High End Audio Reviews By Pros
Devialet Phantom Reactor 600 Watt Hi, welcome to my review of the Devialet Phantom Reactor 600 Watt Wireless Bluetooth Speaker. The French company Devialet wants to cater to different markets by releasing their ”cheapest” wireless speaker yet, the Phantom Reactor. It is the Phantom’s mini-me and comes with a slashed priced tag, giving a chance […]
Devialet Phantom Reactor 600 WattHi, welcome to my review of the Devialet Phantom Reactor 600 Watt Wireless Bluetooth Speaker.
The French company Devialet wants to cater to different markets by releasing their ”cheapest” wireless speaker yet, the Phantom Reactor. It is the Phantom’s mini-me and comes with a slashed priced tag, giving a chance to those who would like to own one but couldn’t with the previous Devialet models.
This small yet powerful orb that is less than the size of a basketball is capable of being so loud; it rivals some of the best home theater systems. What sets it apart from others is its engaging sound that can fill a large room which comes from a portable package. It rewards you with thumping bass complete with a pair of throbbing woofers that will surely elicit compliments from other people.
In this Devialet review, we will delve further into this compact wonder and see if it genuinely delivers and how it stacks up to the stiff competition in the world of wireless audio.
I’m going to tell you about the features of this tiny Phantom Reactor and let you in on what verified purchasers are saying about it and help you get the best price to purchase this awesome wireless speaker.
Alright, alright, alright, let’s get into this little baby here. If you don’t already know about the Phantom Reactor, you are in for a treat! The Reactor is Devialet’s newest addition to the Phantom family line. It has the same lineage, tech, and sound of its Big Poppa the Gold Phantom, just in a tiny footprint.
The difference between the Phantom Reactor & it’s older cousins is that rather than a front-facing midrange driver and tweeter, the Phantom Reactor has one full-range driver; it’s not able to achieve quite the same levels of separate or overall sound quality, but you would expect in a smaller speaker that is roughly one-third the price.
For comparison sake – it’s about the size of the more familiar Sonos One. There is NO mistaking the difference in sound quality though.
I know Right? How can they pack all that tech and explosive sound in a smaller package? Well, watch this and see for yourself…
Boom! There it is.
“Nothing Says Rock ‘n’ Roll Like a Speaker as Loud as a Jackhammer.”
The Reactor comes in 2 models – the PA511 a 600 Watt 95 Db version & the HW511 900 Watt 98 Db version. The only difference being slightly more volume/power and about $300 in price.
“Didn’t struggle to create genuine physical rumble in the listening room.”
Imagine the best concert you have ever been to. Now imagine having it in your living room. That’s what having a Reactor or 2 around your home feels like.
“Besides another Devialet speaker, there’s really no alternative. Devialet speakers are simply unique.”
For all the left brain folks out there, I am all the Specs are below including any standout features and I’ll give you my verdict. If your a right brain (like me) and you just want the quick feature list – jump on down to Key Features.
The Devialet Phantom Reactor is the latest variant of the Phantom series, following the Classic, Silver, and Gold Phantoms. They all possess the same enclosures and design but differ in amplifier power. The company itself could not have described it better with their tagline ”Looks XXS, Sounds XXL.” That’s because Devialet promises to provide similar quality that it has for its higher-end models despite its scaled down size.
The 600 Watt Phantom weighs in at a bantam 9.5 pounds and measures just 8.6 x 6.2 x 6.6 inches (just under 352 cubic inches), that is about 1/4 the size of the Phantom Classic, Silver & Gold. Now, 9.5 pounds may seem like a lot for a portable speaker but compare it to other small wireless speakers and it finds it’s in line with its measurements. Speakers have a lot more components than they used to back in the day and quality components also carry some weight to them.
You can then expect to enjoy their patented Analog- Digital hybrid technology which Devialet is sought after for. It combines classes A and D methods seamlessly. With the Phantom Reactor’s downsized housing and electronics, it was still able to come up with this ADH converter so that you will never feel that this is just an entry-level model in the Phantom line.
The user can connect many mobile devices via Bluetooth with apps such as Spotify and Airplay 2.0. You can use a wired 3.5mm jack as well. The controls are possible either through its touch sensors or using the Spark app. And with its Signal Active Matching or SAM, your music tempo is precisely matched by the Reactor.
