared Silvers to the Reactors. 

If you go used Silvers, make sure they are on DOS2 and have a manufacturing date  close to one another. There have been odd occasions when an owner had a successful software update on one but not the older one.

(04-May-2021, 11:19)northern29 Wrote: [ -> ]As for placement, unfortunately, I'll probably have to place them closer to the wall than I would prefer, maybe even on Geckos. (I have two toddlers running around...) I'm hoping to run Dirac (windows 10 - DLNA - Phantom) to take care of the worst issues from the room.
Close to one wall is OK, but please, not in the corner.  Dirac will help.  As for toddlers. they can be taught to keep away from dad's/mum's toys!  The Reactors are smaller and easier to fence off; also, it is easy enough to disconnect and re-connect.