Home Hi-Tech Hardware and Peripherals ,,,,, Geneva Touring S is the new intermediate model in the Swiss line of portable Bluetooth speakers. Characterized by an intriguing look and a clearly vintage style, they offer a good sound response but above all interesting additional services such as the integrated radio, with a typical Swiss product imprint.
Geneva Touring S, the review
Open the box, a little manual skill that doesn't hurt
The first thing you notice about the Geneva Touring S is undoubtedly the look, essentially and deliberately vintage: the shape, the colors, the retractable antenna and the volume together offer that taste of when the writer was a child and listened, with the dad, “All football minute by minute” on the radio on Sunday afternoon in a world that today appears very, very far away, especially from a technological point of view.
Geneva Touring S is available in four colors: black, red, white and brown (there is also a special edition Blue version, not available in Italy), but all the colors strongly recall the seventies and the set of sensations they have contributed to fix over time the term “radio” in the popular imagination.
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Of course, once taken in your hand you realize that the seventies are long gone because the constricting technical characteristics are now of a very different kind: the five buttons in the upper part are comfortable and well arranged, and also the volume wheel, which also serves to turn the device on and off, it responds very well even if at a higher excursion than we expected.
There is no shortage of surprises, such as the lithium battery, rechargeable, which is detached and must be connected manually, which extends its life since, as long as the product is in the box (but also for those who do not use it on the go ) this is useless and does not degrade.
The antenna is really funny, retractable, which strongly recalls the vintage style we were talking about a little earlier: the antenna is obviously only for the radio, otherwise it can remain closed (when open it is obviously a bit bulky).
In the rear part, not very visible, there is the MicroUSB connector and an analog audio input via Jack.
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Bluetooth speaker to whom?
The first test we did was as a Bluetooth speaker connected to an iMac 27, a 2013 MacBook Pro and an iPhone 8, all devices with a Bluetooth 4 chip.
The connection was simple: once turned on, the device connects to the last source found and if it does not find it, it tries backwards the others in memory.
The red characters display shows some status messages to help the user understand the status of the speaker: during playback, the word BLUE remains fixed.
The audio (from 100Hz to 20kHz) seemed in line with expectations: it is a speaker designed for a clientele far from adolescence, so the bass is certainly not emphasized and as far as the size allows it, with mids and well modulated highs.
Some indecision here in the first few minutes of connection but nothing really tangible and a very good battery life. In this case it is difficult to make an estimate, because mixed use, as we will see, would require more specific tests but some days it does everything if not used continuously and assiduously.
The volume is small, great for a room, it doesn't go further: we consider the Geneva Touring S as a device for personal use, if there are more people in a room it's fine, if the room is large maybe you need something more (on the website of the Geneva Lab parent company there are different models for different space needs).
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All football minute by minute
One of the main features of the Geneva Touring S is undoubtedly the possibility of using the radio. In particular, with the dedicated button you can easily switch from the Bluetooth input to the FM or DAB + signal, with 6 stations stored or with a free choice.
Because in an era of music streaming services (here our review on Amazon Music Unlimited) too often we forget about the Italian (and not) radio heritage, free and excellent.
In particular, in this way it is possible to use Geneva Touring S in a totally autonomous way, wherever we are, even without an internet connection (think of the sea, in the mountains, while traveling, in places where the connection is not always present or constant. .
It so happens that in the meantime these lines are being written, the football world championship is underway, and even if Italy does not participate in it, millions of Italians are still interested and following a commentary is still an interesting advantage (even if there are different solutions, as we reported in our in-depth article on how to follow the world cup).
The operation of the radio, among other things, is also more complete than that as a simple Bluetooth speaker, because it allows you to use all the upper buttons (while as a speaker it is passive, the control is totally from the device that transmits): in radio mode, the front display shows the frequency and, when available, the name of the radio station.
The possibility of using DAB + radio is excellent, for a standard that has had little success in the consumer field, probably supplanted by streaming services which however offer different results.
Conclusions
The style, the quality of the materials, the sound performance (good, not epic) but above all the services included make it an excellent device, which in the category stands out above all for the presence of the radio, which many unfortunately underestimate.
The price, 199 Euro to the public, is attractive considering what is available in the offer and also in the look, which for this type of equipment should never be underestimated.
Pro
• Interesting vintage look
• The integrated radio is a plus
• Some constructive refinements are appreciated
Against
• Controls are missing when in Bluetooth
Price
199.00 Euros (in each of the four colors). Users can find Geneva Touring S in the chains of MediaWorld or in the colors Red, Brown, Black and White also on Amazon.it
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