Review Dione soundbar

[Borain]

Borain, thanks much for your review. Very helpful. Any experience with Atmos yet, notice any sounds coming from "above" on supported titles?

I have a couple of Golds, that I cannot connect to my satellite decoder or Apple TV because reasons, so I have two options. 1) Get a couple of Archs to connect them to the Golds, or get the Dione. Since you have both, is the Dione worth it in addition to the Golds, in your opinion?

Hi,

Getting an "Arch" connection is more like a phono preamp that's built into Arch for listening to vinyl.
However, you can test by connecting your TV to the Golds via Bluetooth, if your TV allows it, with my Samsung TV I know how to do it.

We feel sounds coming from "from above", difficult to explain what I feel with words, I will try to do it as well as possible.

My listening position is more or less 10ft from the Dione soundbar, there is some elevation in the sound, but it's quite diffuse, it's a very wide and deep soundstage on either side of the TV.
There is a breadth to the sound when streaming in Atmos, every detail of the scene is in its place, well centered voice, no imbalance in the strongest moments of a film.

I often hear and distinguish effects coming from left or right, as if I would have 2 virtual speakers on each side of my listening at times with a very wide dimension.
In the strong moments, the sound comes towards me, deep bass that you sometimes feel in the chest at times, it's more of a feeling, the explosions, gunshots, come towards me and sometimes from each side with a slight virtual echo.
Special effect sounds are mostly sounds with a strong impact, which sometimes project themselves towards you in an instant, filling the whole room.
The bass is deep and well rounded, less than the Sylver, but well balanced, the impact is there, what I noticed is that it does not resonate or vibrate elements in my room, such as furniture or the objects in my room.

With my Samsung soundbar, the bass made parts of my room vibrate too much, I heard that as a distortion and I had to reduce the sound, with the Dione it's more controlled in its impact.
Back effects, not really, it's occasionally a resonant echo of my piece in the strongest moments of a sound stage with a lot of explosion effect, the sound comes towards you.
With Samsung I sometimes heard sounds coming from the back, but it was quite confusing for me, I did not perceive its sounds all the time, it made a whole, but in the very noisy moments especially, often incomprehensible in the dialogues.

I tested this on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_TX--Fku9NQ
Defines well the possibility of sound reproduction of the Dione, it superbly reproduces the rendering of each channel, the bass, the depth, the virtual left and right effect.

The sound reproduction of live concerts in Atmos is pure happiness, you are almost in the room, the audience, the resonance of the room.
Pink Floyd - Welcome To The Machine - 5.1 impressed me, crazy effects at times that come towards me and on the sides.
Pink Floyd - Money (2011 Remastered), you could almost count the falling coins it's so detailed.
Phil Collins - Live In The Air Tonight (Dolby Sound AC-3/5.1), sublime, the voice, resonance of the room, I find myself among the public living this moment.
I could cite many others, I am amazed at the sound quality and above all at the feeling perceived when reading a live concert.

I can say that with this Dione, I don't need to increase or decrease the sound each time to understand the dialogues well, the sound is clear and balanced in a scene and the highlights do not disturb this.
Of course it is not perfect and will not appeal to everyone, we can clearly hear that it is Devialet sound quality, I repeat, I have never heard a sound bar so far reproduce the music as well.

For me the sound bar is simple, you plug it in, you balance the room with the 4 microphones inside and that's it, that's what I was looking for, you does not need an additional subwoofer and above all has a versatile sound.
For the moment, it's only happiness for me, I'm rediscovering my films, if you have the chance to listen to it, it's better, you can form an opinion.

If it were accompanied by rear speakers, that would obviously be a plus, I'm eventually waiting for multiroom audio and also the possibility of using the Sylver remote control, which is not currently possible, I'm looking forward to updates for this product.

[Borain]

J'ai remarqué que parfois la barre de son ne s'allume pas en même temps que ma TV, il faut éteindre et rallumer la barre de son, c'est précisé par Devialet, cela peut être dû au modèle de ma TV, je pense que Devialet va corrigez cela dans les futures mises à jour.

Merci pour le rapport.


Ce serait un showstopper pour moi pour n'importe quelle barre de son.
Cela peut arriver une fois en quelques mois, mais en si peu de temps - absolument pas.

