With a removable faceplate that acts as a remote, George is a unique speaker dock with an alarm clock and great sound. Is it the right system for you?
Review summary of the Chestnut Hill Sound George:
 |
| Watch » Gallery » |
 The Chestnut Hill Sound's George system delivers impeccably accurate sound -- so accurate, in fact, that casual music lovers who just want to fill a room with big, sweet-sounding music may be turned off by George's comparatively dull (if sonically true) sound. The lack of a defined soundstage was also disappointing. Finally, for the price, George will certainly scare away all but a specific audience of enthusiasts, though that audience will most likely know what they are getting and be pleased with the result. If you are interested in the speakers, be sure to find a smaller showroom to test them, without a lot of ambient noise. Release: February 2007. Price: $500.
Pros: Very cool remote control that mirrors the iPod's menu structure and content; great alarm features; accurate sound reproduction.
Cons: Sound style may not be for everyone; very high price, compared to comparable devices; bland design; cannot synchronize iPod in dock.
| Poor |
Mediocre |
73%
GOOD |
Very good |
Excellent |
|
|
|
Full review of the Chestnut Hill Sound George:
|
Chesnut Hill Sound makes one product: George. George is a speaker system designed to work exclusively with the iPod. It features four internal speakers and a subwoofer, all in an enclosed shell, and has a dock on top for your iPod, reminiscent of systems like the Apple Hi-Fi. The system is clearly aimed at high-end audiophiles, with clean sound and an exceedingly high price tag that may keep all but the most discerning enthusiasts at bay. George also comes with a unique, detachable faceplate remote, equipped with an LCD screen to view information directly from your iPod.
Sound - Good
There are two types of music listeners out there: those who like their music to sound like a party, big and booming, with high trebles for screeching guitars and heavy bass to shake the floorboards, and those who aspire for the clean, accurate sound that an audio engineer craves. George, from Chestnut Hill Sound, is clearly designed for the second type. If you are used to listening to systems like the Bose SoundDock, or even Apple's own Hi-Fi, you might miss the heavier bass kick and brighter sounding mid-range that these speakers provide. They sound great, but they aren't exactly accurate to the recording. George aims for accuracy, which will feel dull to fans of a more exciting sound, but for music buffs concerned with the cleanest representation of what the musician recorded, George is a great speaker system.
We tested George with a wide variety of tracks and noticed a few problems. First of all, with George placed about six feet from the listener, we lost a lot of detail in the recordings. Listening to an of Tori Amos' lip-smacking "Precious Things," we felt robbed of some of the finer details. More complicated classical tracks, like the Swingle Singers version of Mozart's Symphony No. 40, tended to sound a bit blurry. Then, we moved the speakers four feet farther, about ten feet from the listener, and the difference was remarkable. Chestnut Hill admits as much in their product literature, and this is why the remote control faceplate includes its own charging station. You are supposed to place George somewhere in your room where it sounds the best, and then you control it remotely, rather than leaving it on the bedside table next to your head and relying on the unit to fill the room with sound.
George also suffers from poor staging. No matter what track we listened to, we couldn't hear a clearly defined sound stage, and even songs that panned dramatically from side to side were lost. We tried Nine Inch Nails' "Wish" from their "Fixed" album, a song that pans so quickly it can make your eyes water, and it sounded like it was coming from a single speaker. George also doesn't offer the sizzling mid-range that you'll hear from a Bose SoundDock, an effect that wows listeners the first time they hear the Bose unit. We recognized the overall accuracy of the speakers, but wonder if it suits our musical taste. Songs tended to flatten out, giving them a dullness that failed to energize the room. With good placement of the device, fine details were distinct and clear, like the individual voices on the Swingle Singers track, or the dynamic layering on Mos Def's "Fear Not of Man." Still, we couldn't help but feel we weren't the audience for speakers of this quality or sound style.
