Jump to content
  • mitchco
    mitchco

    Devialet Phantom Gold Loudspeaker Review

    spacer.pngThe Devialet Phantom Gold loudspeaker is one of the most technically advanced “all in one” wireless speakers I have ever heard or seen. I initially listened to them at the Vancouver Audio Show and was surprised by the sound quality coming out of these oblong spheres. When I got home from the show, I looked them up and read some interesting technical specifications that seem to defy the laws of physics. How can this small package reproduce such low frequencies? My curiosity got the better of me and I asked Chris if he could get a pair for review.

     

    When they arrived, I was surprised again how small and heavy they were. Roughly 10 inches in diameter, 13.5 inches in length and 25 lbs. Yet the Phantom Gold contains an on-board computer, multiple speaker drivers, 4500 watts of peak power amplification, digital to analog converter, and multiple connectivity options.

     

    I must say, I was floored by the sound coming out of these speakers. The dispersion characteristics of this loudspeaker is outstanding, largely due to the shape of the speaker eliminating enclosure diffraction effects. Frequency response sounded full to my ears, even reproducing the lowest octave, as if a subwoofer was somehow hooked into the system. An astonishing technical feat in such a small package.

     

    I am following same format as established in my review of the Dynaudio Focus 600 XD. First a technology overview of the speakers, including setup, followed by subjective listening impressions and quantified with objective measurements. I am not going to repeat the details of the review approach here, but if interested, one can read how I employ industry guidelines for subjective listening and objective measurements to establish a reference baseline in which to compare the speaker under review to.

     

     

    Phantom Gold Technology Overview

     

    With 108 patents, this speaker is a tour de force of advanced technical design and engineering. Analog Digital Hybrid technology combines Class A and Class D amplification. The Phantom is built around two hermetic woofers that function under high pressure to reproduce levels down to 14 Hz. The Active Cosperical Engine designates the spherical design of the Phantom, inspired by the “thrusting sphere of Olson”, the perfect acoustical shape. This is referencing Harry F. Olson’s landmark paper on “Direct Radiator Loudspeakers Enclosures” from 1951. The idea is that a sphere is an ideal shape to reproduce sound and spread its linear energy in all directions, without any detrimental sound diffraction from the surface of the loudspeaker enclosure.

     

    Speaker driver compliment is one titanium tweeter, aluminum midrange driver and two aluminum bass drivers. 4500 watts of peak power per Phantom with 20 Hz to 20 kHz ±2 dB frequency response and a -6 dB bandwidth of 14 Hz to 27 kHz. 108 dB SPL at 1 meter maximum output. System on a chip (SoC) Cyclone V ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore 800MHz dual-core processor, physical IP, and FPGA with 512MB DDR3 memory. Devialet DAC embedded with 24 bit/192 kHz operation. With the purchase, comes free firmware upgrades.

     

     

    Multiple Connectivity Options

     

    The Gold’s can be connected via Airplay, Bluetooth (A2D and AVRCP profiles, aptX, AAC, SBC audio codecs), Spotify Connect, proprietary network Wi-Fi Dual-band (a/b/g/n 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz, Ethernet RJ-45 10/100/1000Mbps, CPL Homeplug AV2 and Toslink optical input.

     

    I used Phantom Dialog to connect my Lynx Hilo via Toslink to the Dialog, then wireless to the Golds. In addition, I used the Spark app to setup and connect to the Phantoms on my Win 10 computer, but I did not use Spark’s music management capabilities.

     

    The Spark app setup is an interesting process as it involves activating the loudspeakers via touch. Check it out:

     

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

     

    The speakers emit a quiet ethereal sound when going through the steps. When one puts their hand on top of the speaker, another sound emits along with physical movement from the woofers showing activation. An interesting tactile experience that somehow one has brought the speakers to life by merely touching it.

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

     

    By clicking continue, one is presented with the ability to configure one to many Phantom’s in different locations. In my case, it is a stereo set up in my living room:

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

     

    Clicking on continue provides a dialog box that indicates setup complete and the next step is to configure music sources:

     

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

    I configured Spark for local music from my PC.

