Devialet reveals $999 Phantom Reactor, hints at possible AirPlay 2 support

Devialet on Tuesday revealed the Phantom Reactor, a smaller version of its signature Phantom speaker intended to be affordable beyond the wealthy.

Depending on the version, the Phantom Reactor can deliver either 600 or 900 watts of peak power, producing up to 98 decibels at full volume. The speaker nevertheless has a frequency range between 18 hertz and 21 kilohertz, and Devialet claims distortion-free sound at every volume setting.

In addition to analog, optical, and Ethernet inputs, the speaker offers Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, the latter compatible with AirPlay, UPnP, and Spotify Connect. A 2019 update will add Chromecast Audio as well as pairing multiple speakers.

The product doesn't yet support AirPlay 2, but CEO Franck Lebouchard hinted at the prospect in an interview with TechCrunch, explaining why there's no onboard voice assistant.

"We are completely focused on sound quality. We want to be platform agnostic with Apple, Amazon or Google," he said. "Our idea is that we want to make our speakers compatible with all the protocols from those companies — but our business is sound quality."

The standard Phantom is already compatible with AirPlay 2, and in fact was one of the earlier adopters of the standard.

The headline feature of AirPlay 2 is multi-room audio, but it also offers a substantially bigger streaming buffer versus the original AirPlay protocol, helping to reduce interruptions and provide continued streaming even as an iPhone or iPad runs other tasks. AirPlay speakers will appear in the Mac and iOS Home apps, and can be controlled there or via Siri, albeit only to play, pause, or shift rooms.

Preorders for the Reactor start on Wednesday ahead of an Oct. 24 ship date. The 600-watt model will cost $999, while the 900-watt model will come in at $1,299.

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9 Comments

StrangeDays 12757 comments · 8 Years

About 5 years ago

1) How will all of those complaining about Siri in the $350 HomePod wrap their minds around a $1000 wireless speaker with absolutely no digital assistant!?

2) How does a $1000 wireless speaker not launch with AirPlay 2!?

lordjohnwhorfin 852 comments · 18 Years

About 5 years ago

2) How does a $1000 wireless speaker not launch with AirPlay 2!?
A $1000 wireless mono speaker.

patchythepirate 1254 comments · 12 Years

About 5 years ago

StrangeDays said:

1) How will all of those complaining about Siri in the $350 HomePod wrap their minds around a $1000 wireless speaker with absolutely no digital assistant!?

2) How does a $1000 wireless speaker not launch with AirPlay 2!?

1) Siri is terrible. It has nothing to do with the price.
I have a HomePod and a Devialet. They serve different purposes and are both a good value for what they deliver. The difference is that the latter does what is advertised. The HomePod is a great speaker, but the horrible implementation of siri keeps limits it to a narrow range of the usability promised. It's too frustrating to use for anything other than homekit commands, airplay, and playing an occasional playlist (it is unable to find any remotely obscure playlists or albums).
2) Agreed. Pretty absurd.

StrangeDays 12757 comments · 8 Years

About 5 years ago

patchythepirate said:

StrangeDays said:

1) How will all of those complaining about Siri in the $350 HomePod wrap their minds around a $1000 wireless speaker with absolutely no digital assistant!?

2) How does a $1000 wireless speaker not launch with AirPlay 2!?

1) Siri is terrible. It has nothing to do with the price.
I have a HomePod and a Devialet. They serve different purposes and are both a good value for what they deliver. The difference is that the latter does what is advertised. The HomePod is a great speaker, but the horrible implementation of siri keeps limits it to a narrow range of the usability promised. It's too frustrating to use for anything other than homekit commands, airplay, and playing an occasional playlist (it is unable to find any remotely obscure playlists or albums).
2) Agreed. Pretty absurd.

I've yet to see any indicator that Siri is terrible. In the comparison articles I've read each brand has it's pros & cons of abilities. In general none of them are earth shattering or amazing, and they can all do the only likely things you'll do -- set reminders, timers, operate home automation, texts. Basic things. Asking various trivia, whether sporting or whatever, is a gimmick that doesn't offer true value. Same with ordering a pizza or crap like that. As for requesting obscure albums, I find I have to browse my collection to see what I want to play since I can't remember the bands and album names myself, so playing music trivia seems like a gimmick as well. Usually it's stations, genres, playlists, or frequent bands. I've yet to experience any shortcomings with those use cases.

The HP mics are incredibly sensitive and I can issue my home automation commands with ease. And, the speaker sounds great, filling my living room. So much so I haven't bothered to re-install my 7.1 receiver or Anthony Gallo orbs...while that set up sounded better (and cost almost over two grand), the ease of use and set up of HP paired with good sound, outweighs sound quality alone.

All_In_AAPL 1 comment · 6 Years

About 5 years ago

patchythepirate said:

StrangeDays said:

1) How will all of those complaining about Siri in the $350 HomePod wrap their minds around a $1000 wireless speaker with absolutely no digital assistant!?

2) How does a $1000 wireless speaker not launch with AirPlay 2!?

1) Siri is terrible. It has nothing to do with the price.
I have a HomePod and a Devialet. They serve different purposes and are both a good value for what they deliver. The difference is that the latter does what is advertised. The HomePod is a great speaker, but the horrible implementation of siri keeps limits it to a narrow range of the usability promised. It's too frustrating to use for anything other than homekit commands, airplay, and playing an occasional playlist (it is unable to find any remotely obscure playlists or albums).
2) Agreed. Pretty absurd.

Patchy, if you have a Phantom, can you confirm that it and/or the Dialog is AirPlay 2 compatible? It was my understanding that Airplay 2 has NOT been rolled out to any of the Devialet Phantom models as of yet. Thank you.