Geneva Sound System Model XS Video

To play this video, you need Javascript enabled and the latest version of Flash installed. Install Flash now
Geneva Sound System Model XS
Created: 01/27/2012
Video description: While it's pretty pricey, the Geneva Sound System Model XS has a great design and is one of the better ultracompact Bluetooth speakers on the market.

Geneva Sound System Model XS Video Transcript

Hi. I'm David Carnoy, Executive Editor for CNET.com and I'm here with the Geneva Sound System XS. That XS stands for Extra Small. This company is a Swiss company. It usually makes actually really big speakers, but this is a small bluetooth speaker and it looks a lot like those old school travel alarm clocks. It folds up into it's own case and it's really kind of nifty design. You can take this with you, put it on your bag, it's protected. It also has a built in FM radio and a telescoping antenna. It's a little weird that it sticks out the side, but it is cool that it does have an antenna and you can get better reception with that antenna. Couple of other features, there is an audio input, so you can use devices that don't have bluetooth with it. That cable is included however. Like other portable bluetooth speakers, this one has built in rechargeable battery. It's a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, gives you about 5 hours worth of battery life. That's not great, but it's not bad either and you can always leave the speaker plugged in as well. One thing that it doesn't have is speaker phone capabilities. There's no built in mike here like the Jawbone JAMBOX has. This is slightly bigger than the Jawbone JAMBOX . It weighs 1.1 lbs, but is very (poor?) and it does sound better than the JAMBOX. This one has a little bit more detail to it. It's a little warmer sounding and it handles bass better. It also plays very loud for its size. Take all that with a grain of salt, of course. The smaller speakers don't have a lot in the way of (stereo?) separation and they don't sound fantastic. But the idea here is that they do sound big for their size. You can stream audio from you iPod, your iPhone, your Android smartphone and it sounds a lot, lot better than those internal speakers on those devices. One of the small drawbacks worth pointing out is that it doesn't charge via USB. It comes with its own AC adapter. It would be nice it had a USB charger, so you could carry only one cable with your cellphone charger, but it does come with that AC adapter. The other bigger downside is its price. It is a $250 device. This is from a Swiss company. It is a high quality well-made product, but that $250 price will scare off some people, but if you don't mind paying that much for a cool small bluetooth speaker, this one is definitely worth checking out. I'm David Carnoy and that's the Geneva Sound System XS.

Related Videos

Parrot Boombox

The Parrot Boombox wireless Bluetooth speaker system ably combines elegant design, minimalist aesthetics, and better-than-average sound quality at an affordable price.

Parrot DS1120 Bluetooth Speaker System

The Parrot DS1120 Bluetooth speaker system isn't cheap, but it looks--and sounds--pretty good.

Geneva Lab Sound System Model L

The Geneva Lab Sound System Model L delivers a giant sound that totally clobbers its flyweight competition--but the price tag matches its mammoth size.

JBL Charge jolts past the Jambox

This $150 Bluetooth speaker is a bit bigger than the Jambox, but it sounds better.

A Bluetooth speaker you'll feel lazy using indoors

Despite unavoidable sonic limitations imparted by Bluetooth compression, the Philips Shoqbox SB7200 is built to survive the great outdoors and manages to sound better than most competing Bluetooth speakers.

Sony HT-CT500 Sound Bar Home Theater System

Sony's single-speaker surround-sound home theater system is sleek, relatively inexpensive, and actually sounds pretty good.

Bose's Bluetooth speaker gets even better

While the SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile Speaker II may no longer be in a class by itself, it's still near the top of the portable Bluetooth speaker category.

Libratone Zipp: Portable AirPlay speaker plays big

The pricey Libratone Zipp offers a new way to stream music via AirPlay. Design and sound quality are great, but there are some notable caveats.

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air

While the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air is as pricey as the earlier Zeppelin, Apple AirPlay support and improved sound quality make it a better value.

Bose SoundDock

Bose's SoundDock speaker system sounds better--and costs more--than competing iPod speaker systems.

Geneva Sound System Model XS (black) Review

The good: For a compact, portable Bluetooth speaker, the Geneva Sound System Model XS sounds very good and plays loud. It has a user-replaceable, built-in, rechargeable battery; folds up into its own case; and has a built-in FM radio and alarm clock features.

The bad: The Model XS is fairly pricey, has no speakerphone capabilities, and charges via a separate AC adapter, not USB.

The bottom line: While it's not cheap, the Geneva Sound System Model XS has a great design and is one of the better ultracompact Bluetooth speakers on the market, outperforming the Jawbone Jambox.

Read full review

Geneva Sound System Model XS (black) Specs

Manufacturer: Geneva Lab
Part number: XS / Black

Product Basic Spec
  • Product Basic Spec

Read full specs