Geneva Touring M Portable Bluetooth Speaker Review

Geneva Touring M Portable Bluetooth Speaker Review

The Geneva Touring M is a lovely-looking portable Bluetooth speaker. But with a premium price tag to match its look, is it worth your money? Our experts put it to the test in another of our in-depth reviews. Read on to find out what we thought of it!

Related: Top 10 Best Bluetooth Speakers

Design & build

The key selling point of Geneva's speakers (along with their sound quality) is their stunning, timeless design. As the name suggests, Geneva are a Swiss company, and the Swiss are known for their careful attention to detail. The Geneva Touring M certainly lives up to that reputation- in fact, it's one of the sturdiest-built Bluetooth speakers we've ever come across!

Where other companies are content to make their speakers out of plastic, Geneva have opted for aircraft-grade aluminium. This gives the Touring M a fair bit of weight. It's not so much that you can't still carry it around, but it's enough that the Touring M feels like a sturdy, solid speaker that means serious business.

On top of that body, there's an eco-leather cover available in four colours: black, white, red, and cognac. This has a neat grille design which gives it a real mid-century modern feel. Overall, it's a lot nicer looking than the vast majority of Bluetooth speakers on the market. It's something that we would be happy to display on our bookshelf, and the range of colours are a welcome change from the monochrome-only options from most brands.

The cover doesn't extend all the way to the top of the speaker, leaving some of the aluminium on show. In most cases this is silver, but on the black version, it's tinted to match the colour of the rest of the speaker. Up here, there's a volume control knob which also functions as an on/off switch. There's also a light to show when a Bluetooth device is connected, or when the Touring M is in pairing mode. Lastly, there's a carry handle, to make it easier to carry the speaker around with you, and which folds away when not in use.

Sound performance

The Geneva Touring M is more than just a pretty face, though. What really matters is the sound quality- especially if you're shelling out this much for a Bluetooth speaker. Thankfully, the Touring M delivers on this front, too. With twin Class D amplifiers inside, it has an excellent level of detail that makes it a great choice for all different types of music. Even at the highest volume, there's no audible distortion- and the Touring M can go seriously loud indeed.

Although it lacks a dedicated woofer, the Touring M has a passive bass radiator on the back of the unit. This does a solid job of giving the bass a little more oomph. In fact, if you take a look at the back of the speaker while it's playing, you can see the radiator moving back and forth. As a moderately-sized speaker, it doesn't suffer so much from the lack of bass that many Bluetooth speakers experience. Instead, it offers a nice rich, balanced sound.

Features

Technically speaking, there aren't a lot of features to mention here. The Geneva Touring M puts design and sound over additional technical frills. At the end of the day, this is a portable Bluetooth speaker and nothing more.

The one real feature to talk about is the built-in rechargeable battery. This is a plus, since many premium speakers require you to either use your own batteries, or buy an expensive power pack. It provides up to 30 hours' use from a single charge, so you won't find yourself constantly having to recharge after every use, either.

Geneva Touring M Bluetooth Speaker: The Verdict

While it may not be as versatile as some other models which have a DAB radio mode, the Geneva Touring M is still an outstanding Bluetooth speaker. With great sound quality and a stylish look to match, it's a great choice for music lovers with a slightly bigger budget to spend.