Customer Reviews

Chestnut Hill Sound George Audio Speaker System for iPod (White)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

GEORGE does things very differently from most iPod products. The beauty of the iPod is it's interface, and Chestnut Hill has spent a great deal of time thinking about how users interface with GEORGE. What they've come up with is elegant and allows a significant feature set while remaining elegantly simple to use.

In a brilliant touch, the controls can be removed from the radio and placed in a charging stand. In this configuration everything functions as before, only wirelessly. You can put the radio a distance away -- with your iPod mounted on top -- and have complete control of both GEORGE and the iPod from your nightstand.

The sound quality also differentiates this product. It does not try to hide or gloss over the fact that it is a small box by using electronic tricks. Instead, it packs the cleanest, tightest, and truest sound I've yet heard from a box of this size. The bass is tight and musical, without the BOSE tendency towards flatulent exaggeration. Treble is good and articulate, without sounding harsh or edgy. And, considering it's size, GEORGE creates a decent stereo image as well.

Just for reference, I own a BOSE SoundDock, Apple HiFi, and have quite a bit of higher-end audio gear. GEORGE has proven to be one of the best-engineered iPod-related products I've ever owned.

Furthermore, the designers did not ignore the design of the built-in radio tuner. Connected to a Sangean Twin-Coil Ferrite AM Antenna, this thing pulls in each and every AM station that my top-of-the-line Sony Shortwave radio can. FM performance is also quite good and seems every bit as good as the tuner in our Tivoli Audio Model One.

Highly recommended, and we've just ordered a second unit for our guest room...

[UPDATE Jan. 20,2009]

Well, add "customer service, second to none" to my list of pros about the George. I recently began having issues with decreased battery life in the remote. I contacted the company at 10 p.m. PST, received a reply from Rob of Chestnut Hill Audio (within 10 minutes, via BlackBerry), and they promptly sent me a new battery for free. It's a pleasure to do business with a company who values its' customers and tries to take care of them!

My wife and I love this system! Yes, we looked at and listened to ALL the different table radio models. First, the remote is genius, this piece alone makes the system. Second, audio quality is superb! No, it is not a high fidelity home theater or stereo system, it wasn't designed to replace those systems. It sounds better that most home-theater in a box systems (and you would have to spend a lot to beat the Chestnut Hill Sound George), and it's audio fidelity is much more than what you would expect from a table radio. The sound is very natural, weighty and deep were it needs to be, clear and detailed in the other areas (if your afraid that it will be too bright, see next--->>). Third, if you choose to do so, the adjustability (is that a word) of this system is fantastic. Make the system brighter, warmer, or softer, depending on where you place the system and what sounds best. Most table radios can't do this!!! This unit fills the kitchen (where it is located) with sound, gets plenty loud, and is easily heard in each adjoining room of the house even at low to normal listening levels. From another room, you never guess that it is a table radio, it sounds too good! Don't hesitate, get this unit, not any of the others.

I bought George as a present for my daughter. She wanted a clock-radio but also likes to listen to her ipod Nano and wanted speakers for it so she wouldn't have to use her earbuds all the time. George seemed like the perfect fit - and it was. She uses George to listen to her ipod and uses George's alarm function to wake up in the morning (and can choose which ipod tune she wakes up to - pretty cool feature!). The detachable remote sits in its charging cradle on her nightstand while George sits on her dresser.

As far as sound quality is concerned, George is obviously does not produce audiophile quality sound but the sound it produces is surprisingly full and rich for its size.

The only criticisms I have are:

1. The battery in the remote doesn't hold its charge for very long (leave it out of its cradle for more than an hour or two and the battery will be almost completely drained)

2. The remote doesn't seem to have a very large operating range (maybe 20-25 feet at the most).

3. Being able to update George's software over the internet is a very cool feature, but unless its permanent location is right next to your computer, you'll have to unplug it and take it to wherever you have a computer (it updates via USB cable) to do the update.

None of the above are a very big deal for me because of the way George is used in my house, but if you're placing George in a larger room and/or if you have a hard time remembering to put rechargable remotes back in their cradles, they could be larger issues for you.

I have had to call tech support only once since buying George. The remote mysteriously lost communication with the base unit and I couldn't get it back. However, I was able to talk to a tech support person immediately - no wait at all - and he solved the problem by simply having me reset George. There have been no problems since then.

All in all, I'm very happy with George and so is my daughter. If you're looking for a device like this (and can afford the admittedly heft price tag) I can recommend George without reservation.

