Advice sought: Phantom's worth it?

[Hifi_swlon]

I realize I'm asking the converted... however, reading this forum leaves me quite concerned.

I have been thinking about purchasing a pair of Phantom's (probably Silver) for over a year. I am now at the point where I need to make a decision. 

About a year ago, I visited a reseller and listened to the Phantom at a showroom. They sounded great except that I heard little clicks when playing from my iPhone via Bluetooth. I thought at the time that I should wait until purchasing until the bugs were ironed out.

Now, reading the forums it doesn't really sound like the bugs are ironed out. And given all the time I've been waiting, I really wonder if they ever really will be.

So - it would be really great to have a current summary - how many people have niggly issues with the sound, clicks, whines, etc. How much do the bugs really get in the way of enjoying the Phantoms. After 5-6k I fear it will be hard to just ignore a bunch of bugs.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

I've never owned Phantoms, only had demo's.... but, if it's a big purchase for you and software bugs annoy you - find another brand.

A few years ago I was looking at buying an Expert, but read here that some were having issues with AIR. Others said it was great. The dealer said he wasn't aware of issues. I foolishly ignored the warnings, and bought one, only to realise actually quite a few people had AIR issues - now me included! Two years later and some money wasted on workarounds, I can finally use AIR without dropouts.

I've still got a Devialet, and upgraded it, but the morale of this story is Devialet have shockingly bad software development and bug fixing skills, low QA thresholds, and zero customer service with longstanding software issues. If these things bother you - then a Phantoms not for you. I can only imagine AIR is the shared technology of Phantom communication, or their underlying code/hardware just isn't designed robustly enough for stable pop and crackle free digital audio transmission. You might get lucky, you might not.

Most people tend to agree the Phantoms sound really good for the money. But what I saw of Spark at my demos made my decision for me. And as has been pointed out, once you have a fault out of warranty, they're in the bin.

It's also with noting Devialet are focussing their attention away from hifi right now, in a bid to move towards being a chip designer/manufacturer.

Whether you can get better for the money elsewhere though, I've no idea.