Denon Envaya, Envaya Mini and Envaya Pocket - We've Tested Them

The Envaya are Denon's portable speakers, with battery and Bluetooth reception . The brand, already centenary, has a very complete catalog and in it there are other similar solutions. But they are from the other great Denon family, the Heos, wireless speakers (Wifi) that -except for one- need a plug. If we need a truly independent loudspeaker, to be used in a room but also on a terrace or in the field, the Envaya are the answer.

This family forms three very similar units. They are semi-cylindrical across the width, with the body covered in a very good-looking resistant fabric. At the ends, hard rubber that reinforces the idea of ​​robustness, and a solid and quality overall finish. They are also resistant to dust and splashes of water IP67. In the event of a fall into the water, they last up to 30 minutes at a depth of one meter without damage. Similar, then, but in three different sizes.

They are the plain Envaya (model DSB-250BT), the Envaya Mini (reference DSB-150BT) and the Envaya Pocket (model DSB-50BT). Their prices, also in descending order such as size: 190, 130 and 75 euros respectively. They have been on the market for more than three years, and therefore do not have the latest in this type of device (Alexa-type assistants). What they do, and as we will see very well, is their main function: they sound really good. This includes being compatible with Bluetooth aptX, which helps improve streaming music quality. Another quality of the Denon Envaya is that it is very easy to pair them together to form a stereo pair, if we have more than one. Let's first review the characteristics of the three Envaya ...

Denon Envaya

The Denon Envaya is the older brother of the family: it weighs 750 grams and is 21 cm wide. For this reason it is also the one that will give us a more complete and powerful sound.: more size is more capacity to give bass. And also more dynamic capacity, that is to say sound louder. To offer the best performance, it has two 40 mm diameter full-range speakers. These reproduce all frequencies, from bass to treble. To improve the low frequencies they have a 53 × 135 mm radiator. By not being able to have a bass reflex (since it is waterproof), this is the way to improve the bass without straining the speakers. Each speaker features a dedicated 13.5-watt amplifier powered by the internal battery. This can withstand up to 13 hours of playback, and charges (micro USB cable) in about 3 and a half hours.

Negative mention for the controls located on that side, in hard rubber. They are used to activate it, increase and decrease volume, the Bluetooth connection or answer or make calls. They are not physical buttons and it is not clear to us if they are tactile: it is not enough to press your finger, you have to press a little. The point is, you never know for sure if it was pressed and the Denon found out or not. It's something the other Envaya share, unfortunately. On the back it has a hatch with microUSB access (charging) and a stereo jack for the auxiliary input. Then we talk about that entry, in all three, possibly the best and most comfortable.

Denon Envaya Mini

It is second in size: the Denon Envaya Mini weighs 541 grams and measures slightly less. They are 19 centimeters long by just over 6 centimeters at the base. Its battery provides 11 hours of wireless music. It is charged, also by micro USB, in three hours, with a similar rubber rear hatch, watertight closed. In this case it counts as the Envaya with the same two 40mm diameter full-range speakers. But they do have less powerful amps - that's 8.5 watts for each speaker or channel. It is also waterproof and therefore has a passive radiator (instead of bass reflex) to improve the bass. It is somewhat smaller than the previous one, 40 x 83 mm. In our unit, the buttons of the Mini were the ones that offered the best touch and you could guess the "click" that confirmed the press.Its somewhat more contained size and a sound slightly less full than that of the large Envayathey made it our favorite .

Denon Envaya Pocket

The Denon Envaya Pocket is the little brother of this family. It weighs slightly less than the Mini, 390 grams, and is somewhat smaller in size. It measures 16 centimeters long and the base, almost like the Envaya Mini, being just under six centimeters. And it is that it mounts the same 40 mm speakers as the others, and the same passive 40 × 83 mm radiator as the Mini. But the amplification is again somewhat less powerful (6.5 watts per speaker). Also the battery is smaller: it lasts 10 hours and charges in 2.5 hours.

Bluetooth aptX

All three Denon Envayas are up to date to use the aptX protocol. We already know the advantages of Bluetooth to send music from a computer or mobile to a speaker of this type. It pairs, and that's it… But, apart from its limited range (about ten meters without walls) it has the disadvantage of compression when sending music. With some speakers it is little appreciated, but when they have more quality, it shows. It sounds like a very compressed mp3. It is also noticeable if we watch video: the latency means that it does not synchronize well with the sound.

