More From The Phantom Range
Half the price (and half the size) but still the same incredible sound.
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The same size as the 600W but priced slightly higher. Also available in white.
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Devialet Classic Phantom
The Classic Phantom sits right in the middle of the range in price and power.
Check Price
If $3,000 is too much for you to fork out, you’ll be pleased to know there are several speakers in the Phantom Range.
The range starts with the
Devialet Phantom Reactor 600, which will run you a little over $1,000. The
speaker looks identical to the Gold; however, it’s half the size and doesn’t
feature the gold trim.
You also get the Phantom
Reactor 900W, Classic Phantom, and Silver Phantom.
All the speakers in the Phantom range produce the same incredible sound you’ll find in the Gold.
Differences Between Phantom Gold And Phantom Silver: Higher Price And More Watts
If you believe the figures of the French manufacturer Devialet, more than 200,000 phantom loudspeakers are produced per year. Not all of them carry the title Gold, like our test pattern, because besides the royal version there is also the version Silver and a normal Phantom, completely without attribute and title. The difference? The difference between the standard version and the Gold Phantom is 1190 dollars (1100 Euro) and 3300 Watt!
According to the specification, the Gold Phantom has 4,500 watts, measured as a peak.
According to the manufacturer, the Phantom is “the best wireless loudspeaker in the world”. But behind the promises of the marketing department there are no empty shells, but real technological wonders in sound, manufacturing, and design. This comes, of course, at a price.
Performance
Devialet Gold Phantom delivers a very good performance but there are some minor issues we would like to talk about.
First of all (this one is pretty obvious), even though it’s considered wireless, this is not an outdoor speaker. Gold Phantom is way too delicate and it wasn’t designed for outdoor use.
Installation of one Gold Phantom speaker is quite simple, but it’s not just plug-and-play. Establishing a Bluetooth connection is the easiest thing to do. Bluetooth streaming works fine within the standard 30ft range. Bluetooth module features support for aptX codec. This means that you can watch YouTube videos (or any other video content) and stream audio to the speaker without a noticeable sound delay.
Plug & Play start with 1 PHANTOM using Bluetooth
https://youtube.com/watch?v=It14efwSUCU
As you probably know, the audio quality is way better if you stream the audio via wi-fi. Connecting one speaker to your home wi-fi network is simple and fast. You just need to follow the instructions given by the Stark app.
How to set up 1 PHANTOM in Wi-Fi
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9mwl9aGCKHc
The most amazing thing is that woofers’ breathing movement when the speaker is ready to play. It looks like the speaker is coming to life.
If you decide to buy the remote, you would have to pair it with the speaker. Pairing is also simple and easy. You just need to turn them on and tap the speaker with the remote.
How to pair REMOTE with PHANTOM
https://youtube.com/watch?v=raoAyMAKYkM
If you want to connect 2 or more Devialet Phantom speakers together, you have to buy the Dialog. Pairing two or multiple (up to 24) Phantoms with Dialog can be tricky and it requires a bit more effort on your end, but once you register all the speakers, you don’t have to repeat the process again. If you are pairing two speakers together, the app allows you to select stereo mode or mix mode. The setup procedure is quite intuitive and most of the time, you just have to tap/click on the next/continue tab.
How to set up one or several PHANTOM with DIALOG
https://youtube.com/watch?v=BzbTc_V9s2M
The Stark app is very user-friendly but has its flaws. It’s not completely reliable and it can crash occasionally. We haven’t experienced any issues with the latest update. The Devialet support is pretty good and updates are quite frequent. Devialet is really trying to make the speaker better.
The app features three sections – left, central, and right.
The left section is used for adding audio sources and navigating between different sources. The Spark app allows you to integrate some of the most popular streaming apps (Tidal, Deezer) with it and stream the music directly from the app.
The left section of the Spark app
The central section is used for organizing the playlists (add/delete songs, change the order of the songs, etc.).
The central section of the Spark app
The right section is used for controlling/activating Phantom speakers in different rooms and changing the speaker arrangement. You can also use it to activate the night mode and control the volume.
