Review: Devialet Mania

Last year, I reviewed Bang & Olufsen’s high-end Bluetooth speaker, the Beosound A5, and it was one of my favorite speakers on sale. It looked like an elegant piece of furniture or a designer picnic basket, but it had incredible, room-filling sound and more volume than anyone would ever need. The only problem was that, though it was theoretically portable, no customer would ever carry it with them. It has a handle, but it’s dense, and you’d soon grow tired of holding it. But, if you wanted a portable speaker with luxury looks, what other option do you have?Enter Devialet, French makers of high-end soundbars and huge, even more premium speakers, who decided to take a crack at it themselves. Their “Mania” isn’t as easy to like as the B&O — I loved its orb design, but my partner thought it looked like an off-putting eye — but it’s as potent, easy to use, and premium as the Beosound, but a lot more portable.Devialet Mania. Courtesy of DevialetTo start with the core specs: it has six drivers — dual exposed woofers, with four full-range aluminum drivers pointed up — capable of base extension down to 30Hz and a maximum volume of 105 dB at three feet. Translated: it can get louder than you’d ever need, and is bassier than you’d ever expect for something this small, and that driver layout, paired with microphone-enabled per-room calibration, means the sound emerges in 360 degrees from the speaker. The Beosound was room-filling, but what you were hearing wasn’t necessarily even, depending on placement, but the Mania has an incredibly impressive, wide sound field, sounding similar regardless of placement.The sound is crisp and dynamic, and though it’s tuned a little bass-heavy for some genres, it’s hard to argue it doesn’t sound superb. You can play music over Bluetooth, 5.0 Wi-Fi, AirPlay, or Spotify Connect, and it comes with Alexa, but it doesn’t have any manual inputs — not that you would necessarily need or want that with a portable speaker.When using it at home, it rests in a small charging puck, but, if you want to take it on the move, you lift it off, lasting for a reported 10 hours on a charge, and coming with IPX4 splash-resistance, in case it rains. You can also purchase a carrying case for an additional $100.Devialet Mania Colorways. Courtesy of DevialetMuch like the Beosound, the price will decide whether you think the Mania is a great buy, or poor value. It starts at $899 for the black or silver versions; or you can pay $1,099 for the gold “Opéra de Paris” version, $2400 for the optional crimson “Palais Garnier 150 Years” edition, or $3100 for the brown Fendi collaboration. Even judging against the normal silver or black version of the Mania, if you’re shopping for a great-sounding portable speaker, Sonos or Brane can get you close to this sound quality for almost half the price.However, they also have a much less premium feel than either the Bang & Olufsen or the Devialet, so that’s probably not a fair comparison. You buy the Mania because you want a luxury experience: top-quality sound, top-tier design, and build quality, while being eminently portable. On those grounds, it’s hard to view this as anything other than a success.

Review: Devialet Mania

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