Devialet Phantom Reactor 600

Wireless speaker with a distinctive aesthetic and impressive bass, but the sound is lacking in emotion

Until recently, many people might have considered Devialet’s Phantom range of premium wireless speakers too rich for their blood. The entry-level Classic Phantom, for example, boasts 1200W of power and comes with a £1590 price tag.

Now Devialet has introduced two smaller, slightly more affordable models, the Phantom Reactor 600 (£990) and Phantom Reactor 900 (£1290). The Reactors look like scaled-down versions of the existing Phantoms and still pack in a full dose of the range's innovative technologies for a decent saving in cost.

On review here is the Phantom Reactor 600, so-called because of its impressive 600W power amplification. It is similar to its siblings in that it’s completely dissimilar to any wireless speaker you’ve ever seen before.

Stormtrooper's lunchbox

How to describe this sixth member of the Phantom family? Stormtrooper’s lunchbox? Alien bug? That’s as close as we can get. It is almost kitten-like in terms of size and personality – just waiting to be scooped up into your hands. It’s stroke-ably stylish, but solid.

But for all its cuteness, it is a lion when it comes to output. The Phantom Reactor 600 is good for a claimed maximum 95db sound pressure level (SPL), similar to the noise produced by a chainsaw or motorbike. It’s loud, and also surprisingly heavy, weighing in at 4.3kg.

Set-up is a breeze with Devialet’s intuitive and simple to use app, whether you’re using one Reactor 600 or stereopairing two of them. The in-app playback options include Bluetooth, Spotify, Airplay and UPNP, and for physical inputs, there’s a 3.5mm analogue and optical audio in at the back.

You could always use your phone or tablet to access music from streaming services, but unlike some of its competitors, Devialet doesn’t offer Tidal or Deezer as embedded options here.

Devialet offers ‘legs’ for the Reactor; three stems screwed into a base which attaches to the underneath of the unit. A downside is that they’re not adjustable, leaving your Reactor at about hip height.

Attacking sound

We load up some tunes via Spotify, and our initial impressions are of a crisp, clear, forward and attacking sound. The heeled footsteps on concrete during the prologue of Coheed And Cambria’s In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 advance towards the ringing telephone with a piercing clarity. There’s plenty of detail, even down to Claudio Sanchez’s initial intake of breath before his opening lines.

It’s a scale of delivery we wouldn’t expect from a speaker of the Phantom Reactor’s compact proportions. The sound is precise, uncluttered and easily fills our room with an impressive bass.

D’angelo’s Devil’s Pie is typified by a grimy, funky bassline, which few speakers of these proportions can deliver. The Reactor 600 reaches depths with a rumble about as technically flawless as one could hope for.

But while D’angelo’s bassline is competently represented in terms of register, the head-nodding swing is not. With the bass so exposed, lack of timing is an issue to the point that it’s actually quite an unmusical sound – the artist’s trademark lilting interplay between drums and vocals isn’t obvious enough.

We play Beyonce’s Partition and while her vocals are crisp and forward, there’s little texture or dynamic variety, making Queen B’s vocal feel louder than it should be in the mix. We hear her clear, bell-like timbre, but the Reactor 600 can't convey the expressive depth, nor the playful emotion, in her vocal.

Our reference speaker, the Naim Mu-so Qb, comes in at just over half the price of the Phantom Reactor 600, and while it can’t compete in terms of bass, the Naim delivers a notably more cohesive, musically pleasing sound. The Phantom Reactor 600 looks other-worldly, handles bass registers admirably and scores highly for user-friendliness and connectivity. However, listening to music should be enjoyable, and it borders on academic here. If a futuristic aesthetic and an impressive volume level are paramount, the Reactor 600 is the speaker for you. But there are more melodic options available for your money.