The right section of the Spark app
Another thing we’ve noticed is that speaker is not supposed to be turned off. It’s always on and after a certain period of inactivity, it will go to standby. In a way, that’s convenient since you don’t have to wait for the speaker to boot up. The problem is that the speaker never gets time to rest and cool off. You are going to notice that Gold Phantom gets really hot, especially the rear end of the speaker, but according to Devialet, that’s perfectly normal. The same thing applies to Devialet’s Dialog.
If you want to connect one Gold Phantom to your TV or any other audio source, you can also use the digital optical input located on the rear panel. If you want to connect two speakers to your TV, you can connect your TV to the Dialog (there’s a digital optical input on the rear panel of Dialog) and it will stream the audio to the left and right speaker. If you have an Apple TV (4th Gen or higher) you can wirelessly link two Gold Phantoms with the TV via Airplay. You can even connect 5 Gold Phantoms into a 5.5 home theater system. The setup can be tricky but Devialet’s engineers will guide you through the process.
The Competition
It’s really hard to compare Devialet Gold Phantom to some other speaker or speaker system since Gold Phantom doesn’t have only one purpose. This a wi-fi/Bluetooth speaker that can be used for critical listening, it can be a part of your multiroom system or a part of your home theater system. It can also be a party speaker. The number of available alternatives depends on your needs.
We have made a list of three luxurious options that could be a nice alternative to Gold Phantom if you are looking for a flashy design and powerful sound.
Devialet Silver Phantom
Silver Phantom is the predecessor of the Gold Phantom. They have the same size, shape, weight, and design with just a few cosmetic changes (silver-plated panels instead of gold-plated). Silver Phantom is more affordable but still quite expensive ($2,400 compared to $3,000).
Both speakers offer the same amount of versatility when it comes to connection. They both feature Bluetooth, wi-fi, Ethernet connection, and Toslink digital audio inputs. Most of the installed hardware components are the same.
Some components are upgraded on Gold Phantom (more powerful ADH amps) and that resulted in much greater peak power output (4,500W compared to 3,000W) and greater loudness (108dB compared to 105dB).
When it comes to sound quality, Gold Phantom is a winner. It delivers slightly cleaner and crispier sound with punchier bass and the difference in loudness is really noticeable. They both deliver pretty amazing sound with no distortion. If you have a medium or a small room, buying Gold Phantom is maybe too much, but one or two Silver Phantoms or even much weaker White Phantoms ($1,700) would be a great alternative.
Bang & Olufsen Beosound 2
B&O Beosound 2 is a cheaper ($2,250 compared to $3,000) but also unique and luxurious alternative. It doesn’t look as unusual as Gold Phantom but it’s still eye-catching.
B&O Beosound 2 supports Bluetooth and wi-fi connection. It has an Ethernet port and it has to be plugged in all the time, just like Gold Phantom. Beosound 2 features analog 3.5mm connection while Gold Phantom features optical digital input (no analog connections).
Both speakers come with apps that you can use to control the playback and set up the speakers. There’s the Bang & Olufsen app for Beosound 2 and Spark app for Gold Phantom.
Beosound 2 has a nice-looking and very responsive touch-sensitive control panel on top, while there are no control buttons on the Gold Phantom and you have to use the Spark app to control everything.
Beosound 2 supports both Chromecast and Airplay while Gold Phantom supports only Airplay.
Beosound 2 is designed as a multiroom speaker while Gold Phantom can be so much more than just a multiroom speaker.
Beosound 2 is a great-sounding wireless speaker. It delivers great clarity, punchy bass, and detailed highs, but Devialet Gold Phantom delivers much stronger and punchier sound, clearer bass, and more detailed mids. It’s also much louder than Beosound 2. On the other hand, Beosound 2 delivers 360-sound while Devialet Gold Phantom delivers more unidirectional sound.
Swan Speaker – MS-2
Swan speaker MS-2 is another very luxurious alternative made by the Chinese manufacturer called HiVi Acoustics. This one is even more expensive than Gold Phantom ($4,600 compared to $3,000) and it looks much more unusual. We don’t really know how to describe it. It’s like some kind of chair or chaise with speakers. It’s really unique.