It used to be that sound is proportional to the size of its source. As such, big sounds can only be produced by big speakers until the efficiency of the high tech Heart Bass Implosion. This revolutionary feature makes the deepest bass levels possible from a small packaging that is the Devialet Reactor.
If you are considering a speaker for personal use, this 600-watt powerhouse will be good enough. That’s equivalent to almost 100 decibels of raw power which can already cause hearing damage. For some, it could be too much as it’s like listening to a lawnmower in action.
After hearing several songs via AirPlay, I must say that its clarity is on point and the volume easily fills the room without a hitch. It is evident when playing thick jazz sounds during which the depth of the Reactor’s bass consumes the guitar bass. The vocals remain unaffected by the bass line bumps and highs with undeniable clarity.
To illustrate, you can crank up the volume from zero to one hundred without experiencing any sound distortion. What you will get is clean and expansive audio with zero background noise and saturation even at low volumes.
Meanwhile, the Phantom Reactor is designed consciously using three bass drivers that you can’t ignore. One takes care of the mids and high range while the other two will let you experience the low end.
The Devialet Reactor is one-fourth the size of its bigger siblings, but it is not by any means lightweight. It is identical to the Devialet Phantom, from the white spherical shape, front snowflake grill, back heat vents, to the side woofers, all in a miniature scale.
This speaker only has a 3-centimeter treble driver compared to the original Phantom’s inclusion of both a tweeter and mid driver. It is understandable given the compactness of the device. It surely is small, but it comes with a formidable set of 160 patents and almost 1000 parts, making it a very intense and durable audio machine.
As far as control buttons this unit has, you will find Play, Volume, Sync, and Bluetooth with a LED indicator among the capacitive touch functionality. However, I was a bit bummed upon learning that it does not support the Deezer app. Instead, it can play from Spotify, Apple’s AirPlay, and UPnP. This is only when you can achieve Hi-res audio for as long as it’s from a compatible source.
[UPDATE APRIL 2019: Reactor models do support DEEZER, Qobuz, Tidal, and other streaming platforms as well as playing from Itunes, and saved local tracks on your laptop or desktop computer.]
When you go to the control app, there a big volume dial plus other buttons that enable switching of sources.
600 W peak
95 dB SPL at 1 meter
Bandwidth: 18Hz to 21kHz (@-6dB) Accuracy in frequency response : ± 1dB from 25Hz to 20kHz
THD+N* : 0.001% | Saturation : 0 | Background Noise 0 dB SPL at 1m (*Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise)
Devialet DAC embedded in ADH3 intelligence 24bits / 96 & 192kHz THD: -112dB
ARM Cortex-A9 1.25GHz processor 512MB DDR3-1600 memory
1 x Aluminum Full-Range driver 2 x Aluminum Bass drivers
These tiny speakers put out 95Db of sound as compared to the Gold Phantom that puts out 108Db. Still a mighty wallop in my living room.
I’m glad you asked because since they are jamming all this audio goodness into such a small footprint, they developed a few more technologies than they had in the original Phantoms. The Reactor currently has over 160 patents and over 1000 parts inside its sexy little body including:
ADH3 – is Devialet 3rd generation patented technology that marries Class A Analog and Class D digital audio allowing for crystal clear amplification of the signal. That means you get clear, pure sound even at MAX volume.
HBI2 – 2nd Generation Heart Bass Implosion using hermetic sealing of the 2 subwoofers creating huge amounts of pressure to generate Bass all the way down to 18Hz which by the way, you can’t hear but you can FEEL in your body.
SAM2 – 2nd Generation Speaker Active Matching reproduces an exact match of the tempo & rhythm of the audio using mathematical processes that I can’t begin to understand much less explain. All I know is, it’s freakin awesome!
ACE2 – Active Cospherical Engine tech makes the sound ways generate and spread throughout the space the speaker is in perfectly. This means the sound is more spatial than any of its competitors.
That’s another awesome point, you can use it with all the same sources as the original Phantom. And enjoy the 24-bit high res streaming too.
