Devialet Phantom - Has anyone heard them yet?
Discussion
There seems to be a lot of noise starting to be made about the arrival of the new Devialet Phantoms, if you don't know what they are, think a Sonos play 5 after some serious steroid abuse!
I've got a lot of Sonos units dotted around the house and find them fantastic. They make a decent noise (though nothing like a proper Hi-Fi of course) and the usability is superb. They've changed how I listen to music completely. I stream everything now and have music going wherever I am. It's great.
However, I've been getting a bit frustrated about the sound quality. I've a mildly decent system in the living room that is constantly in use for kids TV or nursery rhymes rather than anything I want to listen to! So, whilst having a lovely and daftly expensive sound system available to me, I spend my whole time listening on a couple of hundred quid's worth of all in one speaker.
I wasn't sure what to do about this until a friend called and started raving about the Devialet Phantoms he'd heard at a dealer. He knows what he's talking about in terms of Hi-Fi and was comparing them to some seriously good and massively expensive systems. Which is a bit of a shock considering that I'd just put them down as an over-priced Sonos alternative.
I am intrigued by these things now and by doing a bit of Man Maths, I can actually see how i could replace my whole system with them and make a "profit."
So I went along to a dealers to have a listen at the weekend.
Errr. Blimey is all I can say.
These small, quite "Appley" shaped boxes produce a noise like a proper sound system and a seriously good one at that. On their own it was good (I tried out the 3000w silver phantoms) but when hooked up as a stereo pair, it actually (and this is no exaggeration here) made my jaw drop. I actually accused the dealer of having a cheeky sub placed under the sofa in the listening room!
So, I could get rid of speakers, processor, power amps, cabling and all sources for a couple of very attractive and relatively tiny boxes and not suffer any loss in sound quality.
Either we're witnessing the start of a major change in Hi-Fi or my ears have suddenly changed and i'm happy with any old guff.
Has anyone else had a listen to these yet? If so, am I mad to be even considering binning an entire system for just a few all in one boxes? Or are they really that good?
I've got a lot of Sonos units dotted around the house and find them fantastic. They make a decent noise (though nothing like a proper Hi-Fi of course) and the usability is superb. They've changed how I listen to music completely. I stream everything now and have music going wherever I am. It's great.
However, I've been getting a bit frustrated about the sound quality. I've a mildly decent system in the living room that is constantly in use for kids TV or nursery rhymes rather than anything I want to listen to! So, whilst having a lovely and daftly expensive sound system available to me, I spend my whole time listening on a couple of hundred quid's worth of all in one speaker.
I wasn't sure what to do about this until a friend called and started raving about the Devialet Phantoms he'd heard at a dealer. He knows what he's talking about in terms of Hi-Fi and was comparing them to some seriously good and massively expensive systems. Which is a bit of a shock considering that I'd just put them down as an over-priced Sonos alternative.
I am intrigued by these things now and by doing a bit of Man Maths, I can actually see how i could replace my whole system with them and make a "profit."
So I went along to a dealers to have a listen at the weekend.
Errr. Blimey is all I can say.
These small, quite "Appley" shaped boxes produce a noise like a proper sound system and a seriously good one at that. On their own it was good (I tried out the 3000w silver phantoms) but when hooked up as a stereo pair, it actually (and this is no exaggeration here) made my jaw drop. I actually accused the dealer of having a cheeky sub placed under the sofa in the listening room!
So, I could get rid of speakers, processor, power amps, cabling and all sources for a couple of very attractive and relatively tiny boxes and not suffer any loss in sound quality.
Either we're witnessing the start of a major change in Hi-Fi or my ears have suddenly changed and i'm happy with any old guff.
Has anyone else had a listen to these yet? If so, am I mad to be even considering binning an entire system for just a few all in one boxes? Or are they really that good?
Yes I've got one the 3000w unit, its not great compatibility wise but sounds good, certainly not worth the money though, 3.5k for 2 units and you will need to but the accessory at another £250 if you want spotify etc, sounded and looked superb in the shop but now its been delivered and set up at home not so sure, set up was not straight forward and I still don't think i've got its all sussed in terms of the app and adding music its certainly not as simple as sonos at the money there are certainly better options…..
Yes I've got one the 3000w unit, its not great compatibility wise but sounds good, certainly not worth the money though, 3.5k for 2 units and you will need to but the accessory at another £250 if you want spotify etc, sounded and looked superb in the shop but now its been delivered and set up at home not so sure, set up was not straight forward and I still don't think i've got its all sussed in terms of the app and adding music its certainly not as simple as sonos at the money there are certainly better options…..
Sitting in the window of the local hifi store. Did not listen yet, but remember testing speakers on the Devialet amp a while back which was quite impressive - however no match for a similarly priced "normal" amp. Just had a look online, and the Phantom certainly looks like the all-in-one solution that offers the best sound in the market (based on specs).
I'd say go and have a listen ... but generally speaking I find that on the same budget, a well sorted stereo kit will outperform the all-in-one solutions everytime. 3500 euro can buy you a NAS, tablet, DAC, amp and speakers that your ears will love.
I'd say go and have a listen ... but generally speaking I find that on the same budget, a well sorted stereo kit will outperform the all-in-one solutions everytime. 3500 euro can buy you a NAS, tablet, DAC, amp and speakers that your ears will love.
dazzalse said:
Yes I've got one the 3000w unit, its not great compatibility wise but sounds good, certainly not worth the money though, 3.5k for 2 units and you will need to but the accessory at another £250 if you want spotify etc, sounded and looked superb in the shop but now its been delivered and set up at home not so sure, set up was not straight forward and I still don't think i've got its all sussed in terms of the app and adding music its certainly not as simple as sonos at the money there are certainly better options…..
Interesting, thanks. The app did seem a bit clunky when I had a play with it, I found myself putting music onto another unit in another room without realising it, as it wasn't obvious which device you were controlling.
What do you think of the sound now it's home? Still good?
I thought it sounded remarkable for "just" £3600 compared to what I've spent on traditional systems, but you're right, outside the ridiculous world of hi-Fi, that amount of money is still bonkers for something to listen to 6 Music on!
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