Griffin Evolve

To date, "wireless speakers" has been one of the great misnomers in consumer electronics. That's because many so-called wireless speaker systems actually introduce more wires into the equation--usually because those "wireless" systems require extra transmitters and receivers, both of which require their own power cables. And that's exactly why the Griffin Evolve is something of a revolutionary product: the $300 iPod speaker system includes two speakers that are completely free of cables. Despite a handful of drawbacks, most listeners looking for a semi-transportable audio system may well find the Evolve to be an ideal solution.

Even without the wireless speakers, the Evolve would be one of the more striking-looking iPod speaker systems. The base pedestal offers a brushed metal face that surrounds and supports the 16-inch-wide black plastic slab. The center third of the base has a standard iPod dock and the basic volume and power controls, while the two speakers sit on either end. Unlike nearly all other iPod audio systems to date, however, each of those stereo speakers can be popped off and moved several rooms away--while still playing.

The speakers are identical--each one is a 5.5-inch cube with a rubberized back and indented handle. The speakers simply sit on the base station while charging--there's a grooved cradle that takes a bit of jiggling to fit, but no elaborate lockdown mechanism that would be destined to snap or break. They'll need about four hours for the internal lithium ion battery to get fully juiced up, but they'll work just fine while recharging. One thing that's very cool is that either speaker will automatically "become" the right or left channel depending on which side of the charger it's placed--and an LED indicator behind the speaker grille indicates left/right channel and charging status as well. Also, the speakers are magnetically shielded, so they shouldn't wreak havoc with old-fashioned CRT TVs or monitors.

Once the batteries are topped off, you can take the speakers anywhere you'd like in the vicinity, and they'll continue to play away. Griffin says they should work within 150 feet of the base station; we got closer to 75 before we started getting some breakup, but in an office environment that's chock-full of walls and potential interference, that's pretty good. The speakers will continue to work until you manually power them off (each one's got a power button), or they'll simply go to sleep after an hour of no activity. Likewise, to reactivate them, you just need to press the power button on each speaker--they'll automatically reconnect to the base station after a couple of seconds.

If you're looking for more of a "party mode," you can opt to switch the Evolve from stereo to mono mode (via a slider switch on the base station). That pumps identical monaural streams to both speakers, so you can cover two rooms with one speaker each.

The Evolve's base station controls are limited to power, volume, and the stereo/mono switch mentioned previously. You'll want to use the included remote instead--the clicker uses the same sort of RF communication (not infrared) as the speakers, so it works at the same distances from the base station. Unfortunately, it offers only basic controls: power, volume, track up/down, shuffle, and repeat. (There's also an EQ option, though that didn't seem to work with any of the iPods we tried.) If you want to navigate to another album, playlist, or artist, you've got to return to the base station and dial up your selection on the iPod itself. That's an annoyance that's shared by nearly all other iPod speakers, but the fact that the base station may be several rooms away makes it all the more acute. In a perfect world, we'd love to see Griffin adopt a screened remote similar to that of the Chestnut Hill George or the Keyspan TuneView, that allows nearly complete control of the iPod.

Don't worry if you've got multiple Evolve systems in the house. We feared ours was possessed after the volume and track controls started moving without user intervention--only to discover that the upstairs neighbors were inadvertently controlling our unit. Thankfully, the remote can be paired with a specific base station. After doing so (just hold down both volume buttons on the base until the power light starts blinking, then click any button on the remote, and they'll be mated with each other), we experienced no further problems.

A set of stereo line-in jacks means the Evolve works with all non-iPod audio sources as well.

All iPods that utilize a dock connector should be able to work with the Evolve --we tested it with a second-generation Nano and an iPod Touch, and the basic functions (music playback and recharging) worked fine. If you don't have a compatible iPod, the Evolve's still got you covered: its stereo line-in jacks accept any external audio source--anything from a satellite radio to a CD player to a cable box, for instance. The base station also features stereo outputs as well as composite and S-Video outs for iPod-based photos and video playbacks--but the video connections will only work with fifth-generation iPods. (Yes, these do add some wires to the system beyond the single power cable, but the speakers themselves still remain completely unfettered.) Unlike a lot of other iPod speakers, the Evolve is devoid of a built-in radio, clock, or alarm as well.

The wireless feature is what sets the Evolve apart from the competition, but it's still an iPod speaker system at heart--meaning that our expectations for sound quality weren't exactly lofty. Still, things started off well: the classic jazz stylings of Miles Davis' "Straight, No Chaser" sounded pretty good. Likewise, the folksy vocals of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence" exhibited reasonable definition and clarity, as did the Doors' moody "Riders on the Storm." But things began to fall apart when we stepped up to more hard-driving classic rock tunes: various selections from Boston, U2, and Kansas lacked any sort of visceral punch. And cranking up the volume only exacerbated the Evolve's weaknesses, with the already weak bass becoming notably muddy as we cranked it up. Dialing the volume back down and turning to a more mellow Portishead selection helped enormously. In other words, the Evolve sounds best on instrumentals and vocals, but lacks the muscle and definition for bass-intensive heavy metal, hard rock, and hip hop, especially at higher volumes. But if you keep the volume at a more modest level, it's fine for casual listening.

Roam where you want to: the speakers will work fine even at distances up to 75 feet.

Wireless performance wasn't flawless: at longer (greater than 80 feet) distances, we got occasional stuttering and break-ups, and the speakers' reception seemed to be affected by movement in the room. But cutting the distance to the base station alleviated those problems. Yes, a slight hiss is audible whenever the speakers are in use--that's par for the course for most wireless speakers and headphones--but if you're listening to anything above a whisper, you're not likely to hear it.

Still, though, the Evolve doesn't sound appreciably worse than the bulk of competing iPod speakers on the market--and the Griffin's fully transportable speakers open up a variety of options that traditional iPod speaker docks just can't match. Whether you place them on coffee tables at each end of a sofa or bookcases on opposite ends of the room, the Evolve delivers the sort of true stereo separation that the single-housing design of most iPod speakers just can't match. And the ability to just walk the speakers from the living room to the kitchen to the outside patio--all without having to worry about electrical outlets or wires--is a dream come true for those of us more concerned with the music than with technical logistics.

And that's pretty much the bottom line. Yes, we'd love to see a more advanced remote on the Evolve, a handful of usability tweaks, and maybe larger, two-way speakers that offer a more detailed sound with better dynamic range. But those are more quibbles than criticisms: the Griffin Evolve is the first wireless speaker system that really lives up to the name.

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