Chestnut Hill Sound George

The Chestnut Hill Sound George takes bookshelf speaker sound quality to an entirely new level. Its audiophile-quality sound is what reviewers like most, and it's why most experts agree that it is worth the lofty price tag. The George also comes with several well-liked features, such as an AM/FM tuner, an alarm clock, a USB port that enables the speakers to receive software updates, an audio port that will accommodate 3.5 mm cables, and a pre-amp output to connect with a larger system. However, the most loved feature by reviewers is the remote. It's actually a detachable control panel that gives users access to all the speaker functions (except the subwoofer) wirelessly. However, there are some downsides to the George, mainly that the speakers lack a dock connector port and video output, two features that most would expect to be included with speakers of this price class. Editors at PCMag.com think the Chestnut Hill Sound George can't match the clarity and power of the top-rated Boston Acoustics i-DS3 Plus (*Est. $370). The i-DS3 Plus doesn't have the same extra features as the George -- like an AM/FM radio and full-featured remote -- but it's also less expensive.

Three sources that feature the most in-depth expert reviews of the Chestnut Hill Sound George are iLounge.com, CNET and Macworld. These sites all have plenty of comparative and critical information on the George. However, CNET has a particularly detailed review compared with iLounge.com and Macworld and is also slightly more critical. Laptop Magazine and PCMag.com also have strong comparative reviews of the George. However, they are brief, substantially less detailed than the above-mentioned review sources, and tend to focus on the George's positive attributes.