Geneva Model M Launched Today
For those of you not in the know, Geneva is well known for making wood-enclosed audio systems for iPods. And they must be pretty amazing at it considering their Model XL costs $1275 and their Model L costs $699 and they are still in business.
Their biggest selling point is the wood enclosure, not because it looks cool, but for what it does for the sound coming out of the system. I honestly think the only music that doesn't benefit from the sound improvements offered by wood enclosures might be Techno/Trance and stuff of that sort, which is good music, but due to the nature of it, it doesn't sound better from the softening and smoothness that a wood enclosure offers.
Sure, the driver and cone make up a large part of the sound, but a wood enclosure just softens a lot of the edges in the sound and makes it seem to flow more smoothly. Andy you don't have to worry about hearing a rattle or other noise coming from the enclosure like you might with a lightweight plastic or something of that sort. The Model M is $499 but it offers up a 14" wide cabinet, a slot loading CD player, 4 speakers, and a 100 watt digital amp as well as a 3.5mm auxiliary input. On the side, there is a floor stand you can get if you are too good to use a table, it'll cost you an extra buck-twenty ($120).
Geneva Model M Gives Your iPod Some Wood [via gizmodo]