8 hours ago, brownemi said:

Without the dspeaker correction I was content (yes naively) until experiencing the difference.

You were able to use dspeaker on the helmets?

55 minutes ago, Mike13 said:

You were able to use dspeaker on the helmets?

Yes, the dspeaker’s digital out goes into the phantom 

14 hours ago, brownemi said:

Welcome to the club Snoopy. I have had the Silvers then the Golds for a few years now and did the same minimalisation trick as you......less is best....less boxes, cables and cords.

 

Recently I added a dual core DSP unit and it has really tamed the bass humps and made the system sound much better.  My room isn’t overly difficult but the before and after measurements are amazing.

 

No raat as you mention but many use Roon through a RPi or Mac mini. The Devialet user forum has more.

 

i run a mac mini using spark (not great) and a Project digital phono for the TT. 

 

I loved the Golds before the DSP addition, now I am completely besotted. 

Good to hear that there are at least 3 of us using the Golds for stereo.

 

Mmmm, I was hoping not to add a Roon end point but it looks like that is the only way currently.    Did you try using Roon to do DSP for the bass?  Is this your chain?

 Roon Rock on server -> ethernet ->  Mac Mini (Roon end point) -> optical -> DSpeaker -> optical -> Phantom Golds

If I follow you, then I will have to change the title of my post !  ?

1 hour ago, Snoopy8 said:

Good to hear that there are at least 3 of us using the Golds for stereo.

 

Mmmm, I was hoping not to add a Roon end point but it looks like that is the only way currently.    Did you try using Roon to do DSP for the bass?  Is this your chain?

 Roon Rock on server -> ethernet ->  Mac Mini (Roon end point) -> optical -> DSpeaker -> optical -> Phantom Golds

If I follow you, then I will have to change the title of my post !  ?

This is funny. You won’t be able to resist tinkering with DSP and Tidal ?

21 hours ago, powerav said:

Unfortunately YouTube has really tarnished this speakers reputation as almost everyone reviews as only 1 speaker and by calling it a "$3000 bluetooth" speaker but this turkey really takes the cake.

 

Holy Jebus,

 

WTF is going on in this vid? As mentioned earlier can you really make money by acting like a tard??

 

I was kind hoping he would miss swing his axe and lop a finger off. now that's what i would call entertainment. 

On 04/03/2019 at 10:31 PM, frednork said:

Is Roon on the horizon?

 

On 05/03/2019 at 7:11 AM, PKay said:

I did find that Roon integrates very well with my Le 200 and improves on the overall functionality. I would expect that there would also be a benefit with the Gold but can't say.

 

Found out what Roon Tested means. 

Quote

We want Roon to work with all the hardware out there, but most importantly, we want our users to have confidence that the products they have (or are considering buying) will work well with Roon. To achieve that, we came up with a second hardware partner program called "Roon Tested". We need to have a working relationship with the manufacturer to make this happen.
The idea is that we test various manufacturers' audio endpoints with Roon, using a much more rigorous test than any normal user would. The manufacturer also tests Roon with their product, and makes sure we don't do anything bad to their endpoint. Because the manufacturer has provided us with their hardware, we can test our software against every device when we make new releases.

In other words, it will work as a DAC and fed by a Roon end point.    I did ask when will it be Roon Ready and received a polite rebuff.  Given that the Expert Pro range recently became Roon Ready, I am hoping they are working on the Phantoms now?  If not, looks like my simplifying project will need to be more complicated if I want to adopt Roon.  At least I am starting from a really simple setup! ? 

On 07/03/2019 at 5:48 PM, Music2496 said:

Did you get the official Devialet stands?

 

Also... pics.... or it didn't happen! ?

 

Ended up getting cheaper Triangle stands which could also be sand filled, but alas the over sized plug could not fit into the cable duct.  It definitely happened, with much of the gear already in the classifieds. Photos will come soon, have not finished re-arranging gear, getting rid of cables etc.

