Dreo TurboPoly 765S Review: Huge Airflow, Plenty of Noise

The Dreo TurboPoly 765S is not content to be a pedestal fan. Thanks to the two supports supplied with it, the head can be mounted either on a column with a weighted base or on a small four-legged tripod, so it can sit on a table instead.

This is a mains-powered model offering 12 ventilation levels plus a Turbo mode, together with motorised oscillation of 150 degrees horizontally and 100 degrees vertically. The MotionSync system can combine those two movements to sweep more of the room. Five modes are directly accessible: Normal, Auto, Sleep, Natural and Turbo.

Dreo supplies a remote control and allows the fan to be driven over Wi-Fi from its mobile app. That app, simply called Dreo, adds a custom mode capable of adapting speed to the temperature or to time slots defined by the user. The fan can be linked to Amazon Alexa and Google Home, and the manufacturer states that it is Matter compatible.

The TurboPoly 765S arrives in several pieces, but assembly poses no particular difficulty. The head fixes to the column, which itself screws into the weighted base. The various elements fit together properly.

That solid construction has a price on the scales: reckon on 6.69 kg in the floor configuration. The wide base gives excellent stability, including when the head is oscillating in both directions at once. All the same, the assembly is not especially pleasant to carry around. Dreo has thankfully built a broad handle into the back of the head, which offers a good grip.

The column is telescopic, but its range is limited to 13 cm. That adjustment is enough to align the airflow roughly with the height of a sofa or a bed, and no more.

To use the fan on a table, it has to be unplugged, the head separated from the column and the small supplied support screwed on in its place. Its four legs deploy automatically to form a reasonably stable tripod, so the changeover stays fairly simple.

The control panel sits on top of the head. That position saves bending down to the base, and the touch keys give direct access to power, speeds, modes, the timer and the two oscillation axes. A separate shortcut activates Turbo mode. The pictograms are reasonably self-explanatory and the whole thing is quick to learn.

A circular display set into the centre of the grille indicates the selected level and the main active functions. It stays clearly legible, but it can switch itself off after a minute so as not to light up a bedroom unnecessarily. The app can also mute the sounds made by the panel.

The remote control repeats most of the commands and has a holder attached to the column. It can also steer the head: hold down its central button and move the remote in the desired direction. The function is original, even if the traditional direction keys do the job perfectly well.

Connecting to the Dreo app poses no particular difficulty. The fan is quickly detected over Bluetooth before being joined to the Wi-Fi network.

The main screen shows the ambient temperature and gives access to speeds and modes as well as oscillation. Auto mode modulates the airflow according to temperature, Natural mode alternates between speeds and Sleep mode progressively reduces power. The custom mode lets the user define the fan's own behaviour according to temperature or to a schedule.

The app is particularly complete when it comes to managing the orientation of the head. Horizontal and vertical movements can be commanded separately, their angles chosen, or MotionSync enabled to combine them. An autocalibration function puts the head back on the straight and narrow if it loses its bearings.

Dreo also allows a start or stop time to be programmed, a recurring period to be created and several preferences to be set. Among other things, the display can be turned off automatically, sounds muted or the measured temperature calibrated. The app therefore does considerably more than duplicate the remote control and brings genuine extra options with it.

Maintenance is a less attractive prospect. Like any bladed fan, this one will accumulate dust on its grille and its blade over time. Reaching those parts means removing a screw, rotating the front grille, unscrewing the blade cap and then extracting the blade itself. Cleaning therefore demands a more laborious dismantling than a simple wipe with a cloth.

The Dreo TurboPoly 765S ranks among the most powerful fans measured in the laboratory. At 1 m, air speed was recorded at 3.2 m/s at intermediate power and up to 4.8 m/s in Turbo mode. The airflow is clearly perceptible and can become frankly dishevelling when the appliance is placed too close.

At 2 m, the fan retains 2.1 and 3.2 m/s respectively. It can therefore deliver a marked sensation of coolness from the other side of a bedroom or living room, without having to be installed at the foot of the sofa.

Its useful reach, defined as the distance at which the flow still measures 0.3 m/s, works out at 7 m. That figure is a long way short of the 36 m announced by Dreo, but the manufacturer uses different conditions and measurement thresholds. It remains excellent for a domestic fan all the same.

The flow is, on the other hand, concentrated along its axis. At full power and 1 m, only 0.6 m/s was recorded 30 cm above and below the centre, along with 0.3 m/s to the left and 0.8 m/s to the right. The fan therefore produces a powerful corridor of air rather than a wide, even breeze.

That is exactly where the horizontal and vertical oscillations earn their keep. By combining the two movements, the TurboPoly can share its airflow between several people or move air around a larger volume. It could equally be used to redistribute the cool air from an air conditioner or the warmth from a heater.

The TurboPoly 765S can blow hard, but not discreetly. At intermediate power, 47 dB was recorded at 1 m. The fan is then clearly audible in a quiet room and its rush of air can become intrusive during a work session or in front of a television. The noise in fact starts to make itself noticed as soon as roughly the first third of the adjustment range is passed.

In Turbo mode the level climbs to 59 dB. The fan then becomes noisy, and that setting will suit a rapid cool-down rather better than a peaceful night. Sleep mode tries to soften matters by automatically reducing speed every 30 minutes.

At its minimum level, the Dreo TurboPoly 765S consumed 2.6 Wh after an hour of operation. On a simulation based on eight hours of use a day over four months, that works out at around 2.50 kWh. It is therefore very frugal when it is producing a light breeze.

At full power, consumption reaches 37 Wh over an hour, or 35.52 kWh over the same theoretical period. That figure is higher than many less powerful fans manage, but it stays contained given the volume of air delivered, and it is a long way from what an air conditioner uses.

The TurboPoly 765S does have to remain plugged in at all times. No battery, built in or optional, allows it to be used away from a socket, including when it takes on its tabletop format.

In format and connected features the Dreo TurboPoly 765S resembles the Duux Whisper Flex 2 Smart to some extent, although that model is less powerful while being lighter and quieter. Anyone put off by connected features, even optional ones, and looking for a more traditional format will find the Rowenta Turbo Silence VU5650F0 a very good candidate.