Swan speaker – MS-2 is much larger and heavier than the Gold Phantom (99.2lb compared to 25.13 pounds). It is almost entirely made of aluminum and looks very durable (more durable and sturdier than Gold Phantom). It features 2 0.8-inch tweeters, 2 5-inch midrange woofers, and one 10-inch subwoofer.
This speaker also supports wi-fi and Bluetooth and it has a standard 3.5mm AUX input, HDMI input, and digital optical input. It’s not battery-operated and it has to be plugged in all the time.
The speaker comes with the HiVi app that you can use to connect the speaker to your wi-fi and control the playback.
MS-2 delivers full and rich sound and it’s incredibly loud, just like Gold Phantom. MS-2 is very good when it comes to distortion (barely noticeable at full volume), but it’s not as good as Gold Phantom. MS- delivers slightly wider soundstage than Gold Phantom, but if you want better results, you will need two Swan MS-2 speakers.
The Design
When I first saw the
Devialet Gold Phantom, I thought, “that’s a funky food processor.”
The Gold Phantom is unlike any Bluetooth speaker you have ever seen before.
It’s somewhat egg-shaped design brings back memories of the 1985 thriller, Cocoon. The Gold Phantom might be an egg for some alien lifeform. We’re getting sidetracked…
The speaker’s enclosure
comprises of all metal with 22-carat rose gold-plated sides. Gold is
undoubtedly not something you’ll find on many Bluetooth speakers. With
all the metal, the Gold Phantom weighs in at a hefty 25 lbs.
The Gold Phantom is a 3-way
speaker system with two bass drivers, a mid-range driver, and a tweeter. The
design is entirely unique, unlike any speaker you have come across.
The woofers are mounted on
either side of the enclosure, pulsing and vibrating with the sound. It can be
mesmerizing to watch the woofers move to your favorite beats. The mid-range
driver and tweeter are mounted in the front of the speaker behind a strange
floral looking speaker grille.
With this strange design,
you would expect the Gold Phantom to deliver a focused dispersion, but it’s
not. The dispersion is actually pretty broad and, if you have two Gold Phantom
speakers paired together, you’ll be able to cover a wide area.
More on how the Gold
Phantom sounds later in this review.
The Competition
There are plenty of alternatives available to the Gold Phantom, and the biggest challenge comes from the British brand Naim. Their Naim Mu-So 2nd Generation is a high-water mark for wireless speakers. While it may not be quite as eye-catching as the singular Phantom, it delivers sound that is almost as good, and at a significantly friendlier price. We’re talking $1,599, compared to the $3,000 for the Devialet. The lower price tag shouldn’t imply that the sound is worse — it’s just different, with less emphasis on bass. If you want to go even cheaper, you can buy a smaller version, the Mu-So QB, for $799.
One criticism we had of the Phantom’s audio quality was the soundstage, and you can deal with that by buying a pair of KEF LS50 Wireless. This set of stereo wireless speakers look like traditional bookshelf speakers, and manage to deliver sound quality that is both detailed, and powerful. The bass isn’t going to match a pair of Phantoms, But you’ll be more than satisfied. A pair are cheaper than a single Gold Phantom, too, at $2,200 to the Phantom’s $2,990. As with the Phantom Reactor (more on this below) KEF have released a wallet friendly version of the LS50: the LSX, a pair of fabric-covered $1,100 stereo speakers. In our review of this model, we said, “The KEF LSX sound good. Really freaking good. You’d expect this pair of wireless, stereo bookshelf speakers to for their stated retail price of $1,100, sure. But even if you’re the kind of person who revels in five-figure amplifiers and dedicated listening rooms, you’d have to admit that for their size and price, the LSX sound extraordinary.”
