What is it?
A premium wireless speaker.
Good Points?
Every aspect of the Devialet Gold Phantom is meant to be striking from the uniquely sublime design to the raw power of its huge 4500-watt musical output.
The device is hard to describe physically but looks like it has been plucked from the shoulders of a sci-fi robot.
This notion is only enhanced by the breath-like movement of the pulsating twin woofers on both sides when the device is switched on.
The speaker can function in Bluetooth or WiFi modes which allows playback from either a standalone music device or straight from an audio streaming service such as Spotify.
Devialet have created bespoke technologies that combine to produce a super sounding beast of music. It handled all the usual benchmark testing with effort to spare, particularly on songs with strong acoustics and vocals.
Bad points?
The overreaching bass penetration is a little too high for the accompanying treble and middle frequencies resulting in excessive reverberation which won't endear you to neighbours in close proximity.
The loan sample machine I tested had to be reset to original factory settings before it would set up properly.
Best for ...
Those fearless souls willing to unleash the true potential of this souped up wireless speaker and crank it to the limit. It would also be an ideal solution for small theatres and large living spaces.
Avoid if ...
You don't have a spare small fortune to outlay on a cable-less speaker that looks like a robot's head.
Score: 8/10.
Devialet Gold Phantom wireless speaker, £2,190 (devialet.com)
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here