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For just £29 more, you can go full-on audiophile... or can you?
The new alternative:
Devialet Gemini
[^ Wor
dsR
ichard^ Purvis]£279 / stuff.tv/GeminiTech specs
FIRST TEST SONY WF-1000XM4Let’s go drippin’
The buds are rated
IPX4, so they can
stand the odd splash,
and they’ll handle calls
and voice-assistant
commands as well
as music.Q Yep, there’s room for one more
on the ANC wireless bandwagon...
and it’s French luxury hi-fi brand
Devialet, bounding up to the top
deck with a pair of surprisingly
inexpensive in-ears that promise
high-class sound and hi-tech
noise-cancelling. Even if they do
look a bit like big clompy boots.Q Do you like acronyms? You’ll
love these. They’ve got EAM
(ear active matching), whereby
the buds tune their sound to the
shape of your ear canals; PBA
(pressure balance architecture)
to regulate the amount of air
inside; and IDC (internal delay
compensation) for more accurate
ANC in the high frequencies.Q They should sound amazing,
shouldn’t they? But on first listen,
the Geminis’ edgy aggression has
us wincing. Luckily, a visit to the
app’s EQ screen is all it takes to
swap ‘excitement’ for something
a lot smoother. With dips on the
1.25kHz and 4kHz bands, we’re
suddenly in happy hi-fi land: the
balance is perfect and the sheer
space in the midrange is joyous.Q Is this the most powerful ANC
ever? No, but if you just want to
silence general hubbub it’s highly
effective. It’s also very natural,
cutting evenly across the range
so the world seems to be turned
down a few notches rather than
weirdly hollowed out.Q Phones
Devialet’s simple
Android/iOS app
lets you choose
from three levels
of ANC and
two levels of
transparency
for when you
do want to hear
the real world, as
well as checking
on the buds’
battery levels.Q Tones
The app’s EQ
screen includes
a number of
presets, but
dragging the
nodes on the
graphic equaliser
up and down is
much more fun.
You can also alter
the left/right
balance, for
some reason.Q Zones
The buds have
touch-sensitive
outer surfaces
that handle the
usual play/pause,
ANC on/off and
call functions
with short or
long presses.
Double-press
functions can
be customised
in the app.Audio 10mm drivers Connectivity Bluetooth 5, USB-C
and Qi charging Battery life 6hrs (buds), 18hrs (case)
Waterproof rating IPX4 Weight 7g each, 76g caseSTUFF SAYS +++++
These in-ears are capable of
delectable sonic refinementThere’s nothing special about these buds’
design, charging case, battery life, ANC
or app... and the sound out of the box
is overhyped. But who cares when what
you’re getting here (eventually) is proper
hi-fi brilliance for under £300?