Old phantom golds - keep or sell

[dmitrek]

Hey people, can you help me with a guesstimate for the Phantom 108db Gold value? Anyone had a recent experience?

I have 2 Phantoms that are 9 years old (I quickly switched from whites / silvers back then), and 1 Phantom that I bought randomly which is about 2 years old (with a new illuminated power button).

There are some signs of wear (dust/yellowing) on the older ones.

So my question are, giving that it’s all completely electronic:
- anyone experienced faults with older phantoms
- what is the resell value for 1 or 2 pack
- any downsides of going to a newer model (except illuminated power button)
- are there more meaningful generations of them (og, illuminated button, last generation)

Appreciate all the answers!

Ps I am living in Berlin

[kantblue]

Hi there dmitrek - I'm in the UK which might make a difference.

I decided to upgrade my Phantom 103db (not gold) models to the new Phantom Ultimate speakers, taking advantage of the 15% discount offered - I had assumed I would get over £2000 for the pair of 2021 Phantoms with 9 months warranty left. Looking at the Ebay listings in the UK I thought this was a good price. I have been watching the auction and sell it now prices on Ebay for a few weeks and I have the following observations (UK of course).

The Phantom's often don't sell and are simply relisted at the same price. Some of the prices for a pair of Gold Phantom's seems quite high to me at £4,586. There are a few single Gold speakers advertised at around £1700 but these are often in good condition.

I put my pair of Phantom 103db speakers on starting at £1600 including a remote - condition was good apart from a couple of cosmetic scratches - initially I accepted offers and had an offer of £1800 which I declined. As the auction neared its end I got two bidders - one from a potential scammer who kept increasing their bid. I blocked them and in the end the winning bidder got the speakers at £1600 - but we had to cancel the auction as the bidder could not collect in person as I specified.

I have also put the speakers on the For Sale board on this forum but no interest - I also asked if there were any hifi related sales websites in the UK but not received any comments - this may be different in Berlin.

My personal conclusion is that the second hand market for these speakers is not as good as you might hope for - especially if they aren't in perfect condition.

I've never experienced hardware issue or failure with my Phantom's going back to the original gloss white ones - never had the golds so I can't comment on sound quality. It was easier to upgrade previously because Devialet took the old Phantoms back in exchange for the discount.

I hope this gives you some idea of possible value - I think 9 years is pretty good going for any electronic produce nowadays!

All the best with whatever decision you make.
kantblue