Devialet Phantom Ultimate 108dB: New bottle, new wine, and the experience is as refined as ever
Combining both technology and acoustic design techniques, it is no surprise that Devialet has a very unique position in the high-end audio equipment market. Of course, with the 108dB Phantom version so far, it has never been cheap. But in return, with a product made in France, combined with what it brings, in some ways, Devialet Phantom is always the perfect bridge from mid-range audio devices to the world of high-end music speakers.
As for the remaining aspect, spending hundreds of millions, or more, to buy a pair of 108dB Phantoms, for young consumers, that is more than enough when talking about the quest for beautiful sound. Pair two speakers together to form a stereo system, then play music from convenient and diverse sources, including Apple Music Lossless or Tidal. Convenience is always what people talk about, after finishing admiring the simple yet stylish shape from the hands of designers from France.
In short, Devialet Phantom is probably in a separate realm now. Compared to other technology speakers, it is completely different in design. Compared to bookshelf speakers that provide sound quality for demanding ears, Phantom's connections create clear comfort.
On a more fun and less serious side, because the customer base themselves are convinced by the abilities of the Devialet Phantom, that is, young people, suddenly this audio toy is given the nickname "unrivaled flying speaker," thanks to the pair of woofers that both ensure the intensity of the bass range when playing music, and also have the ability to eliminate translational vibrations, to ensure that the sound is not affected at high volumes. But to be fair, that nickname isn't wrong. Turn on synthwave or trance and listen to it with this one, it feels so good. I don't try the jerky genres because it's not my music taste, but the bass is basically very compact, very strong and very powerful. That's what Devialet did, before the Phantom Ultimate with both 98 and 108dB versions, the 2025 version, came out. As for the new product launched from Devialet, from the outside to the inside, everything has changed.
The Phantom's sophistication and ability to attract attention remains the same with the Ultimate, but at the same time, the sound quality of this speaker, even when placed alone, in large spaces. Doing so allows the Phantom Ultimate 108dB's 1100W RMS capacity to operate at its maximum capacity, everything has become more perfect, more musical, more airy, suitable for many music genres at the same time, whether you want to play youth music, ballads, electronic music, or rich audiophile recordings in both detail and space of sound.
First and foremost, perhaps even before talking about the Phantom Ultimate's changed exterior, is the new version of the tweeter, with the ability to reproduce sound at a maximum frequency of 35 kHz. The ability to control the sound in the high range, where the sound of many musical instruments is present, really helps both increase the accuracy when recreating digital music and also improve the sound space when listening to music. The second change is a new processor chip, better processing performance and improved power consumption performance. Next, the power supply itself has also been redesigned, to effectively supply power to the amplifier. The third change is wireless connectivity upgrades. WiFi is upgraded from WiFi 5 to WiFi 6, while Bluetooth 5.0 is upgraded to Bluetooth 5.3. The Bluetooth aspect is really convenient, but during the entire experience, I have never connected my phone to the speaker via Bluetooth, because the sound will be converted and degraded, unlike the WiFi music listening protocols that the speaker supports.
Inside the speaker set, there is still an amplifier developed by Devialet, named ADH. It combines both class A and class D amps, forming a hybrid system that processes audio signals, sending that signal out to 4 drivers, two woofers on both sides, a mid-range driver and a high-range tweeter. Besides the ADH amplifier, the i.MX 8M Nano processing chip from NXP equipped inside the Phantom Ultimate will simultaneously handle features to perfect music playback:
All of those changes are packaged inside a new shell, more refined, more elegant, although not as noisy as the old version in terms of appearance, but still very luxurious. Even though it uses a combination of ABS and fiberglass-reinforced polycarbonate plastic, the 108dB version still weighs 11.1 kg, not as petite and small and weighs only 4.3 kg as the 98dB version. That's right, the speaker set has a capacity of 1100W, the sound intensity is 10 times higher than the 98dB version, when you buy the Phantom Ultimate 108dB, you will want to leave it in one place, not move as much as Mania. In that respect, there will be two stand options for the Phantom Ultimate 108dB. Or the Treepod stand locks the speaker in place and places it in a corner of the room, like what I have been experiencing. The second option, usually for those who buy a pair of speakers, turns them into a pair of bookshelf in the center of the entertainment system, called Tree. This speaker stand is 660mm high and weighs 4.15kg, ensuring both sound quality and aesthetic quality, hiding the power cord, or any cable you want to connect to the speaker.
Speaking of connectivity, with the "wireless" mindset taking the lead, there are only really necessary connections for those who put the Phantom Ultimate 108dB in a high-end sound system with a music server, there will only be two connections, which are not the most popular for audio players. The first is a Toslink port, which connects the optical signal. And the second is an RJ45 port to plug in an ethernet cable, if you need the stability of the audio signal instead of using WiFi, or connect directly to the server to get digital music. No RCA, no HDMI, no connections familiar to home audio systems.