The sound is superior to any other radio I've seen, and I also own a Cambridge Soundworks 765i, which sounds really good. Bose is not in the same league as either of them. I am amazed at the depth of thought that has gone into the design of the George. I think that if Apple were to make a radio, it would be like this, but wouldn't sound as good. The basic idea is brilliant-- the sound unit sits across your bedroom, while the controls sit on your bedside table like an alarm clock. My only negative comment is this: the George does so much and is so flexible, that it can be difficult to remember how to use some of the functions. If you want to set Alarm 2 to wake your wife with the iPod set on "Here Comes the Sun" on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 6:30, it'll do it, but it may take you a few minutes to work your way through the controls to get it set up. So far, I have not been able to figure out how to come in from running, put my iPod in the dock, and continue with whatever I was listening to. My CS 765i will do this easily. Maybe CHS could make this possible with one of their software upgrades. On the whole though, I love the George and I can see that someone was really thinking hard about how to redefine what a clock radio should do.

Sounds great. Probably as good as the Bose dock. Easy to use. Wish the screen were in color. My big problem is the battery. I bought the machine about 2 1/2 years ago and now the battery won't hold a charge for more than 5 minutes. Emailed the company and no response. Called and I got put into someones cell phone voice mail.
Makes me wonder if the company is still in business. Suggestions would be appreciated.

I have been listening to music (and thumbing through Stereo Review" mags) since age 10, and 39 years later I still don't consider myself an audiophile, but I am discriminating. Through that time I've bought countless stereo systems and have learned to appreciate designs when a blend of form and function leads to great sound. Recently, as the albums gather dust, I went searching for a home MP3 player that could fill a room with decent sound. I tried quite a few (Bose (decent), iHome (garbage), Altec Lansing (a bit better than iHome)), etc... but nothing - I mean nothing comes close to George. George not only delivers great sound, but it has the advantage of an an amazingly intuitive interface. I don't need to repeat what you can read in the below reviews. The removable dock is key, and it works great. Bottom line - you can spend less, but you will get less. But when it comes to what George is designed to do you cannot spend more and do any better. If you've got the money - go for it.

I've had the George for 8 months now, never had a problem with it. It is fantastic. Great sound from iPod and radio. The alarm features are really nice. It has 7 various setting: 2 for alarms times you may want on a regular basis, 1 for a one-time alarm, a nap setting, sleep timer, snooze time, and an auto alarm mute time so the radio or iPod shuts off so many minutes after the alarm (in case you forget to turn the radio off once it has been turned on with the alarm). The settings are in minutes, not in increments of 5 or 10 minutes, so you can have it exactly as you like. You can also set the alarm volume and tone so the alarm sound can be always be consistent and doesn't depend on the volume you last had the radio or iPod on.

The iPod is recharged when it is placed in the George dock.

The remote with the stand is great. I have it next to the bed and have the main unit somewhere else in the room. This way, the nightstand is not crowded with items.

I really like the updating features, which means the George can keep improving without cost to me. The George, in my opinion, is very well built and is a quality product.

The Chestnut Hill Sound George met my expectations. I read all prior reviews and they were reliable. I love the multi-function aspect (especially the alarm radio), the remote is very easy to use and works from one room to another in my house, and last but certainly not least, the sound is excellent. So far my only complaint is I have found one artist (Norah Jones) that plays with bass too heavy but on the same settings everyone else sounds great at reasonably high volume. Overall I'm very happy with the investment.

What a great audio system for iPhone! When you docket the iPhone with George, it will ask if you want to put it in Airplane mode or not. When not operating in Airplane mode, the iPhone can receive phone calls whild being docket on George. My out-of-the-box software version appears to be 2.05.

Customer rep I've been dealing with about iPhone compatibility have been very responsive. I love George's ability to update software/firmware via its USB port. Lots of technology in this audio system, and it probably won't be obsolete too soon due to it being upgradable.

I would like to see full and complete compatibility with iPhone 3G so that I can listen to Pandora, Last.fm, AOL Radio on the iPhone, however.

Great product!!

Update: After about a year of owning two units, I believe George still is the smartest designed radio available.

The George Speaker System is outstanding. Beautifully designed, excellent sound, a compact footprint, and an absolutely superb remote control -- one that provides all the information on the remote's display that is contained in your iiPod's display. CHS also indicates on their website that you will be able to "customize" the George this spring with different side panels and speaker grilles.

The only, and minor, problem I have experienced is that -- every once in a while -- there is a delay between the input on the remote and the actual action. So, I may ask the remote to do something, nothing happens, I then ask it again, and suddenly it does whatever action I have requested twice. But this happens only every once in a while, and is a fairly minor issue anyway.

Although the footprint is small, the sound can adequately fill a medium-sized room. Kudos to Chestnut Hill Sound -- a great product.