Travel Gadget: Geneva XS portable sound system

By Beth Walsh

5:30 AM Thursday Mar 22, 2012

The Geneva XS portable sound system is at the pricier end of the scale but it's versatile and sounds good enough for home use when you're not jet-setting. Photo / Supplied

The Geneva XS portable sound system is a pretty clever little thing, or a clever pretty little thing, depending on whether aesthetics or functionality is higher up your list.

Part of a range (which goes from XS to XL ... geddit?), the XS is the most compact and well-suited for slinging in your suitcase or backpack.

It comes in a hard leather case, which unfolds to reveal the streamlined hi-fi unit. This automatically turns itself off when the case is shut - however, should you run it flat, the built-in rechargeable lithium battery means there's no need to lug spare batteries around the world.

As one of the masses with a certain type of phone, I can vouch for the ease with which you can establish a bluetooth connection to the XS for audio streaming. No need to download any software, just a couple of setting changes and away you go.

It's also pretty nifty as an amp for a laptop, so you can get decent sound while watching Star Wars in your hotel room.

All devices (MP3 player, TV, computer, etc) can be also be connected by mini line-in. More importantly for the traveller, the XS has a digital clock and alarm, as well as a digital FM radio tuner.

Oh, and did I mention the sound quality? It's got a bunch of stuff I don't understand (tweeters and a woofer, anyone?), and I suspect they might have something to do with excellent sound performance. The only real flaw I discovered in the XS was how difficult it was to read the display in bright sunshine.

At an RRP of $349, it's at the pricier end of the scale but it's versatile and sounds good enough for home use when you're not jet-setting.

By Beth Walsh

royce () | 09:08AM Friday, 23 Mar 2012

If you don't know what tweeters or woofers are you probably shouldn't be writing about sound systems

Kkkkenny () | 03:04PM Tuesday, 27 Mar 2012

Let alone giving us an idea of size, weight, how many watts is it rated for (this should be on the spec label), where can I listen to one, what do the larger ones have that the smaller one doesn't (if anything except being larger.), what about a link to the manufacturers website?
A very 'quick and dirty' review indeed.

Riggles (Auckland Central) | 10:34AM Tuesday, 03 Apr 2012

The best portable speaker I've ever used is the WOWee ONE. The thing is tiny yet puts out a huge amount of high quality sound with rather impressive battery life. The trick the thing uses is a gell pad which turns any surface into its sub-woofer. Naturally different surface provide different tones and quality, from my testing the rear window of the car works great and gives the impression you actually have a full size sub-woofer somewhere.