Devialet Dione Soundbar Review: Premium Sound, Few Controls

In the 15 years of its existence, Parisian audio expertise firm Devialet has established itself as a purveyor of the “slightly unusual.” In reality, it’s not above veering into the realm of the “very unusual indeed.”  

Just think about its Phantom wi-fi loudspeaker. It’s filled with revolutionary applied sciences, it sounds nice … however what’s most notable is simply how singular its industrial design is. If you ever end up out there for a wi-fi speaker that appears as if it’s making an attempt to recollect find out how to fly, Devialet has a product for you.

With the Dione, the corporate has introduced a few of its predictably unpredictable design to bear on one of the vital staid and predictable product classes of the lot: the soundbar. With the Dione, Devialet intends to ship the efficiency of a Dolby Atmos spatial surround-sound audio system from a single enclosure—though, naturally, a soundbar that’s had the Devialet design therapy.

On the surface, then, the Dione is a reasonably substantial unit (8.8 cm excessive, 120 cm vast, 16.5 cm deep, so it must accompany an equally sizable tv if it’s not going to look a bit overgrown. It might be mounted on a shelf or on the wall. If it’s the previous, keep in mind that top of 8.8 cm could also be problematic in case your TV sits low on its toes; if it’s the latter, think about the soundbar’s 12-kg weight earlier than you determine to connect it to a plasterboard partition wall.

The Dione’s massive visible design characteristic is the ORB (the capitalization of which is all Devialet’s thought). The ORB is a devoted middle speaker channel, and might be manually rotated in accordance with the soundbar’s orientation—the Dione is fitted with gyroscopes, so its different speaker drivers perceive their obligations regardless of which method the soundbar is dealing with. 

Physically, this ORB seems as if it’s created from such a superdense materials that it’s sinking into the floor of the soundbar itself. In observe, it makes the Dione look each distinctive and unhelpfully taller than it in any other case can be.

Prodigious Power

Photograph: Devialet

As is predictable with Devialet merchandise, there are fairly a number of massive numbers hooked up to the Dione. Some 950 watts of energy, for instance. A complete of 17 speaker drivers (9 full-range aluminum cones and eight aluminum low-frequency woofers), organized to copy a 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos spatial surround-sound format. A digital-to-analog converter embedded within the “Devialet Intelligence” processor that operates at a chunky 24-bit/96-kHz decision. A claimed frequency response of (a super-low) 24 Hz to (an ear-piercing) 21 okHz. A most sound degree of 101 db at 1 meter (which is, roughly, ‘revving motorcycle’ territory).

At the again of the cupboard, the Dione homes a digital optical enter, Ethernet socket, and eARC HDMI enter. The lack of HDMI pass-through is lamentable, though predictable—in any case, who’s about to spend this form of cash on a soundbar with out an up-to-the-minute TV to go along with it? Its wi-fi connectivity runs to dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, Apple AirPlay 2, and Spotify Connect. And it’s additionally UPnP-compatible you probably have content material saved on a standard native community.