"The midrange was lacking in detail and complexity," Arias says. On R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion," the mandolin sounded a bit tinny and Michael Stipe's constricted vocals sounded like he could have used a few more minutes to warm up before the engineer hit the record button. The Crescendo was pleasant enough to listen to, but the sound lacked the sophistication that the price would suggest. If NBC decided to reboot "Friends," the Crescendo X's slick crescent-shaped enclosure could easily be featured in the gang's new digs, but our testers were less than impressed with the sound. The American high-end company still makes floorstanding speakers with five-figure prices, but the Crescendo X is MartinLogan's attempt to enter the wireless speaker market. Remember those 6-foot-tall speakers crammed in the corner of Joey's apartment in the 1990's sitcom "Friends"? Those audiophile totems were MartinLogans. Our team tested a stereo pair of two MA770s, and though the sound improved somewhat, it didn't justify the substantial increase in price. On "Royals" you might find yourself tapping your foot to the strong low end but also wondering whether singer Lorde has a bit of a chest cold. However, the MA770 was a bit bass-heavy, and the all-important midrange provided less detail than the very best speakers do.
Knock on the side and it's a bit like rapping a cinderblock-there's not even a trace of an echo-which allows the speaker drivers to perform at their best. This sizeable speaker weighs more than 35 pounds, and that's because it's made from a concrete composite that's designed to be as inert as possible. But make sure you're lifting with your legs. Looks aside, to really get a feel for this speaker try and pick it up. The understated Master & Dynamic MA770 was designed with Sir David Adjaye, the architect responsible for the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian. This lets you easily hear the contrast between, say, Johnny Cash's growling baritone and the sweet harmonies of the backup singers on "Ring of Fire." "The biggest strength was the clarity of the midrange," says Elias Arias, head of the CR's wireless speaker test program. Our testers were impressed by the Phantom's solid and very deep bass, and the speaker also did a great job of rendering voices. Though there's much difference of opinion about the Phantom's design and aesthetics, when it comes to sound quality, the Devialet gets good grades. The French company also makes state-of-the-art $35,000 amplifiers, so the Phantom is its attempt to bring the company's expertise into a price range that's not just the province of super-rich audiophiles. Our testers did find the app very easy to use, however.
It's controlled totally by a phone app, so there's no way to reduce the volume or mute the speaker by simply touching a button. The Phantom defies convention in another way, too: There's not a button to be found.
The show continues when you set up the hefty, hard plastic speakers: Plug in the bright yellow power cord and the Phantom's side-mounted passive speaker drivers vibrate almost luridly.
Does it resemble an alien space egg? Or is it more like a prop from an upcoming Star Wars sequel?Īnd more to the point, do you think it's a) super cool, b) kind of interesting looking, or c) vaguely ridiculous? As an object, the Devialet Phantom is a bit of a Rorschach test.