"A reflective, orb of zany"

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LesterSleepsIn

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"A reflective, orb of zany"
« on: 7 Jul 2016, 12:19 pm »
Crank those mp3s kids!

WIRED: Devialet’s $3,000 Speaker Destroys Worlds With 4,500 Watts of Loud

"I get to audition a panoply of speakers on this job, and one of the most striking—both visually and aurally—is Devialet's Phantom. The French company's speaker is designed to look like some ovular starseed space egg, with cylindrical drivers firing outwards from both sides as you crank the jams, extending and receding in a blur of sound and motion. It's also goddamn loud. The base model Phantom puts out 750 watts, and the bigger Silver Phantom is rated at 3,000. I've tested both versions, and the Phantom is dramatic, impressively loud, and easily generates enough of a racket to get you evicted.
    But apparently, even more brawn is required if one is to blanket every deck of one's superyacht in Bach concertos. To satisfy the sound gluttons, Devialet is releasing an even-higher-end speaker. The Phantom Gold boasts 4,500 watts of power and can achieve peak volumes of 108 decibels. That's about as loud as a motorcycle, a power saw, or an Opeth concert.
The frequency range of the speaker exceeds that of the human ear, extending to an ultrasonic 27kHz on the high end, and reaching all the way down to 14Hz in the basement. You won't be able to hear such low-frequency rumbles, but you'll feel them—in your molars, your bowels, and in the soles of your feet.
    But the real selling point here? It's the rose gold coating on the exterior. That's actual 22-carat gold, too—Devialet, a luxury brand, is known not to skimp on its bling. You'll pay for all that rare earth, too. When the Phantom Gold ships in mid-July, a cool $2,990 will earn you the privilege of listening to your Blue Oyster Cult MP3s on a gorgeous, reflective orb of zany."

mcgsxr

Re: "A reflective, orb of zany"
« Reply #1 on: 7 Jul 2016, 05:39 pm »
ehhhhhh, I am clearly not the target market for this!

I have never heard one mind you - have you heard it?

LesterSleepsIn

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Re: "A reflective, orb of zany"
« Reply #2 on: 7 Jul 2016, 06:18 pm »
ehhhhhh, I am clearly not the target market for this!

I have never heard one mind you - have you heard it?

No, but clearly not my sort of thing at all. Anytime when one of the major sellng points is how incredibly kick-ass loud speakers will play I'm completely turned off. However, they may sound terrific.

srb

Re: "A reflective, orb of zany"
« Reply #3 on: 7 Jul 2016, 07:52 pm »
Anytime when one of the major selling points is how incredibly kick-ass loud speakers will play I'm completely turned off. However, they may sound terrific.

Probably better than speakers I see advertised on Craigslist as "House Speakers" or "4 ft. Speakers" (no brand).  "These mofos kick / rock / shred"  ;)

The addition of the gold trim on each side doesn't make them look much more attractive to me, maybe even less?  I probably would prefer carbon fiber, but then they'd have to call it Carbon Phantom.

Devialet Gold Phantom


Steve

JRace

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Re: "A reflective, orb of zany"
« Reply #4 on: 7 Jul 2016, 08:04 pm »
Heard them again at the Vancouver Audio show,
Every time I hear them I am amazed by how good they do sound.



More from the show here:
http://hometheaterhifi.com/latest-reviews/show-report/vancouver-audio-show-2016/

JLM

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Re: "A reflective, orb of zany"
« Reply #5 on: 7 Jul 2016, 10:53 pm »
Honestly 108 dB is only 3 dB louder than often quoted peaks of classical or jazz and 2 dB less than again quoted rock music.  Many (most?) professional and audiophile grade speakers can reach that.  At 104 dB/w/m and capable of 100 watt input, the decades old Klipschorn can reach 124 dB at one meter. 

And when it comes to price, I think they're quite reasonable when compared to other speakers (Wilson, YG, Magico, etc.) that don't include the power amps, DAC, or DSP.  And they are reasonably price compared to other active designs intended for home use (Meridian, ATC, PMC, etc.) while offering even better performance (reported to be +/- 0.5 dB down to 20 Hz or lower). 

The Devialet speakers have been out since late 2014 to tons of buzz, yet I've not found a single full/proper professional review.  Are they still too rare (sold out) to loan out for "big time" reviewers?