Absolutely, and it is easier than ever as the only “equipment” that you would need is the free SPARK APP! Currently, you can use the SPARK APP to hook up to 8 Reactors together to use as a home theater system, multi-room audio system or any way you want to really. You can set up 1 or 2 reactors in different rooms, and control their playlists independently.
Yes. You can hook 2 Phantom Reactors of the same power (600Watt or 900 Watt) together and set them to play in stereo spittling the signal into left and right channels if you please viz the Spark App.
Let’s face it, this may be the cheapest in the Devialet Phantom family, but at about 1000 dollars, it’s still a rich man’s gadget. Some people would even argue that its interesting look overshadows its sound system.
When you talk about audio fidelity, unfortunately, it falls a little short. It’s more on bass and treble. I think from a rational standpoint; this Devialet Phantom suits listeners who are content with a stock product unlike those who like to tinker with the hi-fi sound setup by adding more hardware such as amplifiers. The Devialet app has no equalizer and other settings aside from the basic input and volume.
Another reason this is not for sound purists is the Reactor’s dedication to highs and lows, forgetting mids which give fullness and warmth depending on the song. That’s because if the music is thumping with bass, it will sound amazing on this Devialet speaker. But when you listen to jazz, it will still sound good alright, but to the refined listener, the details such as piano riffs and high taps are slightly missing.
After my experience with the Devialet Phantom Reactor and weighing the pros and cons, I will still consider it the best in its category of high end compact wireless speakers despite the price and some shortcomings. If only for its sheer power, this puppy deserves your attention.
Anybody who has wanted a Devialet Phantom speaker but has either been unable to afford one or who’s skeptical because maybe it is too big for their space.
As long as slightly less performance than the original Phantom Golds doesn’t bother you, it’s perfect size for small(er) rooms and apartments.
Thanks for sticking around and reading my review of the Phantom reactor.
Looking at the Verified Purchaser reviews on Amazon.com it’s super clear that people LOVE these speakers for a couple of reasons. They are a significantly lower price point than the Classic Phantoms, they are smaller, lighter, and they sound incredible.
21 Reviews at this writing, 72% come in with a 4 or 5 Star rating while only 5% ( 1 review) came in at 1 Star. That said, any reviewer that left any feedback concerning a negative aspect of performance, the manufacturer themselves immediately replied and offered any assistance necessary to solve the issue.One customer was having connectivity problems with his Reactor and initially sent it back, purchased a rival brand replacement and was seriously disappointed with the sound of it compared side by side with the Reactor. Working with the manufacturer to solve the connectivity issue – Devialet sent him one direct from France. That’s how great their customer service is.
Several customers commented that they were going to order another Reactor and use them in stereo they were so pleased with their performance.
While another customer purchased the Gold Phantom shortly after their Reactor purchase as they enjoyed the sound so much.
#1 Incredible Sound Quality
#2 Awesome Bass
#3 Great to listen to Streaming Services
There have been a couple of reviewers that said they thought it was still a bit expensive or that if you were considering purchasing a Reactor to purchase the Phantom Gold instead.
Now maybe they were under the impression that the Reactor would have exactly the same range and power as the Phantom Gold, and honestly, that just isn’t true. The Reactor will lack a bit in range and have a good bit less power, however, it was designed that way from the start. The smaller frame just can’t reproduce that exact match as I had mentioned above.
The Phantom Reactor is definitely a modern marvel of tech and engineering and produces amazing sound.
It may still be too spendy for some people. However, for those that truly enjoy audio, the price point is not a problem.
Combining the elements of an advanced digital-analog converter, wireless technology, and multiple connection capability in one mean speaker machine, the Devialet Phantom Gold takes a fresh approach to cutting edge design and producing effortless sound in your space.
Following the success of the Devialet Phantom, its French maker released the gold variant in 2017. At first glance, you will be surprised to learn that this product hails from France, which is not exactly known in the high-end sound speaker department. But, they are out there and seems very much equipped to knock down their German, Austrian, British and Japanese competition.
The quirkiness and pulsating bass of its predecessor has extended to the Phantom Gold, and with more features of course. Devialet has definitely created a product that intends to overwhelm your senses, which will always find its way in many audiophile conversations.
