The Devialet Mania is the first portable Bluetooth speaker from the French hi-fi brand. It's a smart device with built-in support for Alexa and a handle melded into its sleek design to help you bring the device from room to room. When you're indoors, you can stream audio over Wi-Fi, and when you move outside, you can easily switch to Bluetooth. It even supports wireless charging, though you'll have to buy the Devialet Mania Station separately.
Our Verdict
The Devialet Mania is decent for listening to music. Voices and lead instruments are reproduced with relative accuracy, though the lack of treble means that the overall sound is a bit boxy and dull at times. Still, you get a decent amount of rumble in the bass range for such a small speaker, which is handy if you love bass-centric genres like EDM and hip-hop. There are some bass and treble adjustments available through the Custom preset in the app.
- Customization tools available.
- Extended low-bass.
- Doesn't get loud enough for large rooms.
- Lacks some treble out-of-the-box.
The Devialet Mania isn't designed for watching videos and movies, but you can still pair a phone or a tablet to the speaker to enhance the audio in content if you wish. Unfortunately, its latency over Bluetooth is high, so there's a delay between the audio you hear and the video you see. To avoid lip-synching issues, you're better off watching videos over an Apple AirPlay 2 connection since the latency is much lower.
- Low Apple AirPlay 2 latency.
- Extended low-bass.
- Doesn't get loud enough for large rooms.
- Latency issues with Bluetooth.
The Devialet Mania is good for vocal-centric content like podcasts and audiobooks. Dialogue is reproduced with clarity right out of the box, and if you want to make voices sound more crisp in the mix, you can use its Voice dialogue enhancement preset. Its portable design makes it easy to bring with you from room to room, and you can even use Alexa to control it with your voice while you're cooking or folding laundry.
- Customization tools available.
- Voice assistant hears commands clearly in noisy settings.
- Doesn't get loud enough for large rooms.
The Devialet Mania is an excellent choice for voice assistants. It has built-in Alexa support, so you don't need any additional devices to control your music with your voice. Alexa can hear your commands without issue, even if you're far away or in a noisy environment. You can also turn off the assistant through the companion app if you don't want it to listen to you.
- Voice assistant hears commands clearly in noisy settings.
- Mute feature available.
- Doesn't get loud enough for large rooms.
The Devialet Mania is decent for outdoor use. It's a well-built speaker with a sturdy design that's rated IPX4 for water resistance, so it's protected against splashes of water. Plus, its built-in handle makes it easy to carry, and since it's battery-powered, you don't have to worry about keeping it plugged into an outlet. Since it supports Bluetooth, you can stream music from your phone to the bar with ease, too. That said, you can't submerge the speaker in water.
- IPX4 rating for water resistance.
- Built-in handle.
- Doesn't get loud enough for large rooms.
- Not rated for impact resistance.
Changelog
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Updated Aug 27, 2025:
We added a reference to the Sandstorm variant of this speaker in the Differences Between Variants section of this review.
- Updated Feb 17, 2023: Added a market comparison to the Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge to the Portability box.
- Updated Jan 11, 2023: Updated the bar's firmware to version 1.2.4. Retesting its sound performance led to only subtle changes, but it did improve its Bluetooth latency somewhat.
- Updated Dec 05, 2022: Review published.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
This speaker is available in three color variants: Deep Black, Light Gray, and Sandstorm. We tested the Deep Black version, and you can see the label here.
If you come across another version of this soundbar, let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Speaker Comparisons
This sleek smart Bluetooth speaker is the first from the manufacturer to offer a portable design—but it's the hefty price tag that makes it stand out from the competition. It has decent sound quality out-of-the-box and a few customization tools to help you switch up its sound; however, its short battery life is pretty disappointing, and you'll have to pay even more if you want to add on the wireless charging dock.
You can also check out our recommendations for the best portable Bluetooth speakers, the best smart speakers, and the best Bluetooth speakers overall.
The Sonos Move and the Devialet Mania are both portable Bluetooth speakers with smart capabilities, meaning that you can control their features with their built-in voice assistants. The Sonos is likely a better value for most users since it features a longer battery life and a more balanced sound out-of-the-box. It gets a bit louder, too, although there's some compression when you press it to max volume.
The Bose Portable Smart Speaker is a better value for most users compared to the Devialet Mania. Both speakers have portable designs, and they each offer built-in voice assistant support. However, the Bose's sound quality is better out-of-the-box, especially in the treble range. It has a better Bluetooth performance with lower latency for watching videos. Its battery life is a bit longer, although neither speaker offers exceptional performance in this regard.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST is better for most uses than the Devialet Mania. Both speakers have built-in Alexa support, and while the Devialet does better in noisy environments, both perform pretty well. The Ultimate Ears' battery life is longer, it gets louder, and it has a graphic EQ, meaning you can customize it across the range.
The Amazon Echo Studio (1st generation) is likely a better value for most in comparison with the Devialet Mania. They're both smart speakers with built-in Alexa, though the Amazon speaker adds a built-in Zigbee hub so you can control other smart home devices with the speaker. It's designed for home use, meaning you don't have to worry about a battery; however, it's not as suitable for outdoor use as the battery-powered Devialet. The Devialet's voice assistant performs better in noisy environments, too.
Test Results
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