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

     

    Here the Dialog is setup so that the music source is from my computer and the optical output from the Lynx Hilo is connected to the optical input of the Dialog, which then transmit the signal wirelessly to the Phantoms. I skipped over creating an account and finally one lands on the Spark apps main page where one can select Sources, Devices and manage music with a Player:

     

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

     

    That’s it. I was able to launch JRiver Media Center and start playing music. I did not evaluate other sources or devices or any other options as the main focus is the sound quality of the Phantoms. However, it should be clear that one can hook up virtually any source and be playing music in about 5 minutes. Kudo’s to Devialet for a smooth, and interesting way, to set up speakers.

     

     

    Subjective Listening Impressions

     

    Introduction

     

    The introduction is intended to establish a vocabulary for correlating subjective descriptions to an objective frequency response range. However, I described that in detail in the first review of the Dynaudio Focus 600 XD, and not going to repeat here. I have followed the exact same procedure, listening level, etc., as described in the previous article. However, I feel it is worthwhile to put up Bob Katz’s frequency response chart with subjective descriptions that correlate to an objective frequency response range:

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

     

    Phantom Gold Listening Impressions

     

    The Gold’s are set up in an equilateral triangle in the exact same spot as my reference speakers and where I reviewed the 600 XD’s:

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

     

    If one looks back at the 600 XD review, I have similar picture from this angle to compare.

     

    The Phantom Gold’s sound unlike any speaker I have heard. A fundamental contributor to the speaker’s dispersion characteristics, is its enclosure shape. The tweeter and midrange are housed in a spherical shape. As mentioned at the front of the article, inspired by the “thrusting sphere of Olson”, the perfect acoustical shape. Check out Harry F. Olson’s landmark paper on “Direct Radiator Loudspeakers Enclosures” from 1951.

     

    If you get a chance, audition a pair of these speakers in a stereo setup. The dispersion is simply amazing. No matter where I move across my 6 foot couch, I do not notice any tonal change in frequency response, and the image is completely stable. In fact, I can go far off center in the room and the high frequency response still sounds the same – really amazing characteristic of this loudspeaker.

     

    While waveguides (i.e. a type of horn) are an alternative to achieving constant or controlled directivity, it is over a limited coverage range. For example, my JBL 4722 cinema speakers employs a constant directivity waveguide with a 90 degree horizontal by 50 degree vertical dispersion pattern. That’s just enough to illuminate my couch area, but moving beyond that, the high frequency rolls off, in a predictable and smooth way.

     

    Speakers like BeoLab 90 and Kii Three use multiple drivers and DSP to control directivity and the 600 XD’s I reviewed, use DSP to control speaker resonances and directivity through the cross over range. Speakers like the MBLs produce a full omnidirectional output. For further reading on the importance of loudspeaker directivity or polar response, I refer folks to read Dr. Earl Geddes excellent article on, “Directivity in Loudspeaker Systems.”

     

    The Gold’s offer an interesting design to achieve a wide dispersion pattern using a spherically designed enclosure, yet with a full range sound, in such a small package. I was surprised how much and how low the bass went on these speakers. Make no mistake, they are full range speakers. The bass drivers are unusual to say the least, but solid sounding, with no cabinet resonances. I pushed them quite hard on content I know have reasonably deep bass and still sounded good near peak reference level (i.e. 105 dB SPL at the listening position). While the sound was clear, the bass drivers were visibly vibrating and looked the loudspeaker was going to take off.

     

     

    spacer.pngAre they giant killers? Perhaps a bit unfair to compare to my high efficiency cinema speakers, but still amazing levels of low bass energy come from these speakers. The frequency response is remarkably similar to the 600 XD’s, just delivered in a much different fashion. The sonic signature or tone quality has a bump in the low end and a flat high frequency response.

     

    We will get into the details in the objective measurement section, but I do want to say, while initially the little bit of extra bass and flat extended frequency response, at reference level, has a tendency towards the “boom tiss” type of tone quality. On rock music, especially if it has been overly dynamically compressed, has a tendency towards too much high frequency energy coming at my ears. Initially it is like candy to one’s ears, but over time, my preference would have been towards less of a bass bump and more of a sloping (i.e. tilt) roll-off frequency response on the top. To be sure, that is my subjective preference and it is splitting hairs as the audible difference is subtle.