We recently got a chance to test out the Totem KIN Play, a pair of wireless stereo speakers that are just stupendous. Totem are a Canadian company, based in Montréal, and the KIN Play represented new direction for them. The bass certainly isn’t as deep as that of the Devialet Speaker, but the KIN Play deliver superb stereo image and ridiculous detail, as well as some serious volume. They are surprisingly affordable, too, at $1,250 for the pair.
We’ve already mentioned the Devialet Phantom Reactor, but it’s worth revisiting it. On the one hand, it’s a less powerful version of the mothership, something that can only dream of getting that deep into the bass. On the other, it’s an entirely sensible choice. One of the biggest reasons for not buying the Gold Phantom is that the amount of money you’ll pay for it is quite frankly absurd, even now. As much as we love it, we fully admit that. So the Phantom Reactor makes total sense to us. It’s only budget in the sense that it’s cheaper than the original, but it’s still an absolutely fantastic alternative, and worth considering if you want a speaker from Devialet but don’t want to remortgage your house.
And really, that’s what it comes down to. The sound. If audio quality was the only thing we evaluated, then the Gold Phantom – and probably, if we’re being honest, the entire Phantom line – beats every single other wireless speaker on the planet. We can’t quite go that far – the pricing, for one thing, means that this is definitely not the first option for most people. But it will always hold a very special place in our hearts, and we can absolutely confirm that it was worth travelling to New York City for.
Specs
| Devialet Gold Phantom Specifications | |
|---|---|
| DIMENSIONS | |
| Width | 10in |
| Height | 10in |
| Depth | 13.5in |
| Weight | 11.4kg/25.13lb |
| DRIVERS | |
| Woofers | X2 Aluminum woofers |
| Midrange woofers | x1 Aluminum midrange woofer |
| Tweeters | x1 Titanium tweeter |
| ENCLOSURE TYPE | Sealed |
| PROCESSOR | ARM Cortex A9 Dual-core 800MHz |
| MEMORY | 512 MB DDR3 |
| CONNECTIONS | Bluetooth, Wi-fi, Ethernet, Airplay, UPnP, optical input, Spotify connect |
| BLUETOOTH DETAILS | |
| Bluetooth version | N/A |
| Supported Bluetooth profiles | A2DP, AVRCP, AAC, SBC, aptX |
| OTHER TECHNICAL DETAILS | |
| Frequency response | 14Hz-27kHz (at -6dB) |
| Peak output power | 4500W |
| MAX SPL | 108dB (at 1m) |
| THD | Less than 0.0005% |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | Built-in Devialet DAC (Magic Wire) Spark app (Windows, iOS, Android) |
Своповые операции
Второй вид операций, доступный в кошельке Phantom – это своповая торговля внутри экосистемы Solana. Возможность обмена токена SOL ограничена небольшим списком валют. Для полноценной торговли существует внутрисистемный стейблкоин – USDC.
Для примера рассмотрим обмен SOL на токен проекта Serum – SRM. В верхней строке выбирается валюта, которая будет продаваться и сумма. В нижней выбирается монета, которую нужно купить. Ее сумма рассчитывается автоматически. Так же отображается размер комиссии за сделку. В данном случае плата за транзакцию высокая, потому что это первая операция и основная часть – это пени за открытие кошелька SRM. Такой принцип работает для всех монет. При первой транзакции берется плата за формирование, а последующие разы комиссия будет составлять сотые доли цента.
Нажав «Показать ордер» и затем выбрав «Своп», происходит операция обмена одной монеты на другую.
User Experience
Streaming services include Deezer, Qobuz, Tidal, a comprehensive list of radio stations (organized by country and music genres) and, as always, Spotify Connect. To take advantage of the latter, you must exit the application, go to the appropriate application, then select the name of the multiroom group created in “Available devices”).
You also have access to files stored locally on the device, sorted by playlists, albums or artists, and downloaded podcasts.
The panel of streaming platforms is set to expand over time, with Dialog promising to be UPnP compatible over time to access music stored on a NAS, “and much more“. In the update of 2020, this is already achieved and this is now possible.
Now Playing indicates the playlist of the tracks listened to / to come, a list that is created by selecting any file (music, podcast), scanning to the left and choosing “Add to playlist”.