The aptX protocol fixes these effects. It is a proprietary algorithm from Qualcomm, the same one that makes mobile processors. It works under the Bluetooth transmission and uses its own code, which must have both the transmitter and the receiver. The Denon Envaya accept it, so any compatible mobile will offer a notable quality gain. We will practically have sound with CD quality , despite the Bluetooth transmission, and with minimal latency. They are only 32 ms compared to 150 ms or more of the traditional system.

First impressions

We had the Envayas playing in our office for a while. In that room the usual sound equipment is very respectable. It consists of an integrated network player (Linn) and two more than decent speakers (B&W CM1). A fairly compact bass cajon (8-inch Adam) helps them, all well adjusted. Accustomed to a good level sound, we were testing the Envaya in that same room. Where they worked best was on the same table , which is technically called “near field”. That is, at a distance between half a meter and one meter from the listening point. We refer to a more critical, more analytical listening, looking for qualities and defects as we would with high-level teams.

Were we too picky for these Denons? Well, no. We had already seen how well they could be independently and in their most common function. In other words, giving music to a room, kitchen, living room ... or on the terrace, even in the pool. In those environments the Denons, each one on its scale, sound but very good . The "scale" thing is curious because, as we can expect, the Envaya offers a fuller sound than the Envaya Pocket or Mini. But the little ones have a point more clarity in the voices, perhaps because Denon did not want them to work so hard on bass.

The large Envaya has the fuller sound, with more body, with more bass. But the same goes slightly against him in confined spaces and if we listen to vocal music, or directly voices speaking. For an open space or a large room, the Envaya is the winning choice most of the time. Quite simply, at high volume it becomes clearly louder. For parties, it is the choice without a doubt. But in a kitchen, in a room, in a bathroom, to keep it close ... the Envaya Mini and Pocket give a lot of play. Even using them as hands-free, logically close, we liked them more. The voice sounded more natural.

Practical issues

We have already commented on the bad touch of the buttons, it is a shame because it takes some getting used to and makes good speakers ugly. As for the battery, as always the declared autonomy is somewhat optimistic. We did take two long afternoons of use to the Envaya before exhausting it (just over ten hours). A little less to his brothers, but we would be in about eight to ten hours too. But if we leave them charged and without using them for a few days, they lose a lot of charge. Be careful then with leaving them stored, because they remain unloaded in a few weeks without use. In the long term we think that the battery could be damaged. We were surprised, and we made sure to turn them off well every time (or they should turn off on their own). But we confirm it as a negative point.

On the left side, a row of four LEDs lights up when we activate it and indicates the charge in a fairly approximate way. When we adjust the volume, that row serves to verify the level by eye: good. Even more we liked using the auxiliary input (jack in the hatch). A male-to-male cable is enough to connect the mobile or an iPod-type portable player. It has the disadvantage that the cable is missing, and that when opening the hatch it is not so waterproof. All the rest are advantages: the sound wins when you disconnect the Bluetooth and the battery lasts longer for the same reason. Do not stop trying that connection if you have any speaker "they are cables" and you do not mind having the mobile near or connected. With the Denon Envaya, despite aptX, it showed.

Demanding listening

We don't forget the first time we put the Envaya on the table while writing something urgent. After a few minutes we had forgotten that the equipment was not playing, but a simple wireless speaker. Only by raising our heads for a moment, searching for the soundstage, did we realize that all that music was coming from the little Denon in front of us and behind the computer monitor. In that uncritical listening, with Spotify lists or a favorite internet station working, the Envaya shines. Its price is a fraction of what our equipment costs and the sound was in the same league.

With the Mini or Pocket the effect was less spectacular, perhaps due to the smaller width or some type of processing, the larger one offers more “scene”. As we pointed out before, the Envaya Mini and Pocket sound less spectacular but clearer, anyway, so it is more a question of what use we are going to give it than pure performance. We paired two to sound in stereo but it is something that must be designed to be identical, because it was necessary to find a balanced setting. They certainly sounded twice as good ... and in any case the Envayas have left us a most positive impression . If we don't need more "intelligence" than Siri (which is compatible) these speakers are a great choice.

Denon Envaya

Denon Envaya Mini

Denon Envaya Pocket