     

    To my ears, operating the loudspeakers within their recommended range, I did not hear any distortion. The bass response does sound different than a traditional transducer in a wood box. I don’t have any words to describe it really, just different. Again, I recommend auditioning the loudspeakers to hear the difference with your own ears.

     

    The midrange and top end sounds smooth and transparent. At the listening position, some 9 feet away, I do not hear any audible hum or hiss coming from the Gold’s. Moving my ear up close the speaker, I do hear audible hiss coming from the tweeter, but not objectionable at the listening position.

     

    spacer.pngFor such a small package, I am amazed at its omnidirectional dispersion characteristics and full range frequency response.

     

    While this review is intended to be mostly about the sound quality of the loudspeakers, their subjective design really elicits people’s opinions to be one extreme or the other. People either are blown away by the aesthetic design, or… not so much. My wife and daughter said that if they were offered in black, would be an improvement. Now, part of the issue here folks is that my wife and daughter are used to having industrial type speaker designs in my listening room since forever, as I like big waveguides and woofers in black painted “washer size” cabinets. Pretty lucky that the WAF is so high in my household :) 

     

    As far as the speaker’s coherency (i.e. timing) is concerned, they sounded coherent, but in a slightly different way than my time aligned loudspeakers. Of course, I now have hindsight after measuring the speakers, but I must say the speakers timing and imaging sounded very good to my ears.

     

     

    Listening Impressions Summary

     

    Full range, smooth frequency response, both on and off axis. The off-axis frequency response is simply amazing, unlike anything I have heard to date. Same with the bass response, very unbox like. Amazing full range sound quality coming from such a small package.

     

     

    Objective Measurements - Introduction

     

    I had written a large section on introducing objective measurements in my previous review of the 600 XD and not going to repeat here. If one has questions about the measurement approach, please read the objective measurements intro section in the 600 XD review first, as that may answer one’s question.

     

    However, I do want to leave a frequency response chart here as it will become useful to compare objective measures to subjective preferences.

     

    This is from, “The Measurement and Calibration of Sound Reproducing Systems”, which is a free, open access Audio Engineering Society Paper, by Dr. Floyd Toole. In Dr. Toole’s paper, turning to page 17:

     

    spacer.png

     

     

    My subjective preference is the “trained listeners” curve. I calibrated my reference sound reproduction system using DSP, so that it is a similar frequency response as measured at the listening position and listening area. That target curve sounds neutral to my ears. Note the untrained listeners curve has a tendency to emphasize the low end and a slightly elevated top end, lending to a “boom, tiss” type of tone quality. I call it the “candy curve”, meaning like eating candy, tastes really good for a while, but too much and…

     

     

    Objective Measurements – Phantom Golds

     

    Frequency Response

     

    Here is the frequency response, as measured at the listening position in my room:

     

    spacer.png

     

     

    For an in-room response, a very smooth response, even with the room ripples. The different low end response between left and right speakers, are due to the fact that the left speaker (i.e. red trace) is more towards to the left hand corner of my room as my stereo is offset to the left of center in my room. That can be seen via the photo, earlier in the article. Other than that, both left and right speaker track each other very well, with a dead on match from 2 kHz onwards.

     

    I have included my preferred target frequency response, which is flat to about 1 kHz, with a straight line to about -6 dB at 20 kHz. This, to my ears, is a neutral sounding response. As can be seen, the Gold’s have some bottom end lift and no high frequency roll off or “tilt” down on the top. Leading a bit to a “boom tiss” sound, but the boom isn’t really a boom as there is no cabinet resonance and the tiss is not really that as it is so smooth sounding. However, I listen to mostly overly compressed rock music, which has a tendency to put too much high frequency energy towards my ears already. Folks that listen to classical music on these speakers may not have that preference, preferring the flat to 20 kHz tone quality instead. Again, it all comes down to preference, and these speakers are certainly in the range as compared to the various subjective listening curves in the Toole chart.

     

    Also note, low frequency extension to 14 Hz. There was significant output at 10Hz, when I started my measurements, which sweep from 10 Hz to 24 kHz. Almost defying the law of physics from such a small package.