The speaker groups to which these playlists are assigned are visible in the Rooms tab. Spark has the ability to read files on the Cloud, a feature that Apple has blocked to date (above left: plain text podcasts downloaded; grayed out tracks on the Cloud, not yet readable).
For the purposes of this test, we have paired two Gold Phantom – but please note, dear Rockefellers, that Dialog can manage up to 24 speakers simultaneously and thus create as many multi-monophonic, stereophonic or multi-channel groups as possible.
Let’s look for a moment at the latter term, used by Devialet: since the system is currently unable to read a multi-channel stream, it is, in fact, possible to create what could be called “multi stereo”, i. e. assign several speakers to the left channel and/or the right channel. Read more about this here in our related article.
The creation of groups is just as fluid as the configuration of the speakers themselves: the speaker concerned emits a crystalline sound when you grab the corresponding icon on the application, which you then simply drag to the chosen position (above, left stereo, right stereo or mono) to assign it the appropriate channel. Unfortunately, these groups cannot be modified “live“: if you want to switch from a pair of stereo speakers to a double mono (to sound two different rooms, for example), you will have to reset the speakers, then configure them again. Future updates promise to solve this problem as well as the problem of not supporting multi-channel, which is something to follow.
Finally, the Options tab gives access to information about the application and the user’s account, but also to the settings. Here you can enable/disable each source, select the quality of the streamed files (for example, for Qobuz: Hi-Res, Flac or MP3) and configure each device (speaker name, optical input and/or Bluetooth activation, UPnP compatibility beta test for Dialog, source selection, connection indication).
CONCLUSION
The new Phantom 1 Golds from Devialet offer a vivid yet accurate sound quite unlike any other. Fast, insightful and very powerful they impress. Add in absence of cables or hi-fi hardware and they amaze by achieving so much from apparently so little. Quite a system then, aimed at those who want to banish cable clutter. But not cheap.
MEASURED PERFORMANCE
Frequency response of the Phantom 1 Gold 108dB measured substantially flat from 30Hz to 16kHz, our third octave analysis of pink noise shows. This is from a measuring-microphone position slightly off-axis and represents the speakers pointing straight down a room; it gives the flattest response.
Measured on-axis, representing the speakers firing directly at listeners, treble lifts slightly by +2dB and the loss above 16kHz disappears, so a brighter sound balance will be apparent when used with this alignment.
Where passive loudspeakers cut off below 40Hz unless they have very large cabinets, the Phantoms have been electronically equalised to run an octave lower, down to 20Hz. This results in very large cone excursions when playing music that has a lot of energy around 30Hz, typically generated by synths and close-miked or electronic drums; volume has to be kept down or a bass-cut filter used under these circumstances. Devialet say a bass filter is coming in a future update of their DOS2 operating system that runs on a ARM Cortex processor. Software players with adjustable bass EQ are otherwise a good choice they say.
The Phantom 1 Gold 108dBs are engineered to produce an accurate sound balance, measurement shows. They also have unusually deep bass.
DEVIALET PHANTOM 1 108 DB GOLD STEREO PAIR
OUTSTANDING – amongst the best.
Spark приложение и EVOlutivity
Призрак основан на двух других основах Devialet. Приложение Spark, настоящая контрольная вышка аудиосистем производителя, используется для управления и отправки музыки на модули Phantom. Именно через это приложение Spark мы получаем доступ к его источникам DLNA, ПК, смартфону, планшету, потоковому сервису … Приложение совместимо с OS X, Android, Windows, iOS.
Система Phantom также масштабируема и интегрируется в то, что производитель называет платформой EVO: сервис обновлений.
Для синхронизации разных фантомных динамиков между ними или для открытия сети для «гостей» необходим аксессуар: Диалог. Небольшая коробка, которая создает сеть Wi-Fi в сочетании с сетью CPL для консолидации передачи и обеспечения целостности и синхронизации музыкальных данных. Аксессуар продан за 299 евро и практически необходим для концепции Phantom … Можно ассоциировать до 24 Phantom.
