Rediscovering Radio with the Geneva WorldRadio

As you might have noticed from the website, I am a bit of a throwback. I often enjoy devices that might have been replaced by newer technology. One of those things is radio. I know I can listen to whatever I want, whenever I want through the magic of the Internet, but I still enjoy the act of discovery through local radio. Ever since I discovered the old franken-Radio my father had built above his workbench (and hooked up to a roof antenna), I have had a radio in my life.

Recently, my trusty companion of a decade passed over into the electronic nether regions, and I was forced to look for a replacement. I wanted something simple and clean-looking that had great sound and maybe a few extra bonus features. I am very happy to say I found a really solid radio in the Geneva WorldRadio.

Sleek looking, the WorldRadio comes in three colors, a simple black, a techy silver, and a retro seeming red (although I never owned a red radio before). I like the retro red. When you pull this thing out of the box, you will be hit with a few things. It feels light but solid; it is very minimalist and very pretty. I ignored the instructions completely and plugged it in. Nothing happened.

It turns out you need to have the rechargeable battery in the radio for it to work. Not a huge deal. I popped it in and turned it on.

The controls are dead simple, which at first might be a bit daunting. I had already put the instructions down, so I was not going to waste any energy turning around and picking them up. With that handicap, it only took me a few minutes to figure out how the thing worked. It is that simple. A radio that receives FM, a digital tuner, and Bluetooth capability (more on that in a little bit).

While I do enjoy the FM band, I do wish they had installed an AM tuner. I know for a fact my town has a bunch of insanely small stations broadcasting all sorts of Amplitude Modulated nonsense that I can’t pick up on this beauty. As something billed as a world radio, I also would have liked for them to include shortwave on this model. I have a basic one that I play around with from time to time, and I can barely pick up this guy who broadcasts his views on why the Internet is a highway to damnation. I enjoy his show tremendously when I can hear it up and would like to listen to his shaky voice in higher fidelity.

That is one of the real strengths of this radio. It sounds really nice. I might go so far as to say that I have never used a portable radio that sounded so good. This is why for the first time I decided to use the blue tooth features on many of my home devices and broadcast music from my laptop and portable music player. So as a bonus, this radio combined with a solid internet connection makes for a formidable jukebox. I count this as the one unexpected perk for me since what I wanted was a great radio and what I got was a great portable rechargeable speaker with a pleasant FM tuner.

I cannot say this is the perfect radio for me. It sounds and looks amazing (it should for nearly $300), but it is missing two things that would cement its place for the next decade on my desk. Those two things are the AM and shortwave bands.

So who is this radio good for? It is great for someone who is willing to pay for quality, dependable sound and great design in their radio (as long as that radio is just FM).

If this is you? Pick up your Geneva Sound Geneva WorldRadio in Red via Amazon today.