But can the Devialet Phantom Gold really measure up to the demands of discriminating sound listeners? It is considered in the top tier after all (you’ll know the price later). Let’s find out as we discuss its salient points in this review. I’ll let you in on what verified purchasers are saying about it, give you my verdict and finally, help you get the best price on this awesome wireless speaker.
Typically I would have the product for several days, weeks, months even for review purposes to get to know the item more than just be impressed by it. However, in the case of the Devialet Phantom, I called their marketing and PR, and unfortunately, they didn’t have an available loaner. Instead, they invited me to visit their flagship store in New York City, where we can play out the Phantom.
Since I was in town for another function, off I went to Soho for the demo. As I stepped inside, I was amazed by the minimalist design and size of the boutique, which I was told to be their biggest one yet. It occupies two spacious floors. On the ground level, they have their isolated immersive room where you can truly relish the pure sound of their speakers.
Made as a single wireless speaker, the Phantom Gold allows ethernet connection for audiophiles who would prefer a stable signal over sleekness. But if you’re not happy with just one speaker, you can configure multiple phantoms to deliver cinematic surround quality.
You should use the Spark App, which is available in IOS, Windows, and Android setups to control the operation of your Devialet Phantom Gold. While it may look like a complicated piece of equipment along with its astounding technical features, this Phantom is a user-friendly product which will not require a special location to operate at a high level.
Thanks to its omnidirectional sphere, you can enjoy the multiple layers and frequencies without a hitch. Perhaps you can place it at an angle if you like to have those smoother highs.
While I wasn’t keen on the idea that I will test the speaker right at that moment compared to using it as a regular item, I did not regret the opportunity nonetheless. For the sake of you as a reader of this article, I made sure to cover all bases under the circumstances. And with its price tag, I shouldn’t be easily in awe and be more critical instead.
One of the essentials of having a solid and punchy sound is a lush bass. The low end is almost always tricky, but the Phantom gold gave some of the most intense basses you’ll ever hear. And boy, it was the loudest pure sound coming from a single speaker I’ve listened to in years. When you look at its specs and see that it has an amplification that peaks at 4,500 watts, that explains its pure power.
The volume coming from the robotic-looking device is enough to rupture anyone’s ears. Given its quality and digital-analog hybrid technology, the sound does not break even at extremely ear-shattering levels. It truly feels like your in the front row of a rock concert.
You might think that this speaker only becomes outstanding when you play beefed up music such as rap, rock, and the like. But what about folk acoustics or something similar? So I switched my playlist to the band The Weather Station.
As I listened from the Devialet Phantom, the guitar sounds are very clear, yet they do not overpower the singer’s voice. But I noticed that in one part where the whole band is in full force, it seemed that the speaker compressed the sound such that there is no gap between the instruments being played. In such an instance, you will expect the guitar, drums, and cymbals to heighten but instead, their sounds were moving around each other.
Meanwhile, when we’re talking fast and loud rap music plus heavy metal, of course, the Devialet Phantom Gold is surely in its element. Don’t get me wrong – I think that it will sound great nonetheless regardless of music genre. But it’s the bass-driven music that is its shall I say favorite child among its flock.
The Phantom Gold handles deep and fast moving bass line with the coolness of a cucumber yet with undeniable control. It starts by hitting hard and then offers variations on the tone and texture, all these while maintaining both its poise and impact. The bass packs a punch yet has that natural sound decay which can be good with instruments that are low on acoustics.
I’ve got to say that while these aspects do not equal the superiority of the Phantom’s bass, they are still good nonetheless. The mid range does not get muddy and can maintain the warmth of the bass that makes it rich in sound. It holds its own despite the attack of the low end, capable of revealing the very nuances of the singer’s singing in between lyrics. Moreover, the treble of the Phantom gold is crisp without the harshness.
I did mention that if there were a bit of a downside on the Devialet Phantom, it would have to be the soundstage. It’s alright, but it could be better. This speaker has a difficult time placing the instruments in their precise spots in a song. I raised this point with one of their sales representatives, and he suggested buying two units, which is not the greatest solution from a practical standpoint, but yes, it really does address the problem.