2 minutes ago, Snoopy8 said:

Ended up getting cheaper Triangle stands which could also be sand filled, but alas the over sized plug could not fit into the cable duct.  It definitely happened, with much of the gear already in the classifieds. Photos will come soon, have not finished re-arranging gear, getting rid of cables etc.

Nice. Planning to do some digital room correction stuff or are they fine 'as is' already, in your room?

 

 

6 minutes ago, Music2496 said:

Nice. Planning to do some digital room correction stuff or are they fine 'as is' already, in your room?

You read my mind!  ?  That is one upgrade I am contemplating.  As Mike mentioned below, and he knows me too well ! ? 

On 08/03/2019 at 11:00 AM, Mike13 said:

This is funny. You won’t be able to resist tinkering with DSP and Tidal ?

And I blame @brownemi  ? for posting this!

On 07/03/2019 at 6:37 PM, brownemi said:

Recently I added a dual core DSP unit and it has really tamed the bass humps and made the system sound much better.  My room isn’t overly difficult but the before and after measurements are amazing.

.....

I loved the Golds before the DSP addition, now I am completely besotted. 

I fondly remember hearing a pair of these at John Darko's place many years back. I was suitably impressed!

 

They very much remind me of Daft Punk's helmets, which is fitting given the French connection!

 

 

3 minutes ago, pete_mac said:

They very much remind me of Daft Punk's helmets, which is fitting given the French connection!

And guess what the retailer played first and LOUDLY to get the Phantoms really pumping!  ? ? ? 

15 minutes ago, Snoopy8 said:

And guess what the retailer played first and LOUDLY to get the Phantoms really pumping!  ? ? ? 

And they're French too.

 

Edit: oops, just saw @pete_mac already mentioned that connection too.

Edited March 10, 20197 yr by Music2496

Half of that pic could replace your snoopy pic. More badass!

18 minutes ago, Mike13 said:

Half of that pic could replace your snoopy pic. More badass!

Found one with gold bling!  ?

 

How about a DDRC-22D unit ahead of the dialogue? https://www.minidsp.com/products/dirac-series/product-line-summary

10 minutes ago, zydeco said:

How about a DDRC-22D unit ahead of the dialogue? https://www.minidsp.com/products/dirac-series/product-line-summary

That is what I will explore and the reason I put out a WTB!  ?  

On 07/03/2019 at 3:39 PM, Snoopy8 said:

It is night and day between a single one and a stereo pair on good stands and positioned properly in the room 

This is hardly a revolutionary discovery ?

3 hours ago, Sime V2 said:

This is hardly a revolutionary discovery ?

This is more for the Phantom buyer because they typically are looking for one only and will not think to go stereo (unlike us who go stereo first!). Does not help when Devialet are pushing them as single units.

On 07/03/2019 at 3:04 PM, powerav said:

Unfortunately YouTube has really tarnished this speakers reputation as almost everyone reviews as only 1 speaker and by calling it a "$3000 bluetooth" speaker but this turkey really takes the cake.

 

FFS, what an imbasilic waste of money.

On 04/03/2019 at 8:55 AM, Snoopy8 said:

What have I DONE!???  I now have a stereo pair of mutant Stormtrooper helmets with gold bling!   

 

I moved from a setup with all these components and lots of cables

 

to something which resembled a pair of mutant Stormtrooper helmets with gold bling !    

 

Otherwise known as Devialet Phantom Gold, they provided superb audio quality expected of a high end hifi system in a pair of components, each slightly larger than a soccer ball ! 

 

What convinced me? 

 

It started with a post from @andrewhollo (thank you Andrew!) who moved from the same brand active speakers to the Phantom Golds and I had a discussion with him.

 

The reviews of the Phantom Gold often praised the audio quality, particularly the bass but gave a thumbs down for the pricing.  However, most reviews were for a single speaker targeted at the wireless market.  However, this article changed things:

 

Steve Huff is well known in the photography world but has a passion for hifi. He swapped over to the Phantom Golds with improved AQ.  Steve mentioned that getting the phantoms on stands and positioning the speakers were critical.  It was backed up by Andrew’s description of a night and day difference between a single Gold and a stereo pair.

