Thanks for the replies.
Thing is, we believe what we want to believe. And i WANT to believe.....badly. I want to believe these speakers are the answer for my needs.
So let me tell you what my needs are and maybe you can tell me if i am going the right way, going down this road.
I have no equipment at all apart from a soundbar connected to the flat screen and a mini system that has 2 speakers as part of it. No serious hi-fi gear at all, so starting from scratch. I used to have a Luxman separates system but that was in another life long ago.
I want to have a NAS to store the music files on. I don't want to have a separate preamp and amp and DAC and so on. That's why these speakers appeal to me.....simplicity, all in one. Plug in a NAS via some sort of network streamer (rasp pi 3 with an onboard card with optical output?) to plug into the dialog to get the files from the NAS to the dialog and then into the Phantoms. Everything from there is onboard.
Sounds ideal to me.
But for the money, are there alternatives that will sound better? Of for the money, is this about as good one can expect?
So reading every review i can find, it seems these speakers lack a little in the mids and tweeters and the bass is boomy. I dont even know what that means... I am no "audiophile". I just like to listen to music with nice sound coming from the speakers. I know good sound when i hear it. I dont want to play music stupidly loud. I like the volume up a bit but not silly levels. I like a little bass, but not too much. I can't stand loud thumpy bass - gives me a headache. I want rich luscious sound - i don't know how you describe that in audio terms. I just know good music when i hear it.
So in essence these speakers seem to be exactly what i want. But I worry when "Audiophiles" say in reviews that these speakers lack in some way and are not true audiophile.
Maybe i am splitting hairs and these are fine for people like me. I am NEVER spending 20K on a sound system, so perhaps at the level i am at these speakers are absolutely fine and i will never hear whats missing from them because i am not that sophisticated a listener?
OK so lets assume the sound part will suit me. I have read time and again about the horror stories of connectivity and getting them setup and then they drop the link and have to be setup again. Must be something to it, because there are too many stories out there about it.
Again and again i read avoid spark like the plague. So much criticism aimed at SPARK. COuld it be those who already own this gear have convinced themselves that SPARK is not so bad?
Then there is the whole Roon Thing. Would be nice if the Phantoms could be a Roon end point. But i read time and again, Devialet are not going to accommodate user requests for the Phantoms being a Roon end point. Therefore, workarounds needed. At 5K for 2 speakers, is it right we have to deploy "workarounds" to use Roon?
I am just doing due diligence here. I want to leap in, i really do. I find myself dismissing every bad review i read and rereading the good reviews. But i am trying to pull myself up before i order and make sure i am really going ahead for the right reasons and not because i have convinced myself this is the way to go despite what appears to be valid criticism.
And lastly, there is a new version on the horizon. I am wondering if i should wait for the Gold Phantoms. More money yes, but not a big deal in the general scheme of things once you have accepted 5K for 2 speakers already.
Again, thanks for the insight.
Thing is, we believe what we want to believe. And i WANT to believe.....badly. I want to believe these speakers are the answer for my needs.
So let me tell you what my needs are and maybe you can tell me if i am going the right way, going down this road.
I have no equipment at all apart from a soundbar connected to the flat screen and a mini system that has 2 speakers as part of it. No serious hi-fi gear at all, so starting from scratch. I used to have a Luxman separates system but that was in another life long ago.
I want to have a NAS to store the music files on. I don't want to have a separate preamp and amp and DAC and so on. That's why these speakers appeal to me.....simplicity, all in one. Plug in a NAS via some sort of network streamer (rasp pi 3 with an onboard card with optical output?) to plug into the dialog to get the files from the NAS to the dialog and then into the Phantoms. Everything from there is onboard.
Sounds ideal to me.
But for the money, are there alternatives that will sound better? Of for the money, is this about as good one can expect?
So reading every review i can find, it seems these speakers lack a little in the mids and tweeters and the bass is boomy. I dont even know what that means... I am no "audiophile". I just like to listen to music with nice sound coming from the speakers. I know good sound when i hear it. I dont want to play music stupidly loud. I like the volume up a bit but not silly levels. I like a little bass, but not too much. I can't stand loud thumpy bass - gives me a headache. I want rich luscious sound - i don't know how you describe that in audio terms. I just know good music when i hear it.
So in essence these speakers seem to be exactly what i want. But I worry when "Audiophiles" say in reviews that these speakers lack in some way and are not true audiophile.
Maybe i am splitting hairs and these are fine for people like me. I am NEVER spending 20K on a sound system, so perhaps at the level i am at these speakers are absolutely fine and i will never hear whats missing from them because i am not that sophisticated a listener?
OK so lets assume the sound part will suit me. I have read time and again about the horror stories of connectivity and getting them setup and then they drop the link and have to be setup again. Must be something to it, because there are too many stories out there about it.
Again and again i read avoid spark like the plague. So much criticism aimed at SPARK. COuld it be those who already own this gear have convinced themselves that SPARK is not so bad?
Then there is the whole Roon Thing. Would be nice if the Phantoms could be a Roon end point. But i read time and again, Devialet are not going to accommodate user requests for the Phantoms being a Roon end point. Therefore, workarounds needed. At 5K for 2 speakers, is it right we have to deploy "workarounds" to use Roon?
I am just doing due diligence here. I want to leap in, i really do. I find myself dismissing every bad review i read and rereading the good reviews. But i am trying to pull myself up before i order and make sure i am really going ahead for the right reasons and not because i have convinced myself this is the way to go despite what appears to be valid criticism.
And lastly, there is a new version on the horizon. I am wondering if i should wait for the Gold Phantoms. More money yes, but not a big deal in the general scheme of things once you have accepted 5K for 2 speakers already.
Again, thanks for the insight.
