If you recall reading our coverage of Devialet’s Phantom and Phantom Gold releases, you will likely remember that these are not your average speakers. Much like Bang & Olufsen’s Edge, Devialet’s speakers are meant to not only offer a stellar sound experience, but to also make a fashion statement. With Devialet’s announcement of its upcoming Phantom Reactor speakers, it is clear that the company still has this goal in mind.
From the company’s several thousand dollar Phantom Gold, to its several hundred-dollar “tree” speaker stand accessories, Devialet clearly caters to those who enjoy (and can afford) the best of the best.
Cost seems to be one of the things that the French speaker company appears to have taken into consideration with its latest release. It certainly makes a lot of sense since many consumers do not fancy spending several thousand dollars on speakers.
With a $999 starting price, Devialet’s Phantom Reactor speakers are quite a bit less than some of its other offerings, but are still not going to rival the sales numbers seen for more inexpensive options like the Sonos One or Apple’s HomePod.
Devialet is not fazed by this though (and it shouldn’t be) since high-end speakers definitely have their place in the market. By investing a lot into research and development, companies like Devialet inevitably bring down the cost of manufacturing the components used in beautiful options with “unreasonable” sound like the Phantom Reactor.
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However, one area that Devialet should have some concerns is the Reactor’s feature set. When someone drops this kind of money on any device, they expect it to have the best technology baked-in.
With connectivity options including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a headphone jack, Chromecast Audio, and more, the Phantom Reactor in its current state only offers AirPlay 1 instead of AirPlay 2.
For those that are all-in on Apple, you will know that having “AirPlay” is no longer enough. While the first iteration of AirPlay is definitely nice to have, but AirPlay 2 is what matters these days.
AirPlay 2’s ability to send audio to multiple speakers from anywhere without the need to use a third-party app that requires proprietary hardware, is simply put, delightful.
All this being said, a statement made by Devialet’s CEO to TechCrunch paints a clear picture that the company wants to support every protocol possible, leaving hope for an update that adds support for AirPlay 2 at some point in the future.
If you are in the market for one of Devialet’s Phantom Reactors, you will be able to pre-order one directly from the company starting tomorrow. The smaller 600W model will be priced at $999 while the 900W option will set you back $1,299.
Keep your eyes peeled for product listings to appear on Amazon and other retailers when the speakers begin shipping on October 24th.
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