Features
- Features a wealth of interesting tech
- Various connection options
- Intuitive app and remote
It wouldn’t be a Devialet product if there weren’t any fancy-sounding acronyms – and lo and behold, the Phantom 1 lives up to expectations with ADH, SAM, and HBI.
ADH stands for Analog Digital Hybrid. The analogue amplifier reproduces an unspoilt signal and passes it off to the digital amplifier. In the words of Devialet, this process combines the precision of analog and the power and compactness of digital amplification. SAM isn’t a person, but Speaker Active Matching, an algorithm that recognises the speaker’s specs and tailors the sound for an optimal performance.
Heart Bass Implosion sounds like a dance album from the early 2000s, and is all about reproducing low frequencies with depth and power – and, in the form of the Phantom 1, that gives birth to some truly prodigious bass extension. Non-acronym features arrive with a more power-efficient system chip, improved energy consumption and reduced distortion through the speaker’s signal path.
The 108dB version of the Phantom 1 has at its disposal 1100 watts RMS of power, which is a way of saying this speaker can make a racket. Source connectivity stacks up to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, UPnP, Roon Ready support, and an optical cable (for plugging the speaker into a TV or other device).
You can manage those sources through the Devialet app, which is stable, swift in terms of speed, and intuitive. Within the app, and if you have more than one speaker to hand, there’s the promise of linking them up through multi-room or bringing two together to form a stereo pair – a process that’s easy to achieve. There’s access to music streaming services (Spotify, Qobuz, Deezer, Tidal), as well as playback functions with track skipping and volume control. If you have a pair, the volume can be controlled independently of each speaker.
A more physical means of control is with the Phantom Remote, a puck-sized controller with buttons for playback, a twist of the rotary dial moves volume up and down. The set-up is a charming process with in-app references to a “new life” being born and the speaker – which pulses during set-up (those side-woofers at it again) – calmed by a touch as if it’s a new-born baby. The Phantoms are plenty eccentric, and winningly so.
Sound quality
- Lots of power, lots of attack
- Condensed soundstage
- Can strike an impressively natural tone
For a speaker of its size and shape, there’s no shortage of energy about the way the Devialet delivers its sound. Bass beats are seriously impressive in how they’re communicated: the size, weight and depth bring plenty of scale to bass-heavy tracks.
And in terms of volume, this is a speaker to be turned up and turned up loud. It isn’t fussed about making a din (although maybe your neighbours will), and dynamically there are few shortcomings in describing hushed moments and thundering notes, or the difference between low frequencies and high. There’s an elasticity to the speaker’s range that convinces.
Also met with confidence are the high notes that sparkle with clarity and detail through the Grade I Titanium tweeter, and it proves good with male and female voices, treating them with a naturalism that makes them sound lifelike. In fact, when listening to the Guardian Football Weekly podcast, a member of the team walking past thought there were more people in the room with me. Mesh that with a sprightly sense of attack and a character that’s happy to play a range of music genres – from pop, R&B, soul music, classical to rock – and you’d expect the Phantom 1 to be a dab hand at everything at which it tries its hand.
But the shortcomings of the previous Phantom models don’t go away, and unless Devialet comes with up some neat technology, will always be ingrained into their DNA. The width of the soundstage it describes is small, not particularly escaping the confines of its ovoid shape – and this is evident in busy tracks, where the soundstage becomes congested, and detail goes awry. The Prodigy’s Stand Up sounds messy and disorganised with a lack of clarity and shape to its presentation, despite the impressively big and meaty bass frequencies.
With Billy Joel’s It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me, there’s an attempt at describing the depth of the track, but his voice and other instruments come across as if they’re sitting on each other at times. Stereo pair the Phantom 1 and you get a flat soundstage; Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man doesn’t feel as if it reaches into the room but instead is kept at a remove, and that makes for a less engaging listen.
