Is it just me? .... (sound quality)

[ChalleB]

I love the sound of the phantom, 
but only with the right kind of music, 
mostly small bands with good separation of instruments,
or bass heavy dance music

but music without bass and drums,
such as large scale orchestral music
seems very flat and limited
and actually sounds like any old wireless speaker

could future software help?
or, is it the limitations of the mid and tweeter?

[f1eng]

Mine sound absolutely fantastic on orchestral music, which is what I mainly listen to.
OTOH pop music recordings have usually had lots of manipulation applied whereas good classical recordings tend to be more natural.

I think the mid and tweeter units are more than competeitive in their price sector.

[bearcatsandor]

Does anyone have any opinions on how they sound with natural instruments like solo piano? Can they reproduce that size? How about things like solo violin where it's mostly texture in the highs?

[Phs]

I totally agree with your comment, complex ensemble with high dynamic range is where Phantom shines less.
Considering size and pricing Phantom is still a one of a kind speaker which leaves any competition far behind.
Nevertheless this lesser subjective performance has an explanation IMO.
Contrary to modern production which relies on very heavy compression, most orchestral recordings feature a very high dynamic range, lots of transients.
In my experience only high efficiency speakers using very light cones and domes have the ability to cope with this. Somehow you need the drivers to be vey "fast". This is probably why the best systems I heard - both studio monitors or audiophile - were using very high efficiency drivers ( TAD, Onken, Altec, JBL ... ).
Phantom is based on obviously low efficiency drivers ( 3000 W to produce 105 dB ) - and that was clearly the only option to produce that awesome bass in such a tiny volume.

To me Phantom is like the iPhone 6 camera : it does an awesome job in a tiny package and I like that. I don't want to bother anymore with the more complicated options, so I am accepting a few limitations
[dyfazltdzrjdxzdquote='ChalleB' pid='26226' dateline='1443861081']
I love the sound of the phantom, 
but only with the right kind of music, 
mostly small bands with good separation of instruments,
or bass heavy dance music

but music without bass and drums,
such as large scale orchestral music
seems very flat and limited
and actually sounds like any old wireless speaker

could future software help?
or, is it the limitations of the mid and tweeter?
[/quote]




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[fcs]

I love the sound of the phantom, 
but only with the right kind of music, 
mostly small bands with good separation of instruments,
or bass heavy dance music

but music without bass and drums,
such as large scale orchestral music
seems very flat and limited
and actually sounds like any old wireless speaker

could future software help?
or, is it the limitations of the mid and tweeter?

Agree with this description. This is also true with 80s rock bands.

[stonedragon]

I dunno whether I agree with the description of the speakers not sounding well with classical music.

In my opinion, I think the real problem lies in the way classical music is recorded. Which is very poorly.

A classic example (excuse the pun) is Karl Jenkins' Agnus Dei. About 2/3rds of the way through a drum kicks in, which should make you jump out of your skin (since the rest of the piece is quiet and this kicks in, unexpectedly). I've yet to hear a system re-produce the effect, comparing the live performance with the recorded performance. I've heard it on countless rigs, and each every time, the drums come across lame, saggy and just lacking oomph.

However there are other pieces that are recorded really well and the Phantoms do an outstanding job.

Nope, for the most part I blame the recordings. Classical music is just recorded really badly in my opinion compared to other genres. I don't know why, but its just the way things are. That's my 2 cents for what its worth..

[IanG-UK]

I agree with Frank ("f1eng") - I find them wonderful specifically on my main listening genres of classical solo piano, piano concertos and orchestral.

I also think that, in the overall scheme of things, recording quality and listening room contribute to/detract from the listening experience far more.

From a previous user of Quad electrostatics over 30 years, and now Magico Q1s, my Phantom set up costs one tenth of the current main gear and gets incredibly close to delivering the same fulfilling output.

[Dvlt PhD]

I'm going to derail this thread for a moment...I apologize.

IanG-UK,

Your sig mentions Shunyata power units.... are they filtered? and do you have the Phantoms + Dialog plugged into it?

Thanks.

[bearcatsandor]

From a previous user of Quad electrostatics over 30 years, and now Magico Q1s, my Phantom set up costs one tenth of the current main gear and gets incredibly close to delivering the same fulfilling output.

That's quite the accolade. You're saying that for the price, the Phantoms can keep up with a set of planars?!

[IanG-UK]

I'm going to derail this thread for a moment...I apologize.

IanG-UK,

Your sig mentions Shunyata power units.... are they filtered? and do you have the Phantoms + Dialog plugged into it?

Thanks.

The Expert 800 and supporting kit (MacBook Pro, Antipodes, DrayTek, etc) are powered via the Shunyata Typhon/Triton. The Phantoms and Dialog are powered straight off the mains plugs - I've not tried via the Shunyata primarily because of the power line facility used by that Phantom/Dialog system.

My Shunyata Typhon and Triton are Mk 1 so they do not have the surge protection and over-current protection embodied in the later Mk 2 design.

Full details of the Shunyata are on the website which may address your filtering question - it is a passive device and does not seek to regenerate the mains supply. So I suspect the answer to your filtering query is no. Hope that helps. If you are thinking about one then get in touch with Caelin Gabriel who owns/runs Shunyata and is extremely helpful and generally very fast with responses. He owns or has owned Devialet kit.