Can the Libratone Diva’s sound live up to its looks?

Libratone has announced a new soundbar, Diva, which hopes to appeal to movie fans and audiophiles alike, and we were invited to an audio demo yesterday, to see whether its sound can live up to its aesthetics.

The Scandinavian audio company is probably most famous for its minimalist-looking speakers, like the Loop, and the Diva is no exception, seemingly looking like a black long rectangle sitting below your screen.

The Libratone Diva takes design cues from shells on the beach to enhance sound delivery, moving the sound up towards the TV, so that the visuals and sound sit alongside each other nicely. The speaker will come with a black wool zipped cover as standard, but buyers will be able to claim a free additional coloured zipped cover as well, so you can change the look of the speaker to fit your living room’s decor.

When listening to the Libratone Diva yesterday, it felt like we were listening to surround sound, despite it all coming from this one (surprisingly light) rectangular speaker. When watching Foals perform live at the Royal Albert Hall, the sound was so clear that it was like we were watching the band live.

Our only criticism would be that it was a bit on the bass-heavy side, but that may have been Libratone wanting to show off the bass for this demo.

In a move to simplify controls further, the speaker will let users use their standard TV remote once the speaker has been setup with the accompanying iOS or Android app, so you don’t need to keep swapping remotes every time you want to turn the volume up or down. However, those who aren’t bothered about using the TV remote can also use a dedicated app to control and stream music via your phone using either Spotify Connect, HTC Connect, AirPlay, DLNA or Bluetooth.

Now for the techy bit – the Libratone Diva is equipped with speaker technology offering a total effect of 225W: one 5-inch 75W bass, two 50W 3-inch midrange drivers and two 1-inch ribbon based 25W tweeters.

You can get your hands on a Libratone Diva from mid-October for £649. All retailers are listed on the Libratone website.

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