J'ai des barres de son Samsung et Hisense et elles fonctionnent toutes les deux parfaitement.

Salut,

Je n'ai plus ce petit problème maintenant, il s'éteint et se rallume bien, c'est peut-être dû aux nombreuses connexions différentes que j'ai faites pour tester.
Je précise que mes appareils sont branchés sur une multiprise que je débranche tous les soirs.
Tout va bien pour le moment, en tout cas, Devialet le sait, car d'ailleurs sur leur site il recommande de débrancher la Dione et de se rebrancher ensuite.
D'après certains testeurs, ils auraient eu ce petit problème de connexion dans un premier temps avec certains modèles de TV Samsung, mais rien de grave.

[npman]

Thanks again, Borain. Your comprehensive write-up is much appreciated. The "no subwoofer" is important to my wife. (She will never know what price was paid to not have a subwoofer. ) I´ll buy it at a local super store with a 30 days return policy, and test it properly. Hope it is a keeper in my room config. Glad to hear you also tested with The Fifth Element, one of my faves!

[chrisc]

Went to a demo of the Dione at a dealer. There were numerous other speakers around the TV and it took us a while to realise it was not the Dione making the sound. I eventually unplugged the HDMI cable to show this fellow that it was not the sound source

It took several attempts to get it to work with HDMI attached to the ARC socket on the TV. At once the sound was very clear and adequate bass. He was playing a demo blu-ray disc with some music and scenery, then a bit of dialogue from various movies.

What was missing however, was any indication of spatial sound. It just was not there. Possibly the dealer fellow did not know how to get this working. The price here is quite a bit higher than recommended retail in Europe, a 20% premium

So my current opinion is that it is just not worth the extra money. I'll continue with a Denon AVR, B&W front pair, B&W sub and rear speakers in the ceiling

[Borain]

Hello,

Here is the new update that has just been released for the Dione soundbar.
I'm testing now, here's what I found:

Airplay music streaming, I can now switch to voice mode and spatial mode, much improved streaming in music mode, more balanced, clarity in voices, superb stereo image, I love listening now in music mode.

The playback volume is better on multi-channel content, I have to turn the volume down, very clear improvement in the dialogues, especially those which are weaker, we can now hear every detail of a movie scene better.

They fixed the HDMI, on my Samsung TV, now I can pass in the HDMI sound output of my TV in Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital +, before it was blocked.

I put in Dolby Digital +, the scene is really wider, it's a huge change for me, it's superb.
For now, we still don't know how to use the Phantom 1 remote control.

They made big changes with this update and you can hear it, I'm surprised, sounds that stand out even better, I continue my tests.

[DEVIALET DIONE] Release notes - DOS 2.15.5

This release includes the following improvements, compared to DOS 2.15.2:

Adjusted playback loudness of multichannel content
Adjusted sound rendering in stereo modes
Fixed a bug that prevented some AirPlay 2 users from switching between sources
Fixed a bug that prevented CEC (Anynet+) dialog with some Samsung TVs
Fixed several HDMI issues
Improvements for Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD decoding
Audio modes can now be used when using AirPlay 2
Note: DOS 2.15.5 is only available for the Devialet Dione soundbar.

[eniriop]

Borain pid='105853' dateline='1650197003']
When I listen to music and then want to turn off the sound bar, you have to use the Devialet application or one of the sensitive keys located above the sound bar.
If you want to reactivate it later, you have to go through the sensor button on the sound bar.
For the moment, we do not know how to use the remote control of the Devialet speakers and there is no possibility of multiroom audio either in the Devialet application.

When streaming music by Airplay, there is no choice to switch to voice mode as well as cinema mode, these modes only work so far by streaming music via Bluetooth.

If you listen to music with airplay 2 you can choose to listen to the Dione or/and phantom pair by selecting them in the airplay icon, you can play up to 3 stereo "rooms" simultaneously. If at set up, you assign the Dione to one "room" (TV room) and the phantom pair to another room (living room for ex) then you can play either one or both at the same time. I have the choice of 3 audio mode in the Dione screen in my Devialet app when streaming music with airplay 2. You should check that you have the latest updated version of the Devialet app (1.18). The Dione playing Apple Music in Hires with the Phantoms on each side sounds fantastic, especially voices center stage are more natural. Spotify connect also sounds great this way.

