"The best sound equipment in the world. Phantom replaces all existing systems ...unlike anything you have heard before...outperforms all existing systems...forever changes the world of sound..." etc etc. These are just some of the claims made by the maker of Phantom on its web page. On top of that, quite a few reviews (e.g. "Wired") were more than enthusiastic.
I do not consider myself an audiophile. I am lucky though to be able to listen to my favourite music on a fairly good setup in a dedicated music room in a separate cabin on the farm where we live. The setup is Denon DCD-A100 CD/DAC, AirTight AM201 tube amp, Dali Grand speakers and a custom made preamp/sound processor, which is similar to the Devialete SAM, at least in concept. I purchased those as separate components second hand -- for a similar total amount as two new Phantoms cost.
Based on all the hype I almost ordered online two Phantoms for our living room where Family Acceptance Factor rules high. Luckily, soon I was visiting the town with my musical buddy, where an audio dealer had Phantoms on demo. I prearranged the visit and downloaded the Spark app onto my iPhone, where most of my favourite music resides as AAC or ALAC files. Just in case I took with me several CDs including the Chesky Records Ultimate Demonstration Disc. That was prudent, as it turned out that Phantom/Dialog cannot play iTunes files directly. I would need to reload them directly to Spark via computer--or so the dealer said. Bummer. Our idea of music in the family room is that all family members and guests can play their choices from smartphones' libraries or Spotify or Tidal. Easily done by my daughter's little NAD 7050D and many other devices nowadays.
So for the test purposes we used my CDs played out from the dealer's transport connected by Toslink.
CAVEAT. Below is presented a fully subjective opinion based on the notion of perceiving music as an emotional rather than physical phenomenon.
Me and my buddy went through most of the Chesky disc and then some more pop, rock and even heavy bass pieces.
Disappointment is an understatement to describe what we increasingly felt with every track. We know the tracks very well and know how they sound in my country cabin.
It was classes difference in favour of my old tube amp and old Dali Grand speakers. The Phantom sound by comparison is a poor, failed attempt to approach a live musical experience. The Phantom sound is..."plasticky", lacking palpability, missing emotion, and it really started getting on our nerves after half an hour. We listened to Phantoms at 70+ volumes, and for some pieces I asked the volume to be pumped up more. The sound became really loud, but not any better. On the other hand, volumes below 70 put the Phantom at par with many other possible setups costing less. The dealer seeing our disappointment tried to save the day by defending the Phantom with marketspeak he apparently learned at the manufacturer's sales training. "Phantom is best when playing as a single source" (we did not try it). "It is a new way of music delivery, for the internet generation" (we are 50+ but use internet a lot...). "It is better than competition" (pointing to a device half the price). In the end I tried to help him out hinting at possible
home theatre applications. "O no, no home theatre in the near future. A new central processor with HDMIs has to be built from scratch". And he was probably right on this one.
And I was really glad about the trip and the revealing demo session.
I do not consider myself an audiophile. I am lucky though to be able to listen to my favourite music on a fairly good setup in a dedicated music room in a separate cabin on the farm where we live. The setup is Denon DCD-A100 CD/DAC, AirTight AM201 tube amp, Dali Grand speakers and a custom made preamp/sound processor, which is similar to the Devialete SAM, at least in concept. I purchased those as separate components second hand -- for a similar total amount as two new Phantoms cost.
Based on all the hype I almost ordered online two Phantoms for our living room where Family Acceptance Factor rules high. Luckily, soon I was visiting the town with my musical buddy, where an audio dealer had Phantoms on demo. I prearranged the visit and downloaded the Spark app onto my iPhone, where most of my favourite music resides as AAC or ALAC files. Just in case I took with me several CDs including the Chesky Records Ultimate Demonstration Disc. That was prudent, as it turned out that Phantom/Dialog cannot play iTunes files directly. I would need to reload them directly to Spark via computer--or so the dealer said. Bummer. Our idea of music in the family room is that all family members and guests can play their choices from smartphones' libraries or Spotify or Tidal. Easily done by my daughter's little NAD 7050D and many other devices nowadays.
So for the test purposes we used my CDs played out from the dealer's transport connected by Toslink.
CAVEAT. Below is presented a fully subjective opinion based on the notion of perceiving music as an emotional rather than physical phenomenon.
Me and my buddy went through most of the Chesky disc and then some more pop, rock and even heavy bass pieces.
Disappointment is an understatement to describe what we increasingly felt with every track. We know the tracks very well and know how they sound in my country cabin.
It was classes difference in favour of my old tube amp and old Dali Grand speakers. The Phantom sound by comparison is a poor, failed attempt to approach a live musical experience. The Phantom sound is..."plasticky", lacking palpability, missing emotion, and it really started getting on our nerves after half an hour. We listened to Phantoms at 70+ volumes, and for some pieces I asked the volume to be pumped up more. The sound became really loud, but not any better. On the other hand, volumes below 70 put the Phantom at par with many other possible setups costing less. The dealer seeing our disappointment tried to save the day by defending the Phantom with marketspeak he apparently learned at the manufacturer's sales training. "Phantom is best when playing as a single source" (we did not try it). "It is a new way of music delivery, for the internet generation" (we are 50+ but use internet a lot...). "It is better than competition" (pointing to a device half the price). In the end I tried to help him out hinting at possible
home theatre applications. "O no, no home theatre in the near future. A new central processor with HDMIs has to be built from scratch". And he was probably right on this one.
And I was really glad about the trip and the revealing demo session.