Loudspeaker 4500 Watts | 108 dB | 14Hz – 27kHz /piece
DISCONTINUED
AVAILABILITY:
N/A
Gold Phantom
Absolute fidelity, gold & titanium, quintessential Phantom
4500 Watts | 108 dB | 14Hz – 27kHz
Gold Phantom, the ultimate connected speaker. Hear every detail brought to life with unthinkable clarity and precision by a Grade I Titanium tweeter. Surrender to indecent power and ultra-deep bass. Sound in its purest and most essential form, finished in fine 18-carat gold. No apologies
0 distortion – 0 saturation – 0 background noise
Unreasonable to the core.
Experience the full immensity of tracks you’ve already heard a thousand times over. From sub-bass to ultra-sharp treble, explore your music’s full potential. With zero distortion, zero saturation, zero background noise. All the way up to 4500 Watts and 108 Decibels. Radical emotion.
The Phantom Revolution
Phantom is the absolute expression of the vision we’re constantly working towards: making the best sound in the world as universal as possible. By combining radical new patented inventions, Phantom consistently shatters expectations. At every step of the sound reproduction chain. With performances 10 to 1000 times superior to anything previously measured, sound will never be the same. Game changed.
ADH Analog Digital Hybrid
A Devialet patented technology, ADH or Analog Digital Hybrid delivers all the sophistication of analog amplification together with all the power and compactness of digital amplification. The best of both worlds. For amplification of unparalleled clarity and transparency. At every turn. Revolutionary, in a word.
HBI Heart Bass Implosion
HBI is a one-of-a-kind system. Developed exclusively for Phantom, it takes you to the lowest frequencies ever emitted. Engineered to perform under extreme compactness and pressure, Phantom’s hermetically sealed architecture consists of two lateral woofers powering together. The sheer thrust force behind their combined movement generates ultra-dense sound with physical impact. Right down to infrasound. 14Hz. Welcome to the deep end.
SAM Speaker Active Matching
We invented SAM mathematical model to ensure extreme fidelity. All throughout playback. Whether you’re dealing with transients or steady-state signal, the degree of information processed by SAM is radically superior to anything previously deemed possible. This enables Phantom to reproduce the exact rhythm and tempo of your music. All of it. With absolute precision. So that you can experience every last emotion. Just as the artist intended.
ACE Active Cospherical Engine
Our ACE technology is inherent to Phantom’s revolutionary architecture. Driven by the acoustic principle of Olson’s pulsating sphere, Phantom radically optimizes the way sound waves form and travel. Evenly, and in all directions. For perfectly balanced sound and zero surface diffraction. Whatever the listening angle.
EVO Platform
Our EVO Platform provides you with latest upgrades. Receive performance and compatibility updates direct to your Phantom. Wirelessly and hassle-free. Simply connect to the Devialet Spark app and let EVO cybernetics do the rest. RIP, planned obsolescence.
Features
— Synchronisation: Phantom synchronisation via Wi-Fi, Ethernet or PLC.
— Connectivity: Airplay,PnP Renderer, Bluetooth : A2D and AVRCP profiles, aptX, AAC, SBC audio codecs, Spotify Connect, Toslink optical input (TV, CD player, Blu-Ray, video games console…)
— Network: Wi-Fi Dual-band (a/b/g/n 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz): Ethernet RJ-45 10/100/1000 Mbps (Gigabit), CPL Homeplug AV2
— App: Spark (Windows 7+, Mac OSX 10.12+, iOS 10+, Android 5+), Phantom Remote (iOS)
Performance
— Maximum sound level: 108 dB SPL at 1 meter
— Amplification Power: 4500 W peak
— Amplification performance: THD+N* : 0.0005% | Saturation : 0 | Background Noise 0 dB SPL at 50 cm (-15.5 dB SPL at 3m)
— Frequency response (bandwidth): Bandwidth : 14Hz to 27kHz (@-6dB)
— Accuracy in frequency response : ± 2dB from 20Hz to 20kHz
Specifications
— Loudspeakers: Grade 1 Titanium Tweeter driver, Aluminum Medium driver, Aluminum Bass drivers
— Digital to Analog Converter: Devialet DAC embedded in ADH2 intelligence, 24bits/192kHz, THD: -112dB:
— Processor: ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore 800MHz dual-core processor | hard IP | FPGA in a unique System-On-Chip (SoC) Cyclone V 512MB DDR3 memory
— Side plating: Body: white RAL 9016, 22-carat rose gold-plated sides, White RAL 9016 dome drivers
— Dimension: Width : 252 mm x Height : 255 mm x Depth : 342 mm
— Weight: 11,4 kg
Sound Quality
This is the point where Devialet Gold Phantom truly amazed us. This speaker is not all about the flashy looks and versatile connectivity. In fact, all these things are only secondary. Prodigious sound and immersive listening experience are Devialet’s primary goals. Gold Phantom is, without a doubt, one of the best-sounding wireless speakers we have ever reviewed. It surpasses any other speaker of its size in terms of sound clarity and fidelity, dynamic range, bass response, and loudness. It’s better than most of the speakers under $3,000. The only downside is that you need two to get that immersive listening experience. The speaker doesn’t really deliver omnidirectional sound. It’s very unidirectional actually, and because of that, one speaker doesn’t really deliver wide soundstage. It gets so much better with two speakers in stereo mode.
