Review: Devialet Gemini II Wireless Earphones

It’s obvious that exclusivity doesn’t come cheap. It’s obvious that “performance” is often not the only consideration when choosing, say, a new pair of true wireless in-ear headphones. But it’s equally obvious when the emperor’s new tailoring isn’t as complete as it might be.

Given that audiophile brand Devialet has built the bulk of its formidable reputation on a range of products that generally combine overwrought design with feral performance standards, it was mildly surprising when the company launched a pair of true wireless in-ear headphones in the middle of 2021.

After all, when a product must be small and functional by necessity, there seems to be little scope for the sort of individuality that is usually near the top of Devialet’s wishlist when developing a product.

Sure enough, the Gemini true wireless in-ears were a tragically mundane product by the company’s usual standards—when the biggest flourish is a sliding lid on a charging case, you know the industrial designers have had a tedious day at the office.

So for all that the Gemini weren’t at all bad in performance terms, it seemed likely Devialet would go back to producing bigger products that can be much more easily differentiated from their nominal competitors.

And yet here we are. The Devialet Gemini II true wireless in-ear headphones are on sale. They’re small and visually unremarkable (which is the opposite of everything Devialet usually seems to be excited by), except where price is concerned.

Devialet wants £349 ($449) for a pair of Gemini II, unless you fancy a pair of the Opéra de Paris special edition with their 24-carat “moon gold” plating. Those will set you back a staggering £549 ($649).

Some context is important here. Montblanc, which has spent well over a century cultivating a reputation for craftsmanship and exclusivity in everything it does, is asking £345 ($395) for a pair of its MTB 03 true wireless in-ears. Bowers & Wilkins, which is closing in on its 60th year of all-singing, all-dancing audio excellence, launched its Pi7 S2 true wireless in-ears at £349 ($399). Sony, which has had the “premium true wireless in-ears” market sewn up for several years, recently announced its WF-1000XM5 at £259 ($299).

It seems, then, that Devialet fancies it belongs in such storied, venerable company and has decided to charge accordingly. It wouldn’t be the first young(ish) brand to hope that what makes a premium product is a premium price, that’s for sure… and it wouldn’t be the first to learn the hard way. The Gemini II are very well made, very nicely finished, and built to last, it’s true—but this is also true of any number of (slightly or significantly less expensive) alternatives.

As well as big numbers and gold plating, Devialet has always been keen on abbreviations and acronyms. And just because the Gemini II are really nothing special to look at doesn’t mean they can’t have some racy abbreviations attached.

So along with the more regular stuff like Bluetooth 5.2 wireless multipoint connectivity with SBC, AAC, and aptX codec compatibility, there’s IDC, which stands for Internal Delay Compensation. IDC works to overcome the internal delay generated by the adaptive active noise-cancellation circuitry, producing more complete cancellation especially in the higher frequencies.

Along with 10-mm titanium-coated full-range dynamic drivers, there’s AWR, which stands for Active Wind Reduction. AWR tries to limit wind-interference by shielding each microphone in the hybrid dual-mic structure behind a layer of anti-wind material inside a cavity, to prevent air movement on the microphone membrane.

Along with an IPX4 moisture-resistance rating, there’s DANC, which stands for Devialet Adaptive Noise Cancellation. DANC dynamically adjusts to the shape of the individual ear to deliver optimum noise-cancellation in every environment while reducing white noise and audio artifacts.

As far as specification is concerned, then, only the battery life available here is authentically unremarkable. Five hours of playtime is available from the earbuds, while the charging case can top that up to a total of 22 hours—charging occurs either via QI-certified pad or the USB-C socket on the bottom of the charging case.

Of the Gemini II’s many well-regarded rivals, only the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 are as underwhelming where battery life is concerned.

Devialet provides four sizes of ear-tip in the Gemini II packaging, and in conjunction with the carefully ergonomic lozenge shape of the earbuds themselves, it’s quite easy to get a comfortable, secure fit. There’s a degree of passive noise-isolation provided when you get the fit just so, too.

Control is available using one of three methods. Each earbud has a hybrid dual-mic structure, as already mentioned—and as well as dealing with noise-cancellation and telephony, it can also be used to interact with your source player’s native voice assistant (should it have one). These communications are handled quickly and reliably, which is about the most you can realistically ask for.

There are capacitive touch-surfaces on each earbud, too. They’re relatively large and nicely responsive, which means you can take care of play/pause, “skip forwards/backwards,” “cycle through noise-cancellation options,” “volume up/down” and “wake voice assistant” easily. And there’s a control app (free for iOS and Android) that lets you rearrange the number of taps or presses each function requires.