The rough shell instead of the glossy shell also makes the speaker look more luxurious and attracts more attention, but in return, if someone touches it with sweat and fingerprints, it will be more difficult to clean. The highlight is still the panels on the two sides, now in pearl tones, including on the two black and white versions. As for the Opera de Paris version, of course the artisans at Ateliers Gohard still treat it with a thin layer of gold on the two panels, creating contrast with the pearl white shell. The touch control buttons have also been simplified, from 5 buttons to 4 buttons, removing the button connecting two speakers into a stereo system, bringing it into the application. The rest we have is a bluetooth connection button, music toggle and 2 volume control buttons.
And when it comes to applications, perhaps if you play music with the Devialet Phantom Ultimate 108dB in a "standalone" style, meaning it does not come with a Roon server or an Audirvana running system, but only plays music from an online service, then after plugging in the speaker, the first thing you need to do is install the latest version of the Devialet application on your phone or tablet.
With this application, you will be able to do everything, from adjusting the volume of the speaker, combining two speakers into a stereo system, and the most important thing is adjusting the equalizer for the most perfect music experience for every genre of music you enjoy. But actually, if you connect the speaker and phone on the same internet connection, most of the time you won't need to open this application too much. The reason is that as always, the Devialet application will not allow you to choose music or open music playlists on each different application. You will still play music on Apple Music, on Tidal, through the Roon server, control with the corresponding app and select the audio output as Devialet Phantom Ultimate 108dB.
With online music streaming protocols like Google Cast and Apple Airplay 2, the limit will always be 24-bit 48 kHz digital music. If you want to listen to 24-bit 96 or 192 kHz music from Apple Music, you will need an external system to process the digital music and physically stream it directly to the speaker via Toslink or mechanical RJ45. As for Spotify, we still don't know when Vietnam will be able to listen to lossless music again...
As for Tidal Connect, when you see the music information on the app, WiFi will download the correct recording to the speaker for you to listen to. The only thing is that shopping on Android and iOS is a bit difficult, and my account now has too many services sold monthly or even yearly:
And after carefully talking about the quality of digital music streaming through the different protocols that Devialet Phantom Ultimate supports, it's time to discuss the sound quality of the speakers. With the new pair of woofers, it is easy to recognize one thing: the internal force of the bass range in basic equalizer mode, without adjusting any sound range, always tends to be stronger than the previous 108dB Phantom 2. Perhaps because the low ranges can only be recognized by the chest, not our eardrums, it is easy to come to the conclusion that sub bass and mid bass are at risk of encroaching on the mid and high ranges. Actually, not really. The detail of Hi-Res or Lossless music, especially the instruments or the artist's voice, is still something you can easily recognize. Every detail, including the singer's breathing sounds, are expressed in a much clearer and clearer way.
And finally, the tweeter really makes the high notes or percussion instruments in music fly higher and more spacious, without ever having the sound drowned out by the bass from the two woofers. The most recognizable are Baroque music. When I open Vivaldi's works, I believe that some of you will be immersed in the sea of music and the depth of the recordings. The higher powered of the two Phantom Ultimate models really makes a difference in the depth of each track. The bass is not only more impressive, both in terms of sound and physical sensation affecting our bodies, but is also much more neatly controlled. But because it is a device for people to enjoy music, everything will not be as straight as the reference speakers. The musicality thanks to the mid-bass range is still very clear, and if you listen to many genres such as lyrical or old songs, you will probably want to turn down the equalizer a bit so that the Phantom Ultimate's ability to perform excellent music details can shine.
I have to admit, everything I wrote above comes purely from the perspective of an audio player. But the Devialet Phantom is more than just a set of speakers. Devialet wants to make it a lifestyle statement, of a high-quality audio experience in the simplest way possible. It's still an item that's incredibly susceptible to the Diderot effect. Owners of Phantom speakers will always want the entire room to match the beauty of the "egg" they just brought home. Phantom Ultimate, whether 98 or 108dB, is the same. Even with the matte finish, the speaker looks even more elegant than the old version, with a presence that, although less noisy than the glossy finish that reflects light from all sides, is still enough to attract all eyes. And most importantly, many redundant details that affect the overall aesthetic of the speaker set are gone. Most importantly, the connection ports have been hidden inside, covered by a custom-designed C13 plug, rounded according to the speaker's shell. And finally, a piece of advice is given, which is that with what the Phantom Ultimate shows, the music room may also need acoustic treatment, to eliminate reverberation, as well as create a space for this speaker set to serve you at its maximum ability.