 

The audition at Klapp AV, as a single speaker (& typical of most retailers), confirmed the ability to deliver detail and bass. Despite the impressive bass, I still had some concerns about the whether it could deliver good enough bass in my difficult room.  Had to rely on reviews, and Andrew, for their feedback on stereo performance.

 

 

So How Do They Sound?

The Phantom Golds provide a superb musical sound stage with detail. Sound stage is open and airy, much better than previously.  Resolution of individual instruments has improved.  Details are all there. 

 

Regarding the bass,  there was no doubt that the Golds are better than old setup without subs.  The room is an open plan family room with no bass traps. The Golds lose to the highly optimised dual sub setup but that is not a surprise.  It took a long time to get to that state with a target curve that boosts bass by 4 dB, but tails off below 30 Hz.  However, the Golds matched the setup optimised with dual subs without a target curve.  Impressive indeed!  ?   Potentially, bass could be improved further by playing with the positioning within the room; this flexibility was not available in the previous setup.

 

WOW!  I was losing almost nothing with the bass and gained a better musical sound stage with the helmets!

 

Apps are not perfect

Not too sure about the Spark App which is not as good as BluOS. Am using BubbleUpnp app on to access the music on the NAS and that is working reasonably well. Please note that BubbleUpnp app is extremely sensitive to wifi dropouts and not recommended for rooms with poor wifi.  A move to Roon may be the next step.

 

Lessons learnt

1. Don’t dismiss a system because it looks different. 
2. Simplicity should be the driver
3. Enjoy the music not the journey/thrill of upgrading and adding components which leads to increased complexity; see lesson 2

 

Conclusion

A stereo pair of Devialet Phantom Golds on stands delivers audio quality that can at least match many high end audio systems costing a lot more.  It may be a challenge to audition them as a stereo pair on stands, but until you do, do not dismiss them.  A stereo pair of Phantom Golds is a seriously good setup.

 

Can now spend more time listening, which is what this game should be about…

Steven Huff is a shocker - he goes from one thing to next. He''s worse than me. Well actually I've almost reformed now. But he likes to rave about his latest discovery: http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/ps-audio-directstream-junior-redcloud-vs-nuwave-dsd-dac-review/ - he even went through a Direct Stream Junior phase late last year, poor guy  A sure sign of a guy with too much money on his hands.

I actually didn't think the "$3000 bluetooth speaker" video on Youtube was negative. I think it was more of a click-bate title maybe. For some reason there is something about these things that make some reviewers so Ape Sh*t Crazy:

 

 

1 hour ago, scumbag said:

FFS, what an imbasilic waste of money.

Hi All,

 

One could say a Tool using some tools, not a good example for the kid and he'll probably put in a warranty claim for good luck.  ? to him

 

JJ

1 hour ago, scumbag said:

Steven Huff is a shocker - he goes from one thing to next. He''s worse than me. Well actually I've almost reformed now. But he likes to rave about his latest discovery: http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/ps-audio-directstream-junior-redcloud-vs-nuwave-dsd-dac-review/ - he even went through a Direct Stream Junior phase late last year, poor guy  A sure sign of a guy with too much money on his hands.

 

 

 

He may also be able to avail himself to a lot of 30 day free trials and return stuff as is popular in the US.

4 minutes ago, PKay said:

He may also be able to avail himself to a lot of 30 day free trials and return stuff as is popular in the US.

He certainly gives the impression that he is buying this stuff. 

But Steve has also just bought a pair of S F Guarneri something or others too, so the Devialet are only one pair of the at least 3 pairs he owns.

24 minutes ago, rocl444 said:

But Steve has also just bought a pair of S F Guarneri something or others too, so the Devialet are only one pair of the at least 3 pairs he owns.

This is NOT to say that the Devialet Phantoms are not great speakers BTW. There seem to be a few people on SNA who are moving towards reducing box count / simplification atm and the Devialet certainly perform many functions.

I heard these play ‘Limit to your love’ by James Blake today. It’s a good test to see if your speakers can even play it properly. These things smashed it. Looked ready to take off, but zero distortion.