The app also has a six-band equalizer, and there’s the ability to save one custom EQ setting with the six presets Devialet provides. And aside from the ability to search for software updates, select your noise-cancellation preference, and, er, adjust left/right balance, that’s about it. “Extensive” is not a word that can be applied to the Devialet control app.

Neither does it apply to your noise-cancellation options. It’s an either/or choice you need to make between cancellation and transparency. Devialet will no doubt argue that its adaptive cancellation system means the Gemini II are constantly working at full tilt, but a degree of user autonomy where this sort of thing is concerned never goes amiss—especially where transparency is concerned.

The ability to balance the amount of external sound you hear against the sound of your earbuds is always very useful in those products that provide it. But it seems there are limits to what $449 buys you these days.

It certainly doesn’t buy you seamless access to your native voice assistant. You don’t need to have the Devialet app open, but if your phone (or whatever you’re using) has nodded off, you’ll need to give a long press on its unlock button before you use the earbuds’ touch-surface to issue the wake command. It’s not the last word in elegance or convenience.

When you start streaming music, though (ideally nice, big, high-resolution digital audio files), the Gemini II make a solid, if unspectacular, sound. They’re not about to put the frighteners on the acknowledged class-leaders, you understand, but they’re an enjoyable, generally informative, and quite demonstrative listen nevertheless.

I heard, in passing, Reset by Panda Bear & Sonic Boom described as “the psychedelic period Buddy Holly never got to have”—which seems an astute observation. And there’s no doubt that when it’s delivered by the Gemini II, this recording is a bold and upfront listen.

The Devialet have plenty of interesting observations about timbre and texture to make, and where the balance between poise and assertiveness is concerned, the Gemini II are very well judged.

They extend a long way down the frequency range and deliver bass sounds with a very pleasing mixture of punch, variation, and control. The straight-edged lead-in to low-end sounds keeps momentum high and allows rhythms proper expression, and the amount of detail that’s retained and revealed means the Gemini II are musical, rather than monotonal, at the bottom end.

And there’s a similar (and similarly impressive) mixture of detail and drive at the top of the frequency range, where treble sounds have enough substance to balance out their bite and shine. Turn the volume up to significant levels and the top end can veer toward strident, but in all other circumstances it remains benign.

The frequency range is smoothly realized from top to bottom, but when information rises up or dips down to the midrange, a little of the clarity and positivity of sound goes away. The vocal lines in Reset should be cleaner and more distinct than they are in the hands of the Gemini II—other, inevitably more affordable, earbuds give you a slightly fuller, slightly easier-to-understand account of the midrange than these are capable of.

It’s a doubly curious state of affairs when you consider just how open and spacious a listen these Devialet are. The soundstage they create is respectably wide and very convincingly organized, so there’s more than enough elbow room for each individual strand of a recording to do their thing—and it doesn’t matter how complex, dense, or element-heavy that recording is. The Gemini II have no difficulty in positioning the vocal lines just so. But having done so, their otherwise prodigious powers of insight and analysis desert them somewhat.

Dynamic headroom is considerable, which is always good news, and the Gemini II are pretty adept with the less pronounced but equally important low-level dynamics of tonal variation. If you’re listening to a solo instrument, this facility will be particularly apparent—there’s nothing uniform, no lack of variation, in the sound of a piano when it’s given to you by these Devialet.

As far as the peripheral aspects of performance are concerned, the Devialet Gemini II do similarly good, similarly unspectacular work when put into the context of their price. Telephony, for example, is perfectly acceptable no matter at which end of the call you find yourself—and, sure enough, wind noise is kept to a minimum.

Noise cancellation is good too, with external distractions minimized, although the Devialet are no match for the remarkable blanket of silence the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II are able to deploy. And need I say with undue emphasis that the Bose are way less expensive than the Gemini II?

That’s where the problems begin and end for the Devialet Gemini II, in fact. They’re quite accomplished true wireless in-ear headphones, just as gratifying as an accessory as some of the acknowledged class-leaders (although they are a little more compromised, in sonic terms, than the very best around).

They’re also optimistically expensive, to the point that justifying the outlay (if you’re not directly related to a Devialet employee) is going to be more than a little tricky. And I don’t think this will result in the kind of exclusivity Devialet was aiming for.

Update 14/9/23: This piece has updated UK pricing, as well as corrections regarding the inclusion of wireless charging and earbud volume control.