Geneva Lab Model S Wireless Speaker Preview

If you had to pick a buzzword that rivaled "3D" for those outside the world of A/V, it would be "wireless". If modern product marketing is to be believed, wires are evil. Anything that has to be powered by a wire is automatically less 'cool' than other, wireless offerings. Of course, that marketing rarely specifies which wires, or that not all wires are eliminated. But that doesn't mean that wireless offerings don't have their place.

With the proliferation of smartphones, having an easy way to connect to a speaker system to enjoy the (sometimes thousands) of tunes on your phone has become more and more important. At first, it was docks. Every manufacturer had one. But due to the different smartphone flavors (and Apple recently changing their connector), wireless has become the go-to solution. Of course, Apple's AirPlay has a lot of clout because of the connection to the various iDevices. But Bluetooth is still the defacto "universal" wireless solution since most iDevices and all other smartphones are Bluetooth compatible.

Geneva Lab's original Model S speaker had an iPod dock and was fairly popular (it won a design award). Now, Geneva Lab has released an updated version of the Model S speaker removing the dock and adding Bluetooth compatibility. This makes a lot of sense as it expands the potential customers for the Model S Wireless to anyone with a smartphone.

There are not a lot of physical differences between the Model S and Model S Wireless speaker other than the Bluetooth upgrade. Geneva Lab has said that the Model S Wireless has completely re-engineered and upgraded components over the Model S. They've even upgraded the drivers. The Model S Wireless has two, 3" full range drivers flanked by two bass ports with "dynamic loudness". We don't really know what "dynamic loudness" is. The Geneva Lab's site is mum on the subject. The drivers are separated into two different enclosures which necessitates the dual ports. Geneva Lab specifies the frequency response down to 75Hz which seems a bit optimistic based on the size of the unit. There are backlit, touch-sensitive controls on the top of the unit, a perforated grille on the front, and a 3.5mm auxiliary input. There is a front LED display viewable through the grille.

The Geneva Lab Model S Wireless speaker is powered by two, 15 watt amplifiers—there is some confusion on what type of amps. While the original Model S had digital amplifiers (the Model S Wireless webpage suggests the same), the press release for the Model S Wireless suggests Class A/B amplification. It is Bluetooth 2.1 A2DP compatible for high quality wireless streaming. It has a built-in digital FM radio with 6 presets, a digital clock with alarm, and comes in red, white, or black. The Model S Wireless is 9.2” by 5.8” by 6.9”, making it small enough to place almost anywhere.

Conclusion

The original Geneva Lab Model S was an award winning iPod dock. The new Geneva Lab Model S Wireless gets rid of the dock and adds Bluetooth 2.1 compatibility for use with all smartphones. Sure, you still need to plug it into a wall but it will connect to your device without you having to plug it in. Those without iDevices are sure to be glad to hear that Geneva Lab went with Bluetooth rather than AirPlay. We're interested to see how this new Model S Wireless speaker will sound.

For more information, please visit www.genevalab.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.