Can the What Hifi? team ask...

chebby

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... Geneva Lab if they have any plans to incorporate AirPlay and/or a digital input (preferably optical or coax) on any future versions of their Model M or Model L ?

Please make it clear that if they do, they have at least one customer right here, right now.

Thanks.
 

chebby

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Thanks Andy.

It's a shame that they can't be made wireless without spending £150 extra and having little 'dongles' hanging off everything.

They do a version of the M and L with a built-in CD player though! Very strange putting a last millenium format into a system that is naturally crying out for built in Wifi/AirPlay and an optical connection for our TVs/Blu-rays etc.

CD or digital optical connection and wireless? I know what i'd rather pay the premium for.
 
I am in agreement with Chebby. Cannot understand the version with included CD. I would imagine most people who would buy this 'all in one' would be of the younger generation that would probably baulk at the cost of the M. I am assuming Geneva are trying to complete with the B&W Zepellin so to stay ahead of the game I'd assume they would have to offer similar features to the Zepellin Air. Until they do I, for one, will not be in the market for one.
 

chebby

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Alears said:
I am assuming Geneva are trying to complete with the B&W Zepellin so to stay ahead of the game I'd assume they would have to offer similar features to the Zepellin Air.

Every time I have seen B&W Zeppelins in shops, they were covered with dust. I asked in one shop (John Lewis) why this was so. (Everything else on display was gleaming.) The assistant said it was a real problem with them in particular. Another shop (a 'Loewe Galerie') also confirmed their display Zeppelins are plagued by this problem.

The Geneva Lab kit looks very easy to keep clean (quick flick with a Pledge Fluffy duster or similar) based on my inspection of an (FM only) Model S I saw on display in a sale a couple of weeks ago.

I also prefer the look/proportions/finish of the the Geneva Lab Model M to the B&W Zeppelins and the group test in the latest issue of WHF suggests it sounds much better too.

It's just this bloomin' AirPlay/wireless thing (or lack of it) that bugs me. I hate it when one two essential details stop a fantastic product being practical.
 
I can only concur with you. Based on the group test I was sorely tempted to go and try to get an audition of the M for use in my office / spare bedroom. The lack of Airplay is indeed a killer. I have not seen one 'in the flesh' so to speak but it was the sound quality info that did it for me. Could the lack of Airplay be down to a licencing factor I wonder?

I can see your point regards the dust-attracting nature of the Zepellin as my little 'un has a Teac 'Aurb' in her room and its also a sod to keep clean! - the Aurb that is, not her room.
 

chebby

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John Duncan said:
Furthermore, is Airplay a hardware or software thing (generalising)? And if the latter, when can I expect it for my Uniti...? :-D

After providing product number, serial number, colour (?), dealer name, purchase date, MAC address, upgrade ID and payment details, you send all that off and Marantz sends an email to confirm.

Then (on the Marantz menus) go to 'Add New Feature' and 'enter'. It all downloads and you see 'M-CR603 Upgrade' appear after the 'Hello' when you power recycle it next. (This confirms it now has AirPlay.)

So it is a software/firmware thing.

As for getting AirPlay on your Naim, I expect they are still working out how to build a seperate power supply for it :)
 
Indeed.
Airplay is 'a proprietary protocol developed by Apple Inc. that allows wireless streaming of audio, video, and photos', however the Airplay receiver ie the dock itself has to have some sort of receiver (hardware) and the necessary software to decrypt the incoming audio stream.
So therfore Its all probably down to big brother Apple not letting Geneva play ball!!!
 
A

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The best and cheapest way to get Airplay working in my experience is to buy the Apple Airport Express. For what it does it's pretty cheap (especially compared to 'hi-fi' stuff) and just works (although I have a Mac so it's easier!).

Frankly having to plug the iPod in would be a pain for me, I have an iPod Touch, and am currently listening to it on the sofa, through the hi-fi. Quality is excellent, and I have volume and track selection at my fingertips. Currently Katie Melua 'The House' is sounding pretty special - and that's off a 320kbps MP3!

If you add the cost of the Airport Express (£80), a T-amp (£30) and a couple of reasonable speakers (£150) you are still quids in from a swiss box, then if you also add a Behringer DAC (£115) you are still ahead but with a much better sound.

I'm sure the Geneva Lab's box is well made and looks good, but is hi-fi about the fashion or the sound?
 

chebby

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Globs said:
I'm sure the Geneva Lab's box is well made and looks good, but is hi-fi about the fashion or the sound?

I'm happy to pay the extra for both. (Although I would dispute the term 'fashion' as I think the Geneva Model M looks timeless in almost a BrAun/Dieter Rams sort of way.)

The multi box lash-up you described does not appeal to me despite it's cheapness. Trying to get away from all that eventually.
 
So lets see now. I will require 5 bits of equipment or six if you include the ipod itself plus all the assorted leads / interconnects/ relevent mains sockets when all I really want is a nice compact dock to fit in my office that provides good sound - and hopefully someday a means of streaming! I see.

Think you just pipped me there Chebby!
 
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I can see the appeal of a single box, although you can fit multiple components into a single box (as they do), you just need to find a nice box that's big enough first ;)
 

Clare Newsome

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Alears said:
So therfore Its all probably down to big brother Apple not letting Geneva play ball!!!

I very much doubt it. Apple makes a hefty licensing fee from manufacturers that support its technologies.

I know some manufacturers resist the lure because as well as being expensive, the entire process (as I understand from speaking to people who've gone through it) is incredibly time intensive, as Apple insist on approving everything - even the packaging....

No evidence to suggest this is the case with Geneva, however - I haven't spoken to them about their plans on this front.
 

Andy Clough

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Re AirPlay, the official response from Geneva is that it will be built into the new Model XXL due out in November, but there's no timescale for introducing it to the rest of the range.
 

chebby

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Thanks Andy.

Hopefully, after November, they will start cascading it down to their other models in due course.

Maybe this time next year it will have reached the Model M.

(I would have to remove windows and hire a crane to get the XXL into the house!)
 

chebby

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The_Lhc said:
Bah! Where's your commitment? I mean, how big can it really be?

"Model XXL is designed to hold up to a 65-inch flat screen TV set placed on it."

Oh...

Actually I am a bit of a fan of well designed 1950s/60s style sideboards (like these from Martin Visser or Dieter Rams/Thomas Merkel for example) and the Geneva Lab XXL certainly ticks a number of those styling boxes for me.

However, weighing-in at 192 lbs and pumping out 700 watts is way too much for my needs :) (Plus I would have to redesign the entire living room to suit something so imposing.)

If Geneva Lab oblige with an Airplay version one day, I will get the model M (or Model L) and maybe get some more 'funky' shelving than the John Lewis beech stuff we have now. (But I am not painting the whole room white!)

It might be a giggle to partner it with a little BrAun SK-6 'radiogram' for the vinyl I still have in the cupboard. (If I could find a mint/working one.)
 

The_Lhc

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The only thing I couldn't work out is that it talks about "surround sound" and "home theatre" but I can't see any way of getting a 5/7.1 signal into it or any mention of DD/DTS decoding etc, which, for two and a half grand, it really should do...
 

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