Devialet dives into the portable smart speaker market with its all-new Mania

Up until now, Devialet’s stylish speakers have been standalone sculptural objects that can adapt to their surroundings. Elegant but hefty, they’re not ideal for lugging from room to room. Now that clever environmental awareness has been shrunk down to a portable speaker, the Mania, ensuring that 360-degree stereo sound can be had anywhere in the house.

The Mania is more than a smaller sibling to the Devialet Phantoms I and II. At 170mm tall it’s small enough to slot into a bookshelf, stand alone on a small table, desk, or countertop, and comes with an optional wireless charging station so you can replenish the ten-hour battery without plugging it in.

Available in three colours, black, grey and a special gold embellished Paris Opéra edition, Devialet Mania’s globular housing contains four full-range drivers and two sub-woofers. The housing is a mix of gloss surfaces and woven mesh speaker grille, with controls embedded into the ribbon-like handle that encircles the device. The 360-degree sound engine is powered by four microphones that detect reflections from nearby walls to tailor the sound to fill the available space.

Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant is built in and the Devialet app provides seamless connection to Spotify Connect as well as Bluetooth and WiFi sound sources. At 2.3kg, the Mania has a pleasing heft, a bit like a bowling ball, but the built-in handle makes it easily luggable to whichever spot you fancy filling with sound. 

Devialet’s range now spans from the high-end Phantoms through to earbuds and soundbars, as well as its ultra-bespoke amplification systems. The French company sells through Selfridges and Harrods, as well as its own online store.

Devialet Mania, £690, devialet.com