Features - Very good
The distinguishing feature of George is its removable face plate, which acts as a remote control, complete with an LCD screen, and uses a rechargeable battery. The remote can display iPod-like menus, complete with the scrolling wheel, or knob, in this case. You can scroll through tracks by Title, Artist, or Album, or browse through your playlists. Though the remote functions well, it lacks some of the iPod's features. You cannot create "on-the-go" playlists from George remote, and you can't synchronize your iPod while it is in George. George has a USB port, but this will be used for future software updates to the device itself. Switching songs from your iPod can cause a delay, sometimes as long as 10 seconds, even when switching between songs in a single album or playlist. The remote control also manages the AM/FM radio, and sets the alarm clock. On top of the large remote is a long button, which acts as a "Play/Pause" switch and a snooze button. Thus, you can dock the remote bedside, and with its light up face it will take the place of your alarm clock, controlling the speakers from afar so they can be placed for optimal sound.
The robust alarm clock has settings for two repeating alarms, a one-time alarm, a sleep function and a nap function, which allows you to set a wake up for, say, 30 minutes, instead of setting a specific time. Eventually, Chestnut Hill might add external hardware, such as an HD radio adapter, but the unit includes an auxiliary input, as well as a headphone jack. If you like the remote function, but want to use your larger home system, George has a pre-out to tap into your stereo's amplifier.
Design - Good
George is an inoffensive white box with little detail. It seems designed to blend into your surroundings, rather than call attention to itself. To that end, Chestnut Hill Sound will soon offer wood paneling for George to match your furniture, as well as matching speaker grills, a nice touch. We had problems with the speaker grills falling off at the slightest touch, but since George is not a portable system, this shouldn't pose a major problem. Your iPod rests atop George, and Chestnut Hill has included adapters for all the clickwheel iPods (from the iPod mini to the present models). We're not thrilled with that design, it seems unimaginative, and inconvenient if you place George up high, or out of the way. Since you never need to touch your docked iPod, we would rather conceal it within the device, perhaps with a housing like we've seen on Altec Lansing's inMotion devices, so the iPod can be hidden from view. Also, we found the remote to be a bit wide, and not very comfortable to hold. It would seem more natural for the remote to be the size of an iPod.
Value - Mediocre
The George we reviewed now costs $500, and the charging dock for the remote control is a $50 extra, though through December, 2007, it comes free with the George. It is hard to judge such a high-end setup on value, but George's $500 - $5550 total price tag begs some comparison. For the same price, you could buy a Bose SoundDock, a 30GB iPod, and a $50 iTunes gift card. Or, you could buy a Sony Dream System home-theater-in-a-box and connect your iPod to it. George is not aimed at casual enthusiasts looking for a simple, dedicated speaker. Likewise, it will not replace a larger home theater system. It seems to be directed at audiophiles looking for a very specific sound quality, looking for a secondary system away from their Denon or Marantz setup.
Price and availability
George is currently available for $500. Through December 2007, that price will include the remote control charging stand, after which the stand will be an additional $50.
|
|
| |
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Top 15
|
|
|
» Search (New!)
Search by cell phone features
|
|
|
» Manual comparison (New!)
Select up to 4 cell phones side-by-side
|
|
|
» By release
September 2008, Q4 2008
|
|
|
» Top 15 by carrier
Unlocked, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Helio, Alltel
|
|
|
|
» Top 15 by user type
Average Joe, Business users, Calling addicts, Fashion conscious users, Globetrotters, High-res addicts, Internet addicts, Multimedia enthusiasts, Music aficionados, Outdoor enthusiasts, TV addicts, Video lovers, More...
|
|
|
» Top 15 by brand
Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia,
BlackBerry, Samsung, Sony Ericsson Other
|
|
|
» Top 15 by platform
Palm OS, Symbian S60, Symbian UIQ, Windows Mobile
|
|
|
|
» Top 15 by cell phone type
Business smartphones, Multimedia smartphones
Consumer QWERTY phones, Multimedia phones
Concept phones
|
|
|
|
|
|
Archive