Review on 🔊 Enhanced Devialet Phantom I 108dB Speaker (Dark Chrome) by Philip Breeze

First I had a pair of Reactor 900's in black (I think white is dumb - fine for Europe I think, or if you have a white fetish and a bunch of iClown stuff - iPad, iMac etc. d.) . It was FUN in my living room (22.5ft wide x 14ft deep with 9ft high ceilings). Even the 900s hammered this room and I listen pretty damn loud. When I saw that these new, larger units were available in black, I immediately bought a pair with custom tree stands (about $7,500 total). I put a Reactor 900 on my desk (LOL) in my office - awesome at close range too. Anyone talking about connection issues or audio quality issues. After 50-100 hours of play, these are completely different animals. They should break in like any other component or speaker. 2) DO NOT use Bluetooth if you care about the best sound quality. You MUST connect an Ethernet cable directly to them to get the best sound from them. If you're playing low-resolution music (Spotify, Pandora, etc - MP3-type crap) from your phone via Bluetooth, you're doing it wrong! And you don't give the speaker what he deserves. The speaker will do as it is told, or it will sound like you feed it. Feed it trash, you get trash. Input Tidal or Quoboz in High Definition over Ethernet and it will sound AMAZING! I am almost 50 years old and have been involved in this hobby since I was 15 years old. I've had so many different devices over the years. Amplifiers, speakers, CD players, DACs, etc. something fun to do these days. I currently have two systems. SYSTEM 1 (large room): Devialet Phantom I with Wireworld power cords, Devialet ARCH and Bluesound Node 2i for streaming. Use a good Cardas digital RCA cable from the Bluesound 2i to the Devialet ARCH (bypassing the Node 2i DAC) and then just connect the ethernet through the network switch. Standard CAT 7 Ethernet cable in all directions. I also connect everything to a BPT power supply with a LessLoss Signature power cable attached to it. SYSTEM 2 (small room): BPT power supply with LessLoss Signature power cable, Belles Aria integrated amplifier (also with LessLoss Signature PC), Bluesound Node 2i (used as streamer and DAC in this case) with Nordost Purple Flare power cable, Sounds- Monitors Faber Luito connected with Clear Day speaker cable, SVS SB-3000 subwoofer with Wireworld power cable and with Clear Day cinch cable between integrated amplifier and Bluesound Node 2i. The two systems are definitely different, but both are VERY fun for different reasons. The rooms vary in size and acoustic characteristics, but both sound fantastic. The System 2 sounds a little "juicier" or "warmer", has a more intimate sound and is a great option for basic listening. Jazz, vocals, blues, etc. But it could never match the dynamics of System 1, NEVER - even though the volume (space) of that room is much larger. I listen to both systems depending on the mood of the day/evening. The Devialet setup is so dynamic, clean and precise. Hearing music from Depeche Mode, Broods, Volbeat, Godsmack, Big Data, MS MR, Gary Newman, Chevelle etc is just amazing. You can take these powered speakers so hard they never break or fatigue. I've messaged Devialet to suggest they start making a subwoofer to match. Even though the Phantom plays very deep bass and has plenty of it, it would still be nice to have more body impact - bass on concert stages, for example, hitting the room. Keep in mind that by then, if you've bought a decent pair of 'regular' speakers, cables, power amp, preamp (or built-in amp), streamer, DAC, subwoofer, etc., you'll probably be spending at least as much as much costs a pair (or more) My other system is definitely more expensive overall than the $700 I spent on this pair of Phantom I's.