Devialet tends to do issues a bit of in a different way than most audio firms. The French agency first made waves within the audio scene with its futuristic-looking Phantom audio system, which packed an absurd quantity of bass right into a small quantity of area. Then it packed an absurd quantity of bass into a good smaller area with the Phantom Reactor.
After dabbling with high-end earbuds, now Devialet needs to ship an absurd quantity of bass underneath your TV with the launch of the Devialet Dione. The corporate guarantees the Dione, its first Dolby Atmos soundbar, can attain so low that it obviates the necessity for an exterior subwoofer.
It additionally prices $2,400. But when the corporate can ship comparable technical excellence to its earlier audio system — the Phantom Reactor demonstrated among the greatest goal efficiency I’ve seen on my take a look at bench — it’d simply be capable of justify the worth.
The Devialet Dione isn’t fairly as esoteric in its look as a lot of the firm’s earlier merchandise, nevertheless it’s nonetheless fairly on the market so far as soundbars go. The corporate makes use of a bunch of cryptic acronyms to explain its numerous applied sciences, however listed here are the important thing issues it’s essential know:
- The speaker helps 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos by utilizing spatialization algorithms and a method to focus soundwaves known as beamforming. These strategies aren’t often as convincing as actual encompass, however they’re typically higher than plain outdated stereo.
- The speaker combines 17 drivers — 8 woofers and 9 full-range drivers — with DSP to be able to steer sound and maximize the floor space and tour to push air quantity.
- These drivers and ample amplification enable the Dione to supposedly attain a quantity of 101 dB at 1 m and frequencies as little as 24 Hz. That’s mighty spectacular for a slim soundbar, even when it’s unlikely to hit these frequencies at its most SPL.
- A repositionable ‘ORB’ handles the middle channel and permits the soundbar to put flat in opposition to a console or vertically in opposition to a wall.
- The Dione helps room calibration by way of its app to regulate its sound to the acoustic traits of your atmosphere.
- The speaker helps ARC, eARC, and CES for interfacing together with your TV. It additionally helps playback by way of Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, Spotify Join, UPnP, and Toslink optical.
There’s a variety of cool expertise right here, however the proof shall be within the acoustic pudding. Beamforming, encompass spatialization, and room calibration are all nice concepts I’ve principally seen applied poorly (with some exceptions, just like the humongous Sennheiser Ambeo).
I’m additionally a bit of cautious concerning the software program expertise, as that was truly my largest downside with earlier Devialet audio system. Then again, it’s been a number of years since I examined these audio system, so hopefully the corporate has sorted out the app issues I handled.
That every one would possibly sound like a variety of caveats, however I’m cautious as a result of I’ve pretty excessive expectations for the Dione. I’ve but to see one other speaker firm match Devialet’s skill to pack clear bass right into a small quantity — right here’s hoping that streak continues with the Dione.
