Making Music Sing Again

The Peak is all ears in Paris to find out why sound systems from French luxe brand Devialet are so lauded.

- Liao Xiangjun

Deep in the frigid bowels of the Palais Garnier in Paris, the haunting grounds of the Phantom of the Opera, we hunt the Phantom himself. No opulent, gilded halls or garish light of day now; only bare stone walls that leach warmth from one’s skin and colour from the air. We come across the entrance to the famed underground lake, upon which the masked menace abducted Christine Daae. The murky waters are undisturbed. He’s not here either.

Then we hear it: a haunting, otherworldly croon just on the edge of our hearing. It raises our hackles even as it beckons to us. As we double-time through the musty air, the dismembered female voice becomes more insistent, and begins channeling vibratos. We clamber up a final narrow passageway and look upon the perpetrator. There it is, in the middle of the subterranean hallway – the Phantom.

Not the estranged Erik of Gaston Leroux’s creation, but a similarly christened, watermelon-size speaker that is filling the halls with notes so crisp and crystal clear, you can shatter them with a tuning fork. Through the undulating, sorrowful voice, emotion and warmth pour back into the room. The overtures of an orchestra then pick up where our singer trails off. The intense timbre and textured richness of the rendition are so convincing, we’re transported.

Our entourage stands in reverie for a good half-minute before remembering their smartphones. French brand Devialet has crafted a modern-day angel of music, dressed in white and wreathed in gold. And, boy, is it making the soprano sing.

THE NEXT WAVE OF SOUND