The Devialet Phantom I wireless speaker makes a hell of an impact, both visually and aurally, delivering truly gut-punching bass without skimping with some very sweet high and mid range tones.
Visually, it’s quite a design piece, and the way the bass drivers pulse when the low end is engaged is very enticing. It really does bring out the best in production all across the sonic spectrum.
It’s very heavy, with the egg shape also making it difficult to carry. You also need to be at a distance to it for optimum sound quality.
Straight up, the first thing you notice about the Devialet Phantom is the stunning design. Combining a feel that’s both futuristic and retro, as well as very inviting, this really is a piece that deserves to be seen as well as heard. It’s not the sort of speaker you tuck away in a corner, it’s something that deserves pride of place. Which is good, because at 11.4kg it’s heavy, so once you decide where it looks best – which is pretty much anywhere and everywhere – you’ll want it to stay there.
But the important thing here is, as good as the latest release from the French brand looks, it sounds even better. Taking it out of the box, I wondered about its speaker positioning, with aluminium tweeter and medium drivers placed to stare out at the front (as seen below), and two beautiful wide aluminium bass drivers, one directed out at each side.
But this provides for excellent separation as well as a truly immersive sound. The Phantom literally fills a room with sound, no matter where you are in relation to it. Plus it can go loud without any issues. Very loud. Neighbours-banging-on-the-wall loud.
While the sound does feel a little compromised if you’re too close to the unit, probably because of your proximity to the tweeter pointing at you, just a few steps away you feel like the sound is wrapping warmly around you like a warm towel on a cold morning.
The design of the room I had it set up in is an L-shape – with the Phantom sitting at the far end of the short base side in the kitchen. But even when I walked away to the end of the upper point at the front door I could still feel every note and beat as clear and full as in any other part of the room.
Another major selling point is that it works across any musical style you throw at it, with the bass drivers making the sides physically pulse out majestically when it gets a solid workout from booty-shaking sounds, and it all comes together over heavy rock and soul tracks. Basically, it treats throbbing bass, thumping drums, guitars both gentle and raucous, and a variety of vocals like its own children – it has no favourites and presents them all with equal passion.
Impressively, it also warmed beautifully to more soulful jazz spots, really coming to the party for Miles Davis’ smooth Kind Of Blue, while still being fully equipped for the variety across his more freak-out Bitches Brew. Both records really did open new landscapes, despite the number of times I’d heard them before, with Kind Of Blue sounding exceptionally engulfing.
The Phantom I is the result of more than 10 years research and development, with more than 200 patents filed and 100 specialists in aerodynamics, automotive, acoustics and mechanical engineering, all put together to deliver high-end performance with zero distortion, saturation or background noise.
As for specs, you’re dealing with an ARM Cortex-A9 1.25GHz processor and 512MB DDR3-1600 memory, and the operating system goes at 24bits/96kHz, with THD at -112dB.
Making the design even sleeker is the lack of buttons here – with all controls handled by a cool, and again great looking, little round puck-shaped remote that charges via USB. Volume is controlled by turning the outer ring of the remote, which also lets you forward tracks, back up and stop. It looks smooth enough that it will blend in anywhere, or slip it into your pocket if you’re roaming the house or chatting to guests at a party.
You can also do all that stuff with the simple dedicated Devialet app.
Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to pair it with another unit for multi-room or stereo, though if I did there’s a good chance I’d never come into work again.
LINK TO BUY: DEVIALET
The Devialet Phantom I wireless speaker makes a hell of an impact, both visually and aurally, delivering truly gut-punching bass without skimping with some very sweet high and mid range tones.
Visually, it’s quite a design piece, and the way the bass drivers pulse when the low end is engaged is very enticing. It really does bring out the best in production all across the sonic spectrum.
It’s very heavy, with the egg shape also making it difficult to carry. You also need to be at a distance to it for optimum sound quality.