Even though it has two relatively small 6.5” woofers, Gold Phantom delivers mind-blowing bass. It’s powerful and full-bodied, but still accurate and controlled. It doesn’t overshadow low midrange frequencies. Devialet used Heart Bass Implosion technology (HBI) that enabled this speaker to go lower than any wireless speaker of this size. Looking at those high-excursion woofers while some bass-heavy song is being played brings your listening experience to a completely new level. It’s absolutely mesmerizing.
Coaxially arranged midrange woofer and tweeter are responsible for mids and treble reproduction. They work in perfect unison. The crossover frequencies are perfectly calculated and everything sounds smooth and very natural. The vocals are clear and lifelike. The mids are dynamic and detailed. Treble reproduction is extended, it’s never lifeless or bright. It could hardly be any crispier.
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At low volumes, Gold Phantom may sound a bit unimpressive, but once you set it free (crank the volume up to 50%), it shows its full potential. It can get extremely loud, much louder than you would assume. One speaker is more than enough to fill a large room with sound. The best thing is that the sound never gets distorted. Even at full volume, the sound remains perfectly clear, without any noticeable distortion. That kind of distortion-fee performance is achieved by the use of high-quality DSP chips that limit the signal strength and prevent the drivers from distorting the audio. It’s something you can’t expect from an analog speaker.
So, to conclude we were perfectly happy with the audio performance. There is literally nothing we would like to be different. The only problem is unidirectional sound and narrow soundstage, but you can solve this issue ‘’easily’’ if you buy two and play them in stereo mode.
Design
- Compact, ovoid shape
- Side-firing woofers
- White or black finish
The Devialet Phantom 1 looks like no wireless speaker you have come across, the kind Tom Cruise would be listening to in the future landscape of his 2013 film Oblivion. Viewed from head on, the speaker takes on the shape and appearance of the moon; from the side it looks like the sort of helmet the now defunct (or should that be de-funked?) Daft Punk would wear.
It’s a design that throws up a few questions, like how does it produce sound? Where is the speaker’s front? And is that actual gold plating?
The front of the speaker is the face with the tweeter-covered grille, the design of which takes inspiration from French 18th-century gardens and Chladni patterns (look them up). Side-firing woofers add to the visual spectacle of the Phantom 1 once it starts digging into those low frequencies, while around the back is a heatsink and a power cable. Rather inelegantly, hidden behind the cable are the Ethernet and digital optical connections.
With a matte finish that can attract a bit of dirt, you wouldn’t want to get the 22-carat gold side panels messy – and at 11.4kg for each speaker, they have a deceptively low centre of mass. The weight raises the thought of purchasing stands, of which there are three to choose from: Tree (the most conventional of the lot), Treepod (a compact stand) and Gecko (a wall-mount). There’s also a travel bag called the Cocoon that looks somewhere between a tea cosy and bowling ball bag.