Comments from a number of people who auditioned Phantoms...

[brit]

I have heard them in two different occasions, in 5 different rooms, with one phantom setup, two phantoms setup and four phantoms setup.
And I have heard them with multiple songs and multiple movies.

If you hear them in only one room, you certainly won't really know them. If you hear them with few songs, you certainly won't really know them.

And if you want to compare them with any other brands, you have to do that with the two systems next to each other, in the same room. Else it's just pointless.

An audio system in 99% dependent on:
1 - the room
2 - the audio you try to play (song or movies)

A very expensive setup can be ruined with a bad room and/or a bad recording. It will be destroyed by a cheap system in a great room and/or a great recording. That's sad. But its' the truth.

I have experimented it with the phantoms.

Depending on the room or the recording, they were either the worst system I have ever heard or the best one.

In my opinion, with a good room and a good recording, they can be really REALLY good.
But to know that, you have to try them in the right environment with the right songs. Like any other audio system.

I don't think Colette store in Paris, or Harrods in London, or even Devialet Show room in Paris, are the best environment to hear them.
And I don't think the songs chosen by the sellers are the best choices possible.

When I heard them, I think maybe 90% of the recordings they used were very bad recordings. It was just terrible.
But these other 10% were REALLY good. And it makes the Phantoms shine.

And the other problem is that the sellers try to convince you with very loud bass. They choose songs based only on bass.
And with bad recording, you can imagine what is the outcome...

So don't listen to people who have heard them once, with songs they didn't choose. Just listen to them by yourself, in the best environment you can find, with the best songs you know.

That's it.

The best environment is your own home environment, using your own choice of music.