The French Are Coming For Your Ears

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In a city where the loudest sound is usually traffic, a small gathering at Blossom A Glassmansion in Kuala Lumpur recently promised something different: perfect sound.

Devialet, the French audio company that’s been making speakers look like alien eggs since 2007, brought their latest creation to Kuala Lumpur—the Phantom Ultimate.

This speaker costs more than most people’s cars and claims to reproduce sound “as pure emotion.”

The invitation-only event felt appropriately exclusive for a product priced between RM8,090 and RM20,990.

The Gospel According to Devialet: Why Your Speakers Are Lying

Jean-Loup Afresne, Devialet’s Chief Product and Technical Officer, flew in from Paris to explain why anyone should spend that much on a speaker. His pitch was simple: most audio equipment lies to you. This one doesn’t.

The Phantom Ultimate is the latest evolution of Devialet’s signature speaker, first launched in 2015 after three years of development and 88 patents.

A decade later, they’ve refined it further, adding new finishes called Deep Forest and Light Pearl—names that sound like paint colours from an expensive home renovation show.

There’s also the Opéra de Paris edition, hand-gilded with 22-carat gold by the same artisans who restore historic French landmarks, because apparently regular luxury wasn’t luxurious enough.

Beyond the Hype: Decoding Devialet’s Revolutionary Audio Arsenal

What makes this speaker different from the dozens of others claiming audio supremacy?

Devialet’s engineers have developed proprietary technologies with names that sound like military equipment: ADH (Analogue Digital Hybrid), SAM (Speaker Active Matching), and HBI (Heart Bass Implosion).

The last one promises bass frequencies you can feel “inside,” which either sounds thrilling or concerning, depending on your relationship with loud noises.

The company claims their speaker can reproduce frequencies from 14 Hz to 35 kHz—a range that extends well beyond human hearing into territory usually reserved for dolphins and teenagers.

It’s powered by 1,100 watts in the larger model, providing enough electricity to run a small refrigerator.

All contained in a sleek, elongated form that looks like it belongs on a spaceship rather than a living room shelf.

The Sound of Ambition: From Paris to Pavilion

Martin Ku, Devialet’s Regional Director for Asia-Pacific, emphasised the brand’s mission to make “French excellence resonate around the world.”

It’s an ambitious goal for a company that’s essentially asking people to trust that their ears have been wrong all along.

The Phantom Ultimate comes with an app that offers different listening modes—Music, Podcast, and Cinema—as if sound itself needed an instruction manual.

For those willing to make the investment, the speakers are available now at Devialet’s store in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur or online.

Whether they deliver on their promise of “pure emotion” remains to be heard, but at these prices, they’d better deliver something extraordinary.

After all, in a world full of noise, perfect silence—or perfect sound—might just be worth paying for.

READ MORE: French Audio Luxury Lands In KL: Devialet’s New Sonic Temple Promises To Blow Your Mind

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