The design game has become competitively innovative among sound speakers, with each trying its best to set itself apart from the rest. In the case of this Devialet Phantom, it has a striking facade with its well-placed golden accent. It has the same casing as its lower variants, which doesn’t look bad either, but this one takes the cake.
Its aesthetic though may not be for everyone, but I like that it looks “alien-y” which makes it pop in the background. At about 20 inches both in length and width, it is pretty much similar to the size of your backpack. However, at 28 pounds, it is not lightweight.
The hassle-free operation is great- you just turn it on and wait for it to show up in your Bluetooth menu and connect afterward. Remember, it has to be plugged in the main power. However, it can be confusing without a power light because you sometimes just want to know it’s actually powered on.
As far as connectivity goes, it was stable even at a distance. I also find myself enjoying the visual of pulsating woofers the speaker does when it lets out its bass for you to feel the rumble. After all, the thrust force from this motion is said to equal to 60 kilograms on both lateral woofers.
The Devialet Phantom gold may be expensive at around 3000 dollars, but it’s easily justifiable. It just has a tremendous amount of high tech components in a luxurious piece that can easily compete with the much larger speakers in the market. And with its proprietary Analog-Digital hybrid along with its hundreds of registered patents, you may be shook with the cost, but as they say, quality comes at a price, albeit a high one.
However, when you think about it, its price may be geared more towards purist audiophiles who are not exactly fans of wireless connectivity in speakers. This probably puts its pricing at a disadvantage. But it’s possible that with the sonic performance of the Phantom Gold, it can still appeal to different sound enthusiasts.
The Devialet Phantom gold is a brilliant audio piece that is capable of clear dense mixes but does not overwhelm the music presentation and congest the sound. And the fact that it can play so loud without a strain is pretty amazing for a compact and wireless device.
With looks that will almost always be a conversation starter wherever it is located, this stunning sound equipment offers high value despite its price. Get yours on Amazon.com now!
For the analytical people out there including any standout features and give you our verdict. If your a right brain (like me) and you just want the quick feature list – jump on down to How Do They Do It?
Size –This 4500 Watt Phantom weighs in at a respectable 28 lbs pounds and measures just 13.8 x 16.9 x 22.9 inches (just about 3 cu ft). Now, 28 pounds may seem like a lot for a portable speaker but compare it to other small wireless speakers and it finds it’s in line with its measurements. Speakers have a lot more components than they used to back in the day and quality components also carry some weight to them.
Devialet set out with a specific goal in mind – to manufacture a sound system that not only competes with but also beats sound systems that cost in the $10K-$20K range – at a price point of under $5k. They absolutely did that!
4500 W peak
108 dB SPL at 1 meter
Bandwidth : 14Hz to 27kHz (@-6dB) Accuracy in frequency response : ± 2dB from 20Hz to 20kHz
THD+N* : 0.0005% | Saturation : 0 | Background Noise 0 dB SPL at 50 cm (-15,5 dB SPL at 3m)
Devialet DAC embedded in ADH2 intelligence 24bits/192kHz THD: -112dB
ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore 800MHz dual-core processor | hard IP | FPGA in a unique System-On-Chip (SoC) Cyclone V 512MB DDR3 memory
Grade 1 Titanium Tweeter driver Aluminum Medium driver Aluminum Bass drivers
Have you heard that the Gold Phantom pushes out 108 Db of sound? It does, all with zero saturation, distortion or background noise. You may be thinking – Really? Can it be that good? And the answer is – Yes.
Devialet decided that they wanted to make speakers priced under $5K both wired and wireless that would compete and win against speakers in the $10k- $20k price range and that meant 2 things.
First, the speakers were going to have to have a superior sound quality and hit the lower price point. Then Devialet set to work, in order to project perfect sound in a small size, they had to invent the technology.
That’s where all the new patents come in – 103+ at the time of this writing.
See, Devialet knew that they were going to have to invent the technology in order to meet their lofty goals.
So they started by marrying 2 key technologies in the audio world – Analog and Digital. They came up with ADH – Analog/Digital Hybrid Technology. Here’s how they describe it:
“Analog Digital Hybrid delivers all the sophistication of analog amplification together with all the power and compactness of digital amplification. The best of both worlds. For amplification of unparalleled clarity and transparency. At every turn. Revolutionary, in a word.”
