Up until recently, I wasn't too familiar with the Devialet name brand. It wasn't until I got to experience a short audio demo at my local Best Buy that this name brand truly captured my attention. I've been using this Devialet Mania portable bluetooth speaker in various indoor & outdoor settings and the audio experience has been nothing short of impressive.
For starters, the build quality of the speaker feels very premium. This orb shaped speaker is covered in a sturdy, yet somewhat soft, grill mesh that envelops and protects all four speaker drivers. The speaker handle is made out of a very rigid plastic with some rubber lining for grip. Although the handle feels durable, it's minimalistic design cue only allows for two of my fingers to fit comfortably in the handle opening (three if I jam another one in there). Given the somewhat substantial weight of 5 lbs, I did find myself yearning for a more practical handle design that would allow my entire hand grip. If you'll be carrying this speaker with you on a bit of a longer walk or a short hike, I recommend carrying it in the included speaker pouch as it has two nylon handles that makes it much easier to carry. I do have to admit that while the handle isn't the most practical speaker handle I've ever used, it's design certainly contributes to it's gorgeous minimalistic and futuristic aesthetic. I also love the open dual woofer design which further compliments its visual appeal.
In terms of sound, this is the best sounding portable bluetooth speaker I've ever heard; by a landslide. It really is a device that needs to be heard to be truly appreciated. I tested it in various indoor settings, and no matter the room or area, it would fill the entire space with it's dynamic range. In outdoor settings, it also did an incredible job of dispersing the sound in all directions. Due to it's design with all four of it's aluminum drivers thoughtfully positioned all around it's ball shaped body, the sound truly envelops the room in a 360 degree fashion. No other flagship portable bluetooth speaker that I've tried (even those claiming 360 degree sound) has had this type of immersive multi-directional range. The soundstage itself is truly special. The mids and highs are perfectly balanced with the low end. Vocals have a lot of substance; they sound very clear, organic, and full. Instruments are easily discernable and sound naturally reproduced. The bass produced by the exposed dual woofers is tight and punchy yet has just enough resonance to give it a soothing bellowing rumble. I can't stress enough how beautiful it's sound signature sounds when it all comes together. While all genres of music that I played sounded phenomenal, it's default soundstage was really highlighted when I played back vocal tracks in the likes of Diana Krall and Sarah Brightman. Electronic music, hip-hop, jazz, and country are also perfectly complimented by it's default soundstage signature. Metal and rock music sounded great but didn't have quite the rich vibrancy of the aforementioned genres. One last thing to note regarding it's sound - this thing can get pretty loud at max volume! For me, around 80% volume level was more than enough in both indoor and outdoor settings. Bluetooth performance was also flawless. I tested streaming from about 25 feet away through walls and never experienced any disconnects or any type of interference.
While it's superb sound quality is the Devialet Mania's bread and butter, it does pack a few additional features worth talking about. The Devialet Mania's companion app (available on both iOS and Android) allows you to control the volume, launch a few music applications, and customize the EQ. I do have to mention that this somewhat of a bare bones app. The only built in music apps that are currently launchable are Spotify, Qobuz, Deezer, Tidal, Audirvana, and TuneIn Web Radios. The EQ is also very basic. You only get a "Low" and a "High" EQ slider which essentially seems to be a bass and a treble slider. The lack of additional EQ sliders in the various frequency ranges leads to only having two EQ presets: "Flat" and "Voice". However, because the default "Flat" soundstage is so perfectly tuned, this wasn't a big concern for me. While the speaker is not marketed as an "outdoor speaker" per se, it's IPX4 certification (making it resistant to water splashes only), does leave a bit to be desired. Since I absolutely love how this thing sounds, I would like to take it with me on all my adventures. As a result, I do hope that we see an IP67 implementation on future versions to make it a fully waterproof and dustproof product. At least the rubber lined physical buttons (i.e. pause, play, power, bluetooth, volume up/down, battery status button) do inspire some protective confidence whenever used around water related activities. In terms of battery life, Devialet claims 10 hours of playtime at "moderate volume levels" . I used this speaker extensively over the weekend, while working on projects around the house, and tested it upto 6 hours of continous playback at around 65%-70% volume levels. I still had plenty battery charge left so it sounds like their claims are right on par.
Overall, I'm extremely impressed with the high end audio quality experience that the Devialet Mania is able to provide in such a compact form factor. While it's additional features aren't anything groundbreaking, it delivers it's core functionality in strides. Given that this portable speaker is pretty much in a premium category of it's own, I would have liked to have seen some additional accessories included like the mania station charging dock or the devialet mania cocoon (which is a really stylish and robust hard cover carrying case). As for now, it only comes included with a standard 5 ft. USB-C power brick + charging cable and a cloth speaker bag. If youre looking for the best portable bluetooth speaker audio experience, and you don't mind not having the added ruggedness of IP67 certification, you will absolutely love the Devialet Mania.