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opinons on EP130 with B&W CM8's
#1
Hi,

First time here so sorry if in the wrong place!!

I have just purchased two silver phantoms with the bridge and am blown away by the performance.

As these are for my holiday home I now feel the need to upgrade things at my main home as I'm not getting close to the phantom sound especially with the volume up.

At my main home I have a B&W set up with CM8's, Sub and CM1 for TV surround.

If I add the Devialet Expert Pro 130 or 220, can I expect as good sound as from the B&W's as the Phantoms?

Daz
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#2
That's a difficult question to answer conclusively. I think the CM8's with say a 220 would be better than the Phantoms in some respects, but fall short in other areas. I have listened to a well set up pair of silver Phantoms and with some material the bass performance does a fair job of imitating my KEF Blade's with D800 or 1000Pro power. Ultimately the KEF's are better, but the Phantoms get an awful lot closer than they should considering the price differential. That said, I suspect that the CM8's with 130 or 220 would provide mid range detail and insight that betters the Phantoms, on the flip side the Phantoms will probably sound a little more coherent. So the ultimate answer might depend on why you like the sound of the Phantoms so much. To be frank, you would need better speakers and the 220 to beat the Phantoms in most areas, and probably a 440 with some significantly more expensive speakers if you want to 'out bass' the Phantoms as well as bettering mid-range performace etc. It is a matter of taste of course, I know some people dislike the Phantoms considering the bass to be too dominant, cries of 'boom boxes' etc.

As a warning, those little Phantoms may have whetted your appetite for something that may ultimately prove to be very costly!
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
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#3
Why not another pair off phantoms?
Roon, Rega P9 + Dynavector XX2Mk2 > 440 Pro > Sonus Faber Guarneri Evolution
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#4
Both CM8 and CM8 S2 are SAMed, so most likely you will get much better results in bass area, then now (you did not revel your current amplifier). But to reach level of Phantoms you will need much better speakers. Find a dealer and lend Devialet for home listening.
Fanless HdPlex (HQPlayer) -> Merging Hapi -> Genelec 8351B
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#5
Yamaha RX-v676 is my current Amp, my understanding this is mid region?

Another 2 new phantoms is circa the same cost as the Expert PRO, thats an option!

I thought, if adding a expert Pro enhances the performance to a richer level, I could keep the investment in the B&W's alive.

As I'm sure you would agree, last thing I want is to upgrade, get home, still not achieve that Phantom audio integrity.
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#6
Why not move your old system to the holiday home, and keep the phantoms at home?
Roon, Rega P9 + Dynavector XX2Mk2 > 440 Pro > Sonus Faber Guarneri Evolution
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#7
I auditioned the CM8 with a Rotel amp and found them horrbly bright. I can only assume it was the Rotel amp that was the culprit so then a 220 will be a significant upgrade. I don't think it's a Phantom beater though.
                                                    Lifetime Roon, Mac mini, int. SSD, ext. HDD, tv as monitor, key board and track pad on bean bag as remote,Devialet 200, Od'A #097, Blue jeans speaker cable,                                     
                                                                                                                                                                            Dynaudio C1 MkII.
                                                                                                                                                                              Jim Smith's GBS.
                                                                                                                                                                        Northern NSW Australia.
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#8
I think you need to change speaker to get such a rich sound as the Phantoms give you. The CMs simply mask the music too much and hereby losing the nice details we often like to hear.
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#9
You should try a pair of gold phantoms at you main home. You'll get better sound than with the silvers, and have a 45 days trial period. At the end of which you might sell the BWs...
Qobuz/Sonos/D200/GT1 SE (offered to my father, who enjoys it every day)
2 Phantom Reactor 600 and Spotify Premium
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