Devialet unveils partnership for TV audio hardware with UK giant Sky

The French wunderkind of advancing digital amplification is at it again. Devialet is getting into television audio in a big way. Having smashed into the audiophile world head-on, this time they are targeting the cocoon generation who like to stay home, watch films, and spoon to Netflix all night. Devialet has announced that it is licensing its digital-amplification, and miniaturization technology, and expertise in a partnership with UK entertainment content powerhouse Sky.

As someone who is very interested in acquiring a sound bar for my television, but has been waiting to compare serious offerings from audiophile-centric brands, I can say that with Devialet throwing its hat into the ring I’d be very interested to hear it for myself before deciding what I buy – if it makes its way to North American shores that is. Right now you can order the unit as a stand-alone from Sky for $1,053 USD, or for $394 USD for UK subscribers. No word yet on a U.S. or Canadian content-partnering offering. But I’ll be keeping an ear open for news.

–Rafe Arnott

Devialet press announcement details below:

In television, sound has too often been treated as an afterthought. When we first met with Sky, one of the world’s leading content and entertainment companies, we soon realized we shared the same vision that great entertainment can only be achieved with great sound. Working closely with them, we put our minds to creating a new kind of entertainment experience through sound, and reinventing the audio journey for their customers.

The result of this partnership is Sky Soundbox, a bespoke, all-in-one sound system which complements Sky’s TV set-top-box, to create the most comprehensive in home entertainment system. Designed to enhance the TV experience, it pairs Sky’s knowledge into the insights of their customers with our audio engineering expertise and a tailored combination of our technologies.

In a single speaker unit, Sky Soundbox is capable of delivering an outstandingly powerful, dense and immersive sound. Its performance is comparable to that of a full home cinema system with a subwoofer and 5 satellite speakers. Its sound settings adapt automatically depending on the content being played on Sky Q, and its dynamic range adjusts in real time, to guarantee the most immersive experience even at low volumes.

With this partnership, we’re bringing Devialet’s breakthrough audio miniaturization technologies and unique sound quality into the television experience and solving television’s sound problem, once and for all.

Sky Soundbox is the first-ever partner-product designed and built under a Devialet license, combining our expertise and technologies, from inner design to sound. At Devialet, we believe emotion is all about the details, and we strive to make the emotions of sound something for the many, not the few. We innovate to deliver the most precise and impactful sound experience. At the same time, our inventions are designed to make this experience radically smaller, lighter and more affordable than ever before, through unique amplification and acoustic miniaturization, combined with breakthrough signal processing technologies.

Leveraging their long-established relationships with millions of customers and mass production capabilities, these partners offer us an incredible opportunity to give people a flavour of our unique sound at a bigger scale, and pursue our mission to become the world leader in audio.

This collaboration marks the start of a new chapter in our history.

It illustrates our ability to make our dreams come true and achieve our mission to democratize the best sound in the world. After changing audio forever with Expert and Phantom, we are now putting Devialet’s name, technologies and emotional sound in millions of homes. And it is just the beginning.