Devialet Mania: exceptional portable speaker handling

Arrival of Mania marks Devialet’s second leg in nomadic audio and under his own name. As always, there is no question that the French manufacturer will do like everyone else. The Mania stands out in many ways, starting with its very special design, close to the sphere, mixing different materials and finishes, sometimes in fabric, sometimes in glossy or matte plastic… The manufacturer, aware of the main use of its case, splash-resistant chassis, as evidenced by the IPX4 certification focused on designing.

Mania is also packed with all kinds of features. At least not universal in terms of wired connection (a single USB-C port is dedicated to charging), the Devialet speaker bets on wireless connectivity: Bluetooth, of course, Wi-Fi 2 with AirPlay support and Spotify Connect protocols. To stand out a little more from its competitors, this model also highlights the ability to connect directly with the Amazon Alexa assistant. Mania support in the Devialet mobile app provides configuration and access to additional features and settings.

6 buttons and 3 illuminated markers

When it comes to day-to-day use, Mania didn’t skimp on visual indicators and buttons. So there are at least 6 buttons and 3 light markers that indicate the status of the speaker, the remaining battery (with 4 dedicated diodes) and the microphone used by the assistant. After more than two days of testing with the speaker, our experience highlights a relatively pleasant grip, albeit marred by some frustrations. On the autonomy side, the manufacturer declares a good ten hours of listening, which is a value that we have not yet achieved during our various tests.

Another point, and not least, is sound reproduction. The Mania wouldn’t really be a Devialet speaker without the integration of SAM technologies and push-pull design, which we find evident here. To please everyone, the French manufacturer also tackled one of the most difficult challenges, that of offering coherent stereophonic reproduction in a single small portable speaker. We know that this choice always comes with compromises, as evidenced by the vast majority of speakers of this type that have been released before.

A mixture of solutions

At Mania, the Devialet teams therefore set out with the idea of ​​creating a kind of mix of commonly found solutions, a combination as atypical as it is interesting, baptized “cross-stereo”: in addition to the two high-end – wide-excursion push speakers, the top of the speaker in the speaker there are 4 full-range speakers placed in the “four corners” of its surface (two for the reproduction of the left channel, and two for the right channel). Thus, regardless of the listener’s position in relation to the loudspeaker, a pregnant woman on her side could benefit from a convincing stereo rendering in exchange for an inverted scene.

The icing on the cake is that the internal signal processing is combined with an automatic acoustic calibration system, with the help of a quartet of microphones, the Mania allows to adapt its sound reproduction to the characteristics of its acoustic environment and, above all, to optimize the popular stereo. rendering near the wall or at a good distance, thus giving two modes “Stereo 360” and “Stereo oriented”. Everything will be done transparently for the user, the system is designed to restart the calibration as soon as the speaker is moved.

All these wonderful promises and specifications come at a price, not just anything. Like we said, Devialet likes to stand out on all fronts, and that’s obviously because of the price. In its standard version (black or grey), the Mania actually retails at €790, which on paper is almost twice as much as its closest competitor, the Sonos Move, and twice as much as more traditional portable speakers of equivalent size. . Count on no less than €990 for the Opera de Paris version, the luxury version that comes with a wireless charging base – not available in the standard version.
Our full Mania test is coming very soon. Still a little patience!