     

    Off axis response? Check this out. What you are seeing are two sets of left and right speaker measurements. One set is with the measurement mic, moved 3 feet off to the left of center, and the other set, 3 feet off to right of center. That’s 6 feet between the two mic positions and provides a good “in-room” indicator of the tone quality across my 3 seat, 6 foot couch at the listening area:

     

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

     

    Quite a feat actually. Especially the top end, look how smooth and extended it is. No wonder I hear very little variation in tone quality across a wide listening area. From 5 kHz to 20 kHz is amazingly flat response with very little roll-off. While there may be a tad too much high frequency energy for my tastes, it is remarkably smooth, even off-axis.

     

    Here is a frequency response comparison of the Phantom versus the 600 XD’s that I reviewed previously. Everything is identical relative to the software and equipment used, right down to the speakers and measurement mic in the exact same locations, with the only difference being the loudspeakers themselves:

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

     

     

    The red and green traces are the left and right Phantom Gold’s respectively. The brown and blue traces are the left and right Dynaudio 600 XD’s respectively.

     

    Note how close the frequency responses are. The Gold’s have a wee bit more bottom end and tad more top end in the 10 kHz range. Otherwise, they are virtually identical tonally, and almost following the room ripples identically. Once could argue that if these two speakers were measured in an anechoic chamber, they are likely to measure almost identical, yet the two speakers are physically very different from each other. Something to ponder…

     

     

    Time Coherence – Step Response

     

    What about the speakers timing response? This certainly is an area of controversy as there is still today, no definitive listening tests to show if time alignment impacts the listening experience. My personal preference, and listening tests, indicate there is an impact. I prefer a speaker that is time aligned. For now, I feel if folks read the 600 XD time alignment section, time coherence is well explained there.

     

    In the case of the Phantoms, the tweeter and midrange appear to be time aligned, with the woofer just slightly behind:

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

    I know it is a bit difficult to interpret what is shown here. The brown “step” response is calculated as the “ideal” step response given a speaker where all frequencies are arriving at ones ears at the same time. In the case of the Phantom Golds, we are seeing the tweeter and midrange arriving first and the woofer just slightly behind. While the Phantom Golds are not “textbook” time aligned, they do follow the general shape of the ideal step response. Again, it is tricky to determine if it is audible or not. This to me is an area that requires more controlled listening tests to come to a similar understanding that we now know about preferred frequency responses ala Dr.Tooles paper referenced in the previous section.

     

    For some preliminary technical reading on speaker time alignment, see Rod’s article, “Phase, Time and Distortion in Loudspeakers.”

     

    Comparative Measures

     

    I am using John Mulcahy’s REW program below where I measure the Phantom’s and comparing them to my reference speakers, which are custom built (and since sold), 3-way floor standers using digital XO, linearizing and time aligning the drivers, and then applying some overall amplitude and excess phase correction at the listening area, which for me is a 6’ x 2’ grid area where my couch is. I have calibrated my speakers using DSP, so that they have the target frequency response that I prefer, along with time alignment. Again, everything else software and gear wise is the same, the only change is the loudspeakers themselves.

     

    First the frequency response:

     

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

    My reference speakers are the blue and purple traces and the Phantoms are the red and green traces. As one can see, the Phantoms response from about 80 Hz to 5 kHz are remarkably similar in frequency response to my reference and certainly my preference. A little too much bottom for my taste, but not in a bad way. Like I say, you owe to yourself to hear the remarkable bass that is un-box like (technical term) in sound quality. 5 kHz and above is a departure where the Golds are a bit brighter than my reference/preference.

     

    The hard part to communicate while looking at the measurements is how big of a deal is it? I will say it is certainly audible. One can look at the frequency range and use a digital eq, (like in JRiver DSP Studio for example) and dial in eq on your own speakers that boost the low end and top by the relative difference amounts as shown in the chart above. While listening at reference level (i.e. ~ 83 dB SPL C weighting at the listening positon), switch in and out the eq, in real-time, which will give you a rough idea of the tone change. It is not a lot, but certainly audible.

     

    Step Response:

     

     

    spacer.png

     

     

     

     

     

    This is the first 5 milliseconds of sound arriving at the microphone at the listening position. The reference is pretty close to the calculated ideal step response. With the Phantom, the drivers are not quite time aligned as the woofer pulse is slightly behind the midrange and tweeter. Or at least that is the best I can discern from my measurements, as I have not seen this type of step response before.