[eniriop]

If it were accompanied by rear speakers, that would obviously be a plus, I'm eventually waiting for multiroom audio and also the possibility of using the Sylver remote control, which is not currently possible, I'm looking forward to updates for this product.

Multiroom is available with airplay 2.  But it is not in the Devialet App, in the airplay 2 icon in the upper right corner of your Iphone or Ipad. You can play up to 3 "rooms", including the Dione and 2 other phantom pairs, separately or simultaneously. Dione + a phantom on each side is spectacular playing stereo music.        

[Borain]

Hi,

Thank you eniriop for your information, I connected the Dione soundbar with my two Silver speakers.

I must say that it works perfectly, it gives breadth to the music, however it is necessary to balance the volume of the Dione with the Silvers, otherwise the soundbar takes over or the reverse is the Silvers who give too much.

For this as an example if the volume of my sound bar is set to 25, I must set the volume of my Silver speakers to 33 or 34, but no more otherwise I perceive a musical imbalance.

In addition I adjusted the equalizer of my Silver speakers, for the Bass I decreased by 3 bars and for the Treble I increased by 1 bar, so for me it is perfectly balanced for my room .

Like that the Basses are balanced with the Dione soundbar, if I put more Basses it takes over and it's not pretty, you have to find the right balance so that all the sounds are in their place.

For the treble it's the same thing, if I put too much it distorts the quality of the broadcast, it mainly affects the perception and location of the different instruments in space.

The way I tuned, I now listen to my music with the Dione soundbar setting set to Spacial, everything is well balanced, voice centered, nice left and right stereo effect more spaced out, I hear all the details of the music and especially a greater depth effect, sounds that sometimes stand out, it's superb without distorting.

With the setting I made I can switch to voice or music mode, however I love the depth and the wider space and the sound dispersion that the Dione soundbar broadcasts coupled with my two Silver speakers without you perceive an imbalance, it's perfect for me.

The Silver remote control is used to adjust the volume of these for balance with my sound bar and to switch to the next music especially, otherwise for the general volume I have to go through the iPad to increase the sound so as not to not disturb the balance settings I made.

Too bad we don't know how to use the Silvers' remote control for the Dione soundbar, it would have been easier, the same goes for when we watch a movie, for the volume we have to go through the application of Devialet, maybe this will be provided in a future update.

This sound bar has potential, the sound is superb on its own and associated with Devialet speakers and it's a plus, if it would further improve the sound distribution for music, by adding a setting for Bass and Treble by example and the possibility of association in coupling for the films possibly.

If he adds an adjustment for Bass and Treble to this sound bar as for the Speakers, I am sure that we could possibly do without the speakers that I have.

This soundbar itself has been broadcasting excellent sound since the last update, but for me it lacks these two small settings for bass and treble and especially the possibility of using the remote control of the speakers for this Dione .

[eniriop]

"This soundbar itself has been broadcasting excellent sound since the last update, but for me it lacks these two small settings for bass and treble and especially the possibility of using the remote control of the speakers for this Dione ."

Here is what the Dione white paper says (downloaded from the Devialet help site):

Already a faithful companion to PHANTOM, the Devialet Remote is also compatible with
DEVIALET DIONE, giving the user the possibility to adjust the volume, change the music,
and turn off the soundbar while remaining comfortably seated.
Remote pairs and communicates with DEVIALET DIONE using a Bluetooth 5.0 connection
with a range of up to 20 m from the connected device. It is powered by a lithium-ion
battery with an autonomy of up to 2.5 months and is quickly recharged by using the
included USB-B cable

[Borain]

Hello and thank you eniriop,

Indeed I managed a few days ago to connect one of my remote controls for my Silver speakers with the Dione soundbar.

I can now use the remote to increase and decrease the sound of the Dione, and I can turn it off remotely, the remote also allows me to change tracks while listening to my music.
You have to press the sensor button on the Dione soundbar to reactivate it.

For explanations, go here to download the PDF file of the remote control:

https://help.devialet.com/hc/en-us/artic...tom-Remote

To connect the Silver remote control to the Dione soundbar, launch pairing mode by pressing and holding the Previous and Next buttons simultaneously.

On the Dione soundbar, you have to activate the Bluetooth, I had to start over several times before having a connection, the Dione soundbar emits a noise when the connection is made.