Libratone Diva launched with Bluetooth and AirPlay support
Libratone's Diva soundbar provides an upgrade to your television's speakers in an attractive package
Looking for a soundbar but aren’t a fan of brushed metal or traditional looks? Libratone might have just the thing: it has just announced the Diva, a new soundbar designed to improve on the audio from your television’s built-in speakers.
The Diva, as the name implies, is Libratone’s attempt to give a softer, less masculine touch to the soundbar category that isn’t always known for its aesthetically appealing designs. It certainly looks more attractive than the boxy and angular soundbars we have seen in the past.
The Diva comes with a standard black wool cover but Libratone told us that customers will receive a redeemable voucher to claim a different colour of their choice. Its design is already inconspicuous but this will make it much easier to seamlessly blend the soundbar into the decor of your living room. The Diva weighs a very reasonable 5.5kg meaning it can be mounted on a wall, which is perfect if your television is similarly wall-mounted. Helpfully, a wall mount will come included in the box.
The Diva can connect to your television through an optical connection or 3.5mm auxiliary, but with no HDMI there isn’t any support for Audio Return Channel. The soundbar can also be used as a wireless speaker through Bluetooth 4.0 with support for the less-lossy aptX codec. There’s also Wi-Fi support for AirPlay and DLNA, so you’re well covered when it comes to wireless straming. The soundbar supports both Spotify Connect and HTC connect, and NFC is built-in for easy Bluetooth pairing with compatible devices. Finally, there’s a USB port for charging devices as well as network settings sharing with iOS devices for easy setup.
Inside you’ll find one 75W, 5in bass driver, two 50W, 3in midrange drivers and two 25W, 1in ribbon-based tweeters with passive radiators for the low-frequencies. Libratone has installed ‘clam-shaped’ reflectors to help disperse the sound in a more upwards trajectory to match the positioning of your television located above the soundbar. There’s also a companion iOS and Android app that can be used to calibrate the Diva’s acoustics to match your room type.
We heard a demo of the Diva and from our limited testing we came away suitably impressed from both music demonstrations as well as a clip from ‘The Dark Knight’.
The Libratone Diva will be available for £649 and available mid-October. We’ll be sure to provide a review as soon as it’s available.