     

    Having played for years with speaker time alignment, I have come to the same conclusion as Rod Elliot in his article, “Phase, Time and Distortion in Loudspeakers, “For what it's worth, I originally started this article not to praise, but to debunk the theory that time alignment is the only way a speaker should ever be designed. Having done the research, run tests, and written the article, I confess that I must agree with many (perhaps even most) of the points made by the time alignment proponents. My overall opinion, based on the research for this article (primarily tests and simulations), is that time alignment is a very good thing, and perhaps all speakers should be designed this way.”

     

     

    Conclusion

     

    I must say I am really impressed with the Phantom Golds. No subwoofer required to get some real low end frequency response reproduction at reference level, and beyond. The spherical shape does wonders for a linearly dispersed sound, no matter where one listens in the room. This has all sorts of practical applications where one is not forced to sit in “the listening window” to get the best sound quality.

     

    There certainly was enough power on tap to drive to peak reference level (i.e. 105 dB SPL) without sounding overly stressed. As mentioned before, the bass character is different than a boxed loudspeaker, hard to describe, but worthy of an audition if one is tired of box loudspeakers.

     

    It would be great if there were a few frequency response “profiles” built into the Phantom and that allowed one to select to better match to ones preference. Or the ability to shelf eq the low end to bring the overall level down just a bit. And the ability to “tilt” down the high frequency response (not a shelving eq) so when listening to overly compressed rock and pop music, the high frequency energy coming at ones ears is reduced. That would be my preference.

     

    A small nit that some may or may not notice, but there is an overall system delay to the sound of the Phantoms as a result of the DSP processing. So, if one is watching a movie the sound slightly lags behind the video. I noticed this on lip sync, but after a while it was close enough that it did not bother me. I told my wife about this and it did not bother her at all.

     

    As far as the shape or color of the Phantom’s themselves, that’s a subjective call. I find the shape interesting, but I would have preferred the speakers in black and gold, instead of white and gold. But its unique shape and technical design, that sets its sound quality apart from other traditional box speakers. I still can’t get over how linearly dispersed the sound was. That really sets these speakers apart from the majority of others.

     

    If the thought of a small, full range speaker, that does not require a sub, and with wide dispersion characteristics are of interest to you, then the Phantoms are well worth an audition.

     

     

    Product Information:

     

    • Product - Devialet Phantom Gold $2,990 each, Dialog $329
    • Phantom Gold Product Page - Link
    • Dialog Product Page - Link

     

    Where To Buy:

     

    The Audio Salon

     

     

     

    Mitch “Mitchco” Barnett. I love music and audio. I grew up with music around me, as my mom was a piano player (swing) and my dad was an audiophile (jazz). My hobby is building speakers, amps, preamps, etc., and I still DIY today. I mixed live sound for a variety of bands, which led to an opportunity to work full-time in a 24-track recording studio. Over 10 years, I recorded, mixed, and sometimes produced over 30 albums, +100 jingles, and several audio for video post productions in several recording studios in Western Canada.

     

    I wrote this book to provide the audio enthusiast with an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide for designing a custom digital filter that corrects the frequency and timing response of your loudspeakers in your listening environment so that the music arriving at your ears matches as closely as possible to the content on the recording. Accurate Sound Reproduction using DSP. Click on Look Inside to review the table of contents and read the first few chapters for free.




    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    On 6/22/2017 at 9:36 PM, input username here said:

    mitchco, I have a pair of Kii THREEs and a Kii CONTROL.  I don't think I'd be willing to go to all of the trouble and expense of packing and shipping them but, if you live within reasonable driving distance of Washington, DC, I'd be happy to let you borrow them for a month or two for a review.  

     

    PM me if interested.  

      

    I'm glad that you and Chris are working to get a pair of Kii's.  Let me just warn you about one thing: While the THREEs are actually pretty forgiving about lateral head-movement (the "sweet spot's pretty wide), if you (or any prospective reviewer) want to get their best, you will find that they are incredibly unforgiving in the vertical plane.  I listened to them for maybe 6 months with what I considered a pretty "typical" setup (tweeters at year/eye-level) and thought they sounded good enough that it didn't occur to me to mess with them much.

