Article: Devialet Phantom Gold Loudspeaker Review

[firedog]

Good stuff. Thanks for the thorough review. What you hinted at, but didn't actually say, is if you enjoyed listening to the Phantoms? Could you see this as a speaker you could have as your main one long term?:

 

Also,  didn't you and Chris say you have a review of the Kii Three in the offing? That will be a very interesting comparison, if you make it. 

[firedog]

5 hours ago, GrahamJohnMiles said:

I auditioned a pair of these late last year and was all set to purchase based on reviews. I walked out of the listening room after 15 minutes. Too aggressive for me, no subtlety or delicacy. Plus the bass sounded like someone banging a shoe on the wall. Most will no doubt love them, but not musical to my ears and not something I could live with long term after the novelty wore off. 

From what I've read about the various models of Phantom, many people react somewhat like you.

Others think they sound great.

It's a good reminder why we should always try to audition before we buy.

[firedog]

7 hours ago, Kal Rubinson said:

Third was at their NYC shop in SoHo but the acoustics there were, clearly intentionally, the same.  In fact, they had another (or the same) torture chamber that they used at CES.  In addition, they have continually declined to play any files that I brought with me.

 

I had completely written them off following my personal experiences.  Even though I do acknowledge the influence of the acoustics, their lack of concern or apparent lack of awareness of the truly awful sound was truly discouraging. So, Mitchco's report of what he heard and measured in his listening room is intriguing.

 

4 hours ago, mitchco said:

However, both my reference and the Golds measured frequency response fall within the range as indicated by Dr. Toole's (and Sean Olive's) research on subjectively preferred steady-state room curves looking at the chart in the article. The difference in curves are that the Gold's fall in the "untrained listeners" curve and my reference, that has been DSP'd falls in the "trained listeners" curve. I call the untrained listeners curve the "candy" curve, which after too much, one wants to leave, as @GrahamJohnMiles did (novelty).

 

I think these two comments hit the nail on the head. Devialet made this advanced tech marvel, which they talk about as being the best in the world, but basically voiced it for non-discriminating users. I guess they think that if you want to sell a $4-6K pair of speakers to the general public, you have to make it sound like "ear candy", which impresses at first.

Strictly in marketing terms, if you want to sell expensive equipment to people that think good sound comes from mp3's on Beats headphones, then maybe you need to make it with that same type of pumped up sound that many people associate with "good sound". I know that sounds snobby, but I"m merely pointing out that "untrained listeners" will often prefer mp3 and boosted frequency response, because that's what they're used to and think that's how things are "supposed" to sound.

 

In terms of showroom/quick sales, they are probably right. That's also why it is being marketed through Apple Stores and some department stores. Walk in, get impressed by the looks and form factor, hear the "impressive" demonstration. Buy on the spot. Less emphasis apparently given to audiophile dealers for this item.

 

It's a pretty interesting approach,as their power DACs are totally marketed to audiophiles (and well heeled ones, at that) and by all accounts sound great. And they include DSP. I've heard them, and concur with the positive opinion.