Alan Sircom review of Phantom Gold

[Gremlin]

Hi-Fi+ review:

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/deviale...udspeaker/

Apologies if it's already been posted.

[bearcatsandor]

Do you all agree that those that "are in search of a small loudspeaker that delivers all the sound of your giant, six-figure super-speaker will not find it here"? Frankly, i'm finding it nearly impossible to find a digital, active speaker system with that frequency range *per channel* for anything close to that price. The closest competitor might be a Meridian DSP8000SE https://www.meridian-audio.com/products/...udspeaker/ I've heard these things and they are *amazing*, but they also cost $40k each.

[MountainGuy]

I think that's true. Six figure would be $100K. I would hope a speaker of that price would be substantively better than a Phantom Gold in terms of micro dynamics, scale etc. But I think the Phantom can match systems multiples of it but that would still be just five figures.

[Jamington2004]

I think my old Meridian DSP6000 18bit were probably narrowly beat the silver phantoms sound wise in all areas - plus their tone controls were amazing!! And this is only from a distant memory / feeling I have.

And my phantoms aren't on proper stands or placed especially well in the room

But then they were also 89 times the size and scared any visitors with their darth Vader looks, and I couldn't magically send music from my phone to them!

So for the whole package the phantoms are a no brainer for me - but if I was in a big posh house with loads of floor space I think I would definitely consider even those again. Let alone the 24bit versions - let alone the DSP8000 which are my dream speaker

[MountainGuy]

Jamington2004, you have probably been reading about the Golds. Having both Golds and Silvers, I'll say that the Golds soundly outperform the Silvers - you could try that and see if it exceeds your Meridian if that's what you may be interested in.

[Jamington2004]

Nah - won't be swapping my silvers unless I win the lottery.

They are great - I am done

Was just posting my opinion to keep my toe in the hifii water even though I want for nothing anymore

[Johnnydev]

Nah - won't be swapping my silvers unless I win the lottery.

They are great - I am done

Was just posting my opinion to keep my toe in the hifii water even though I want for nothing anymore

Try this:

I have also stable WiFi and played more then one year with wifi and PLC
But after replace the dialog and phantoms to the same powerblock (without filtering) the difference in sound became a lot better.

After that i connected everything with audioquest cat 700 and Cat7 ethernet cables
So, from my modem to router, cat 700 then to a D-link switch with also cat 700 and then from the switch with audioquest Cat7 to the dialog and my 2 phantom silvers.

The result is that i blown away with the very much better sound!
It is a huge difference with a fuller much more detailed and correcter sound, everything on the right place, more resolution and a dynamic "high end" sound. More from everything!

I have listened to the golds, but after these changes my choice was that the silvers stayed in my house
Without these changes my choice would have been for the golds

Sorry for my englisch

[MountainGuy]

What about using the golds with your setup?

Your English is just fine. Though you did spell English unconventionally.

And just checked the Audioquest Cat 700. Holy Toledo - it is expensive!

[bearcatsandor]

@Jamington2004 , i too would be interested in your impression of the golds vs your meridians. The meridians are a benchmark for me, and if the Golds got me close, that would be a no-brainer, even though i'm not interested in streaming and will probably need pro Golds (no latency).

[Jamington2004]

Hi - misunderstanding. I was only comparing to silvers above

And they were so close soundwise as to make all the other aspects a no brainer

Although I did have other speakers im between Merdiians and Phantoms - so no direct comparison

My gut feel says the phantoms were a bit smoother / warmer - but I think the 18bit version was renowned for that compared to the 24 bit - or 8000s

If I could have their sound and EQ capability, 20 times smaller with built in streaming for the same money - I would go back to them.

So in short - never going back unless I get a massive house with dedicated listening room

And even then would need some serious comparison to be sure - maybe be now they would sound soft and mushy in comparison to the Phantoms sharp forward attack which I am used to !!