Log in member
Threading between super high-end audio and consumer-based, intriguing design, Devialet's Phantom Ultimate looks to combine the best of both worlds.
"Hello everyone and welcome to another Gamereactor Quick Look.
DVLA, DVLE, has for many years now been able to create a lot of attention, grasp a lot of attention out there in the Ether, thanks to striking designs, high price tag, and impressively sort of loud and spacious soundscapes."
"They are still, make no mistake, really sort of consumer-oriented speakers, but they sort of thread the line between design pieces, sort of semi-high-end hi-fi, at the very least if you ask DVLA themselves, and then that more sort of consumer-oriented sort of apple-ness."
"You want something that is striking to look at, has great basic functionality, but still has that ease of use.
This is the most recent DVLA Phantom, the Ultimate Edition, This comes in several different versions all on its own."
"There's actually one that plays more loudly than this one, oddly enough.
It is only, I think, about 10 decibels that separates them.
This is the 98 decibel version, but as you can surely see, it is still design profile in some respect, which separates this from other like-minded small-ish home speakers."
"It is incredibly heavy, like several kilograms heavy for something which you would normally think, like JBL size-wise, would be something that you could very easily handle.
It is also very distinct from an aesthetical point of view."
"I feel like I'm manhandling a small robot's head.
And it's not that I think it is ugly, but it is definitely something which calls upon your attention when you enter a given space."
"And granted that you can buy small stands for it, meaning that you raise it up into your peripheral vision, this is something that you need to be in love with in order to splurge $1,900 for one, or I believe $3,800 for a duo stereo pair."
"Now, as the name implies, this delivers 98 decibels of power through 400 watts of power.
That comes from a one full-range aluminum dome loudspeaker and two aluminum woofers."
"Now, there's a lot of cool proprietary technology going on in here.
Davey Allais has a bunch of really cool patents.
They have their own Control-U OS to make sure that everything runs smooth.
That is both in terms of playing spatial audio, but also just controlling the drivers, the units inside, to make sure that it fully utilizes the hardware that it has."
"In terms of that usability I was talking about, this is both Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet directly, and also, if you want, AirPlay enabled, Google Cast enabled, and Spotify Connect."
"There's a bunch of protocols here, and it doesn't seem like Davey Allais has skimped on anything.
It uses fancy materials, for sure.
As I said, proprietary technology means that it should play and sound unlike a lot of other stuff, with particularly a warmth that Davey Allais themselves wants to highlight through their marketing material."
"As I said, you can buy the little tree stand, which makes it even more striking.
You can also buy a remote.
All of these things are separate, by the way."
"What you do get for your $1,900 is this basic little unit here.
What I will say is that I'm glad that they sent this colorway over because it also comes in a white with gold accents, which seems to be sort of a regular thing for Davey Allais."
"And that white with the gold really just sort of kicks the ball into gaudy territory.
Whereas this could be at least construed as tasteful in some spaces, in some scenarios."
"So I'm glad that this colorway lends just a little bit of subtlety to the design, which would have been lost had you purchased the other colorway.
Whether it sounds as good as Davey Allais says it does, that is truly what makes or breaks this device, and we will be fully reviewing it very soon."