     

    But I always felt that their image was just a little too buried on the top/rear edge of my desk (I listen to them in the near-field, mounted on Arden stands on my desk).  So, just for the hell of it, I adjusted their rake... and oh-my-God, what a difference.  The sound stage opened up, went way deeper, palpability went way, way up, and the tonal balance (already good) just pulled into shape.  This shouldn't have been a surprise, since Kii is very clear that their DSP is tuned so that the sound sounds like it's coming from a point just in front of the mid-driver (not the tweeter), but I was still shocked at how little I was actually getting of their possible performance by not setting the rake properly--just a few degrees made a world of difference.  

     

    Anyway, I don't want to hijack your (excellent) Devialet thread, but since a few people already mentioned the Kiis here and we've had a brief exchange thereupon, it seemed like as good a place as any to mention this.  I'll stop talking about my speakers now.

     

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    1 hour ago, input username here said:

      I'm glad that you and Chris are working to get a pair of Kii's.  

    FWIW, we have a review forthcoming in September Stereophile.

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    @input username here Vertical directivity is hard to get right, which results in vertical lobing issues like in Figure 1a in this Linkwitz-Riley article from Rane. My understanding is that the Kii THREES use 4th order Linkwitz-Riley (LR4) filter slopes on all drivers and therefore should have the vertical directivity pattern as depicted in Figure 2 in the Rane article.

     

    This Audioexpress article has a directivity measurement of the Kii THREES in Figure 3. But it is horizontal only I believe. That measurement display of directivity is based on Dr. Earl Geddes excellent paper on Directivity in Loudspeaker Systems.

     

    Thanks for the tip. I hope to listen and measure a pair soon.

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    @Kal Rubinson Kal looking forward to Stereophile's September issue. It will be interesting to see if Stereophile's measured frequency response of the Kii THREES is the same as the Audioexpress measurement I linked above i.e. flat to 20 kHz anechoic response. My JBL constant directivity cinema loudspeakers also measure flat to 20 kHz in half space. I find them too bright out of the box, as I have of any loudspeaker that is calibrated flat in an anechoic or half space. In-room measurements of these type of calibrated loudspeakers do not match the preferred listeners curve (I.e. downward tilt) as graphed on page 17 of Toole's paper that I referenced in my article. They all measure flat to 20 kHz, even at 9ft listening distance...

     

    Note the JBL's also spec both vertical and horizontal directivity, plus directivity index supplied in the link. Would be nice to see similar measurements for the Kii THREE's. I don't have the facility, and I am too lazy to take advantage of Earl's Polar Map service. DSP design can now shape the ideal polar response to the listener. Good times ahead.

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Of course, I cannot comment about this prior to publication but JA's measurements do include FR, vertical and horizontal directivity as well as impulse response. 

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    11 hours ago, Kal Rubinson said:

    FWIW, we have a review forthcoming in September Stereophile.

    Cool!

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Hi, a very interesting review! Thank you. I like those new loudspeaker concepts, since they define the future [see "Paradigm Persona 9H", for a different concept]. Nevertheless, my reference still is the JBL M2 and there are not many loudspeakers available with similar overall performance. :)

     

    Can anybody explain, how the "Devialet Gold Phantom" or "Kii THREE [PRO]" are able to emit such a high SPL at down to 20 Hz? Certainly, no laws of physics are being defied; so I would like to comprehend.

     

    I saw an anechoic measurement of the Kii's once; which showed ~25 Hz output at 80 dB; an around +3 dB boost at 40 Hz and basically flat frequency response up to 20 kHz - with excellent directional control, horizontally and vertically. On the other hand, distortion up to ~300 Hz was only acceptable way below 90dB SPL. Above 90 dB, low-frequency response is being limited.

     

    How about the Devialet's, in these regards? [free field]

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    On 18/06/2017 at 7:17 AM, firedog said:

     

     

    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.

     

    "Invented in Paris" + "Made in France" => no Woman Acceptance Factor in Paris, only Man Acceptance Factor of what a woman can buy on the Champs Elysées. 

    I have offered one to my wife, to show her that I love her, for the beautiful packaging and the gold that I usually hide on my cables.

