Devialet today announced Gold Phantom, which claims to be the most extreme self contained speaker ever made. It boasts a maximum volume of 108db SPL — equivalent to a live rock concert — enabled by 4,500 Watts of peak power with a ultra-low THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) level of .0005%. On top of that, it is said to play sounds beyond the human range of hearing (14Hz – 27kHz), which is actually bat territory.
Gold Phantom now represents the highest-end of the Devialet Phantom line-up that follows the original Phantom (750 Watts, $1,990) and Silver Phantom (3,000 Watts, $2,390). The ultra luxurious, 22 kt Rose Gold-finished stand-alone wireless loudspeaker is driven by a new core ADH (Analog Digital Hybrid amplification) and features a new titanium tweeter.
All Devialet Phantom speakers are exactly the same size and weight 25 lbs (11.4 kg) and stand less than a foot tall. All models include built-in wireless Bluetooth, but the Gold model adds AirPlay. The major difference among models is the amplification and the maximum volume. The original Phantom achieved 99 dB SPL at 1 meter, Silver bumps it up to 105 db, and Gold hits 108 dB — the equivalent to sticking your head next to a running chainsaw (please don’t try). Yet, because sound doubles in volume every 10 dB, one could argue the Gold could play music almost twice as loud as the original Phantom. I haven’t heard any model yet, so I can’t say what is perceived, other than report back the specs.
Price and Availability
The Devialet Gold Phantom will be available at a retail price of $2,990, with pre-orders starting today on www.devialet.com and shipping beginning (appropriately) on Bastille Day, the 14th of July 2016.
Specifications & Comparison
| Phantom (original) | Phantom Silver | Phantom Gold | |
| Sound Pressure Level | 99 dB SPL at 1 meter | 105 dB SPL at 1 meter | 108 dB SPL at 1 meter |
| Amplification Power | 750 W peak | 3,000 W peak | 4,500 W peak |
| Amplification Performances | THD+N* : 0.001% Saturation : 0 Background Noise 0.5 dB SPL at 3m (*Total Haromic Distorsion + Noise) |
THD+N* : 0.0005% Saturation : 0 Background Noise 0 dB SPL at 50 cm |
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| Acoustical Performances | Bandwith: 16Hz to 25kHz (@-6dB) Accuracy in frequency response : ± 2dB from 20Hz to 20kHz |
Bandwith: 14Hz to 27kHz (@-6dB) Accuracy in frequency response : ± 2dB from 20Hz to 20kHz | |
| Technologies | ADH; SAM; HBI; EVO | ADHV2; SAMV2; HBI; EVO | |
| Loudspeakers | Aluminum Tweeter driver Aluminum Medium driver Aluminum Bass drivers | Titanium grade 1 Tweeter driver Aluminum Medium driver Aluminum Bass drivers | |
| Digital to Analog Converter | Texas Instruments PCM1798 24bits/192kHz THD: -106dB |
Devialet DAC embedded in ADHV2 intelligence 24bits/192kHz THD: -112dB |
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| Processor | ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore 800MHz dual-core processeur, hard IP, and FPGA in a unique System-On-Chip (SoC) Cyclone V 512MB DDR3 memory | ||
| Materials | Composite body Internal skin: glass fiber filled polycabonate External skin: ABS Aluminum central core |
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| Colors and Finish | Body: white RAL 9016 Polished stainless steel sides White RAL 9016 dome drivers | Body: white RAL 9016 Sand-blasted stainless steel sides Silver dome drivers | Body: white RAL 9016 22-carat pink-gold-plated sides White RAL 9016 dome drivers |
| Size | Width: 253 mm | Height: 255 mm | Depth : 343 mm | ||
| Weight | 11,4 kg | ||
| Power Supply | IEC 90-240 V~50/60Hz | ||
| Synchronisation | PHANTOM synchronisation via Wi-Fi, Ethernet or PLC Up to 24 Phantom*, 12 Phantom playing simultaneously via Dialog (*Some configurations require a full ethernet installation) |
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| Apps | Spark (Windows 7+, Mac OSX 10.9+, iOS 7+, Android 4.4+), | ||
| Available Services via Wi-Fi using SPARK | Deezer*, Spotify, Qobuz*, Tidal*, Web Radios (* requires a Dialog ) | ||
| Connectivity | – | Airplay | |
| Bluetooth : A2D and AVRCP profiles, aptX, AAC, SBC audio codecs Spotify ConnectProprietary Network Wi-Fi Dual-band (a/b/g/n 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz) Ethernet RJ-45 10/100/1000 Mbps (Gigabit) CPL Homeplug AV2Toslink optical input (TV, CD player, Blu-Ray, video games console,…) |
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| Audio formats | HE-AAC (V1), AAC (16 to 320 kbit/s), WMA (16 bit), MP3 (16 to 320 kbit/s), MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV, FLAC, OGG, VORBIS | ||
| Box Contents | 1 power cable 1 User guide | ||
