Devialet’s portable Phantom
Devialet has unveiled its first-ever portable speaker and it looks exactly how one who is familiar with the French brand might expect it to. The Devialet Mania has a suitably luxurious design in tune with that of the company’s famous Phantom speaker, promising ‘adaptive 360-degree stereo sound’. In fact, Devialet describes the design as “an ode to the Phantom”, hence the spherical, polished ring surrounded by a luxe woven fabric.
The bowling ball-sized, 2.3kg-heavy Mania packs a condensed version of the French firm’s proprietary audio technology, which here sees four full-range drivers working with two subwoofers in a ‘push’ configuration. They promise to cover an impressively wide frequency range between 30Hz and 20,000Hz.
Active Stereo Calibration, meanwhile, uses four microphones to adapt the Devialet Mania’s sound to its surroundings. Place the Mania in the centre of a room, for example, and the 360-degree stereo mode is automatically activated. Place it against a wall and the two full-range rear drivers up the ante to deliver a more expansive soundstage.
Battery life is a claimed 10 hours, which is by no means class-leading but perhaps not hugely surprising considering the processing going on under the hood. The Devialet Mania has IPX4-rated splash-resistance and a carry handle, which might tempt owners to take it with them outside or in the bathroom. Or not... considering it is $1,400!
Built-in Amazon Alexa voice control and an app mean you don’t even have to get any grubby mitts on the Mania if you don’t want to, though those who prefer a tactile experience have capacitive touch controls at their disposal. Music over wi-fi, Bluetooth 5.0, AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect are all possible.
The Devialet Mania comes in standard black and grey finishes, though if they aren't bling enough for you there is also a Paris Opéra edition, which is embellished with 24-carat moongold (gold that has a ‘uniquely rich’ tone, apparently) and costs an extra $300 ($1,700). The optional docking station for charging will set you back a further $140 too.