    I have bought another one to my child so that he can blow the mind of his girlfriend with her mp3.

    They don't know I have bought the "dialog" box...

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Hi @mitchco

     

    Great review here. I know this is a 2 year article and you don't have these speakers anymore, so I promise this will be a simple query that won't stress your memory at all.

     

    Regarding your comment:

     

    "It would be great if there were a few frequency response “profiles” built into the Phantom and that allowed one to select to better match to ones preference. Or the ability to shelf eq the low end to bring the overall level down just a bit. And the ability to “tilt” down the high frequency response (not a shelving eq) so when listening to overly compressed rock and pop music, the high frequency energy coming at ones ears is reduced. That would be my preference."

     

    Are these comments about tilted boosted bass and treble more applicable to people that don't have or use digital room EQ?

     

    I would have thought this is something simple enough for you (or anyone using digital room EQ) to correct with digital room EQ? i.e. just lower the bass and the treble down?

     

    Or am I overestimating how easy/difficult it is to 'correct' this bass and treble boost with digital room EQ?

     

    Or have I misunderstood your comment here completely? Apologies if I have.

     

    Many thanks

     

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Hi @Em2016 yes it would be very easy to use digital room eq to tone down the bass and treble. But I was hoping the speaker would have some onboard capability like the D&D 8c or the Kii Three to contour the tone. Given that this is a DSP  type speaker already, it seems like (and still is) an oversight not to have simple tone contouring available to the user, who may not have digital eq or a measurement system...

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    7 hours ago, mitchco said:

    it seems like (and still is) an oversight not to have simple tone contouring available to the user, who may not have digital eq or a measurement system...

     

    Got ya, thanks for clarifying. Agreed. 

     

    I saw these measurements of the Phantom Golds and people commenting on various forums about the increase in distortion above 10 kHz (linearity measurements), by only 90dB.

     

    I know you didn't notice any treble distortion in listening (me too when I heard these) but I wonder if the treble peak is tamed by digital room EQ, if that would help the measurements, to improve the linearity at 90dB, especially above 10 kHz.

     

    I guess there's no way to know for sure without actually testing that in the anechoic chamber again like they did there, but just wondering out loud.

     

    https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1769:nrc-measurements-devialet-gold-phantom-loudspeakers&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements&Itemid=153

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Hi @Em2016 yah, I don't remember any high frequency distortion when listening or measured. I am away from my main computer until Sunday, but will see if I have some measurements comparing the Kii Three and D&D 8c with the Phantom Golds and post up some distortion charts.

    Cheers,

    Mitch

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    18 minutes ago, mitchco said:

    Hi @Em2016 yah, I don't remember any high frequency distortion when listening or measured. I am away from my main computer until Sunday, but will see if I have some measurements comparing the Kii Three and D&D 8c with the Phantom Golds and post up some distortion charts.

    Cheers,

    Mitch

     

    Cheers Mitch.

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Thanks @mitchco! The Soundstage linearity 'issues' that others have discussed are above 10kHz but I do understand why your chart is limited to 10kHz.

     

    I've seen others also speculate about the amp limiter maybe being a factor but others have said this is a bit of a concern at only 90dB, when the Gold's are rated to 108 dB with "no distortion" according to Devialet (marketing).

     

    But like you,  nothing really troubled me in the treble region when I heard them - smooth as you say, nothing bright.


    Appreciate you taking the time. Looking forward to your next DSP speaker reviews! What's next on the review list?

     

    Are the active KEF LS50W's on the list? I enjoyed your review of the passives.

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Hi @Em2016 I do feel the Golds are bright sounding,  at least to my ears, from a neutral frequency balance preference. But still sound smooth as I don't hear any high frequency distortion.

     

    Nothing new on the list other than I upgraded my dual Rythmik L12 subs to F18's and very happy with the result:

    https://www.avsforum.com/forum/113-subwoofers-bass-transducers/1214550-official-rythmik-audio-subwoofer-thread-1223.html#post57390652

     

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    19 minutes ago, asdf1000 said:

    Hi @The Computer Audiophile

     

    Could you please fix all the images in this article (if possible)?

    Yes. 

     

    Right now you can click on the images to bring them up, but I will fix the embeds. 

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites




    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now




×
×
  • Create New...