Hi mallen:
Sorry for being 6 months late on the response here, I haven't been active on the boards.
The Phantom Golds are excellent speakers, and for about $8,000 all in they are hard to beat around their price range. Keep in mind however, that when you purchase them, you are also getting preamp/amp/DAC/DSP along with it, as well as the ability to have minimal cabling. I think that's where the speaker really shines.
Despite what some people may have you believe, the Phantom Gold will not compare favorably to an excellent $20k speaker, Revel Ultima Salon2 comes to mind, in terms of treble or mid-range, it may potentially compete in bass, however. Remember that if you have a $20k speaker, you probably have a $50k system all together, so 8k vs 50k is a pretty significant difference. The Phantom Gold is highly dynamic and very detailed, but it's biggest deficiency is realism in the mid-range. My guess is due to the fairy small surface area of the mid-range drivers. The Revels can make you believe that Chris Stapleton is singing in your room, and they can do it everytime. The Phantoms won't get you in the same realm. Where they are really excellent is EDM, pop, hip-hop, fun etc; blasphemy I know, but these types of music require less mid-range realism and more dynamics, timing and low-end.
Phantoms are the speakers you want when you just need a foot-tapping good time without any hassle, (another speaker that comes to mind with this quality is the Tekton Pendragon) as opposed to sitting in your listening chair with a pour of your favorite single-malt and having a critical listening session with some more refined listening material, which for me would be better fulfilled by a planar-magnetic or electrostat.
Sorry for being 6 months late on the response here, I haven't been active on the boards.
The Phantom Golds are excellent speakers, and for about $8,000 all in they are hard to beat around their price range. Keep in mind however, that when you purchase them, you are also getting preamp/amp/DAC/DSP along with it, as well as the ability to have minimal cabling. I think that's where the speaker really shines.
Despite what some people may have you believe, the Phantom Gold will not compare favorably to an excellent $20k speaker, Revel Ultima Salon2 comes to mind, in terms of treble or mid-range, it may potentially compete in bass, however. Remember that if you have a $20k speaker, you probably have a $50k system all together, so 8k vs 50k is a pretty significant difference. The Phantom Gold is highly dynamic and very detailed, but it's biggest deficiency is realism in the mid-range. My guess is due to the fairy small surface area of the mid-range drivers. The Revels can make you believe that Chris Stapleton is singing in your room, and they can do it everytime. The Phantoms won't get you in the same realm. Where they are really excellent is EDM, pop, hip-hop, fun etc; blasphemy I know, but these types of music require less mid-range realism and more dynamics, timing and low-end.
Phantoms are the speakers you want when you just need a foot-tapping good time without any hassle, (another speaker that comes to mind with this quality is the Tekton Pendragon) as opposed to sitting in your listening chair with a pour of your favorite single-malt and having a critical listening session with some more refined listening material, which for me would be better fulfilled by a planar-magnetic or electrostat.