by
Photo: Devialet
French acoustical engineering company Devialet straddles the line between cutting-edge sound innovation and luxury aesthetics in its line of ultra-luxe speakers. In this spirit of elegant, emotive excellence, the company recently announced its first artistic collaboration featuring its flagship Phantom I speaker for Lunar New Year 2024.
Enter the Phantom I 108db by Yang Bao & Wa Liu, a limited-edition version of the company’s flagship compact wireless speaker shrouded in an auspicious coat of red and gold for the Year of the Dragon, an especially auspicious year in the Chinese zodiac calendar.
The mythical beast, after all, is associated with creativity, drive, and passion — all values that Devialet embodies with its collaborative speaker. The product involved a partnership with Yang Bao, a New York-based artist specialising in installations and alumnus of the renowned arts conservatory Juilliard, and Wa Liu, a multimedia artist who works out of Beijing.
Photo: Devialet
Both artists worked hand in hand to create “ANIMAL”, an oeuvre said to be “a sensory journey through sound and aesthetics” incorporating dragon symbology.
This dragon-centric artwork was handed to Devialet’s artistic partners, Ateliers Gohard; they previously helped the brand bring their collaboration with the historic Opéra National de Paris to life, who in turn executed the design on the Devialet Phantom I 108dB.
Photo: Devialet
Layers of 22.5-carat gold leaf were carefully and laboriously applied to the speaker’s side panels by the atelier’s master artisans by hand in a process called gilding, along with accents of polished red varnish — symbolising luck and prosperity in Chinese culture.
The result is a limited-edition collaborative speaker shrouded in an exquisite livery befitting of its esteemed brand and the auspicious year ahead that promises a listening experience that’s just about as transformational as it gets.
The Devialet Phantom I 108dB by Yang Bao & Wa Liu is available on Devialet’s website and exclusively at the Devialet Marina Bay Sands flagship store.
