Devialet Mania: our handling of an exceptional portable speaker

The arrival of Mania puts Devialet’s second foot in nomadic audio, and under its own name. And as always, there is no question for the French manufacturer to do like everyone else. The Mania stands out in many aspects, starting with its rather particular design, close to a sphere, mixing different materials and finishes, sometimes in fabric, sometimes in shiny or matte plastic… Aware of the primary use of its enclosure, the manufacturer has taken care to design a chassis resistant to water splashes, as evidenced by the IPX4 certification.

Connected and “smart” wireless features

The Mania is also full of features of all kinds. Failing to be a minimum versatile in terms of wired connection (the single USB-C port is dedicated to charging), the Devialet speaker has bet on wireless connectivity: Bluetooth, it goes without saying, and also Wi-Fi, with support for AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect protocols. And to stand out a little more from its rivals, this model also highlights its ability to interact directly with the Amazon Alexa assistant. Mania support on the Devialet mobile app provides configuration and access to additional features and settings.

When it comes to day-to-day use, the Mania didn’t skimp on visual indications and buttons. There are thus no less than 6 buttons and 3 luminous markers to indicate the status of the pairing of the speaker, the remaining battery (with 4 dedicated diodes) and the status of the microphone used by the assistant. Our experience after more than two days of testing with the speaker highlights a relatively pleasant grip, however tarnished by some frustrations. On the autonomy side, the manufacturer announces a good ten hours of listening, a value that we have not yet reached during our various tests.

A “cross-over stereo” design for an ample stage

Another point, and not least, the sound reproduction. The Mania wouldn’t really be a Devialet loudspeaker without the integration of SAM technologies and the push-push design, which we obviously find here. In an attempt to get everyone to agree, the French manufacturer has also set out to take up one of the trickiest challenges, namely to offer consistent 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 released before. Our premieres

On the Mania, the Devialet teams therefore set out with the idea of ​​creating a sort of mix of the solutions that are usually found, a combination as atypical as it is curious, baptized “cross stereo”: in addition to its two high- wide-excursion push-push loudspeakers, the loudspeaker features 4 full-range loudspeakers arranged at the “four corners” of the upper surface of the loudspeaker (two dedicated to the reproduction of the left channel, and two to the right channel). Thus, whatever the position of the listener in relation to the loudspeaker, he would be able to benefit from a convincing stereo rendering, in return for an inverted scene when one is on the sides of the pregnant. Our first few tests with our test model did not really convince us on this point.

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

All these beautiful promises and specificities nevertheless have a price, and not just any price. As we said, Devialet likes to stand out on all fronts, and this is clearly the case on the price charged. In its standard version (black or gray), the Mania is indeed launched at 790 €, almost double its closest competitor on paper, the Sonos Move, and more than double the more conventional nomadic speakers of equivalent size. . Count no less than €990 for the Opera de Paris version, a luxurious version accompanied by a wireless charging base – absent from the standard version.
Our full Mania test is coming very soon. Still a little patience !