Griffin Evolve
31 JAN 2008
Launch price
£250.00
Stuff says
It’s hard not to like the Evolve. The cube speakers look great, the sound is accomplished and there’s no easier way to get wireless music
*
*
*
*
*
Stuff.tv hot buy
As much as we love the idea of wireless music, it often involves hassle. Most audio streamers – from ‘bridges’ like to Logitech’s Squeezebox to the Sonos system – are centred around liberating music from your computer, so usually require a PC to be constantly running or some fiddling with wireless networks and software.
Luckily, Griffin has a new, simpler solution called the Evolve. It looks like a standard iPod dock, but has one huge advantage over its mains-tethered brethren – truly wireless speakers. The idea is that you use the dock as a base station and just take the speakers to whichever room you fancy – no networks to setup, no PC and, theoretically, no hassle.
No setup requiredThe Evolve is ready to go right out of the box. The dock sits in the centre of the main unit, which serves as a kind of plinth. Either side are the cube-shaped speakers, which contain rechargeable batteries and cleverly get their charge via three connector pins on the base station.
This means that as soon as you want some music in a different part of the house or garden, you just lift one or both of the speakers from their cradles. It really is that simple – there’s no unplugging or disconnecting – and your iPod, sitting happily in its dock, will stream music to the speakers, wherever you are.