(20-Apr-2021, 22:38)goofynick6 Wrote:(20-Apr-2021, 22:07)njaiswal Wrote: I was in the same boat as you. I bought my first phantom just based on reviews without hearing it. To say I was disappointed when i first heard it was an understatement. I couldn't believe that so many reviewers could be so wrong about it that I went ahead and got a second one. It's a complete night and day difference. And ever since I've been super happy with them. I have the original classic, silver and gold models. There is a difference between the classic/silver and gold. But I found that it is only apparent if you listen to them side by side. For everyday listening my classic and silver models are amazing speakers and we listen to those the most.
Hope this helps.
I really appreciate your comments. You have an amazing collection of them! They seem like they are similar to how people get one tattoo and then get addicted and get many more. I could buy 3 silver for the price of 2 gold, so I am still somewhat undecided. My wife thinks it would be crazy to downgrade to a lesser speaker after hearing this one. We've never listened to silvers, so hard to say without testing. I am sure it is just like you say, that the difference is probably noticeable when side by side or for someone who is a total audiophile. I appreciate the best quality sound possible, but I can't say for sure I would notice the difference in the same way. One review says it is an incredible difference, others say only at very high volumes. I keep going back and forth. I am terrible when it comes to having choices, sometimes less variety is easier and you worry less about making the right purchase.
Nick
In general humans are quite bad in perceiving absolute changes. We are relatively good perceiving relative differences. That’s why we taste a number of wines in a tasting and not one bottle per day when we want to select the best one. Same with audio. Even after 5 minutes you can’t remember subtle differences and categorize absolutely. But in direct comparison you can perceive very easily, in a blind test the difference between Silver and Gold Phantoms. No need to be an audiophile. In 2017 when I purchased the Gold Phantoms to replace a pair of Silvers, my wife, my parents (at age of 70), and I could all blindly recognize and distinguish Silver from Golds. The Golds sounded slightly more neutral, much more refined, clearly improved in the heights. As third speaker pair we compared the Phantoms with A pair of original B&W 802 (1st edition from 1980). The B&W had no chance, compared they sounded like a small speaker, limited in bandwidth, boxy, nice in the mids, but compressed in the heights and very limited in the deep lows. How could such small speakers like the Phantoms sound so full and complete at any volume? Measuring the actual moving drivers showed the surface of the moving part of the Phantom drivers is larger than the ones of the B&W 802, first edition. Both speakers are closed (not ported). That’s why the Phantoms can go deeper. And in the end the Gold Phantoms are a but more pronounced in the deepest bass and a bit less in the mid bass. This leaves a bit room in the mids to shine compared to the Silvers and then they are more linear in the range of 4-8 kHz. This can be heard by anyone in direct comparison. And of course I tried to level the volume of all to have same SQL using a sound level meter.
My recommendation is to go for the Golds or take the Silvers and wait for the next elevation program of Devialet in case the price difference is currently preventing to go for the Golds. BTW in the current elevation program you get the same for trading in a Silver as you get for trading in a Gold. Great deal for Silver owners.