Then they moved on to the way the audio files are processed with a process they dubbed Speaker Active Matching or SAM for short. They best describe the resulting audio as:
“Whether you’re dealing with transients or steady-state signals, the degree of information processed by SAM is radically superior to anything previously deemed possible. This enables the Phantom to reproduce the exact rhythm and tempo of your music. All of it. With absolute precision. So that you can experience every last emotion. Just as the artist intended.”
Then, to get the level of sound and clarity they had to totally redesign how each speaker is structured, placed and how they work together synchronously in the spherical design. The amount of innovation is truly amazing and lets us all enjoy the Heart Bass Implosion or HBI they have come up with. Their words sum it all up beautifully:
Engineered to perform under extreme compactness and pressure, Phantom’s hermetically sealed architecture consists of two lateral woofers powering together. The sheer thrust force behind their combined movement generates ultra-dense sound with physical impact. Right down to infrasound. 14Hz. Welcome to the deep end.
On top of all that, they make it so easy to upgrade your Phantoms technology with their Evo Platform that allows you to:
“Receive performance and compatibility updates direct to your Phantom. Wirelessly and hassle-free. Simply connect to the Devialet Spark app and let EVO cybernetics do the rest. RIP, planned obsolescence.”
In fact, through their Evo Platform, clients have been able to upgrade wirelessly and gain even more versatility for their Phantom Wireless Speakers in the last year alone integrations and features were added to use apps like DEEZER, Spotify Connect, Pandora, Sound Cloud as well as Bluetooth 5.0 all thru the Spark App ( find it here FREE)
Get $20K sound for under $3K today.
Pretty Much anyway you can think of. Seriously. You can use it as a computer speaker, a TV speaker, pair it with your smartphone and play music and other audio files, connect to Spotify, Deezer, Tidal and other streaming services.
Connect via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ethernet cable, optical cable. Really, the possibilities are nearly endless. This is the MOST versatile wireless/Bluetooth speaker on the market today.
People that want the sound quality and clarity of a $20K sound system for their home theater, multi-room audio system, stereo system or just plain love music and audio but lack the need or desire to spend $20K and have the technical expertise to put it all together. In other words, you just desire the awesome sound and not all the bother, fuss and expense of high tech equipment. If you have hung in with me this far, you’re probably not a tech snob, so this system is definitely up your alley, and totally worth throwing in your Amazon Shopping Cart.
There have been some comments around the web that the Devialet Gold Phantoms, as well as the Classic and Silver, are too hard to set up for a non-techie. Devialet actually took all those comments as constructive criticism to improve the ease of setting up your wireless speakers and created the Expert Pro Configurator App. It makes setting it all up a breeze with an interactive interface that you can use to set up your speaker initially or reset them or create a completely new configuration on demand.
Thanks for reading my review, Get Your Gold Phantom now and enjoy it this weekend!
As you read through the reviews on Amazon.com it becomes abundantly clear that there are many pretty nasty comments and reviews left by unverified sources, so please be sure to filter reviews by Verified Purchasers to get honest reviews both good and bad.
Verified purchasers have compared the Phantom Wireless Speakers to some other brands such as Sounds Faber, Martin Logan, McIntosh, Rotel, and the Bang and Olufsen BeoPlay A9. Stating that they prefer their Phantoms over the other brands.
Most leave just a few words of praise for the Phantoms as everything has already been said at some point about them and they have nothing to add.
On the flip side, there are 7 – 1 Star reviews on Amazon.com for the Gold Phantom by verified purchasers. Of those 7 reviews – the Manufacturer reached out to each customer and helped them either get new speakers or helped with their technical issues.
Or you can get 2 Gold Phantoms with Dialog Hub to use in stereo click here for this bundle.
The one thing we think could be better about the Gold Phantom is the Bluetooth Connectivity Issues.
Other than that, we think the Gold Phantom is pound for pound, inch per inch the best wireless HI-FI sound you will get for the price, anywhere.
I think you will be Obnoxiously Happy with the Gold Phantom 4500 Watt Wireless Bluetooth Speaker.
Oh, and Hey, check out their warranty. I know it’s hard to drop nearly $3K without knowing that you are backed by a solid company and a solid warranty.
