Tivoli Audio Model Two

I bought the model two along with the subwoofer and model cd after the allmighty praise it has received. It sounds like high end bookshelf speakers they said, amazing rich sound they said. First off, spare… yourself the dissapointment and kindly resign yourself to the utter fact that this is nowhere near what it has been touted to be. I cannot fathom how some of the glowing review here claim that this is as good as they say it is. Whats good about it: It looks fabulous. its got a design that rings true with me. i love the styling. i love the old retro tuning knob. its minimallistic and can really blend well with the decor. The bad: 1) It DOES NOT sound like bookshelf speakers. By themsleves, they sound like 20 dollar japanese made table radios, nothing more. maybe worse with the missing midrange and extra treble. The subwoofer is ridiculous. it adds what? "half an octave"... ? why bother? klipsch's multimedia PM20 has better bass and goes lower than this does with 2.5 inch drivers. Boston Acoustics Recepter does clear (admittedly slightly mid boosted, but pleasant nonetheless) vocals with much more impressive bass with similar sized speakers. But its biggest crime is the way its been tuned. Its lots of harsh treble, a scooped out midrange and some kind of annoying midbass. Top that off with a 5 inch subwoofer that should be capable of so much more than just reinforcing port turbulence and what you have is recessed vocals and shrill harsh treble to console you for money poorly spent. Cymbals and highats are lost in high frequency "ttssss"'s and sizzles. You would think that the compression effect of 2 inch drivers would allow for clearer vocals, which leads me to believe that somebody actually "voiced" it to sound like a "V" EQ. Female vocals become sharp and painfull to the ear. In short, nothing like the warm fuzzy radio i expected to receive. 2) the tuning drifts in FM. yes it does. believe everybody that says it. Neither the BA recepter or the Cambridge radio 730 drifts. 3) For 299 that i paid, Model CD should do alot more, such as other digital formats. Its got one helluva tacky remote. Summary: If its art and something that needs to blend with the deco, this may just be the thing.. to look good sitting there doing nothing. Not something i would do a lot of listening to. I also own BA's Recepter HD and Cambridge's radio 730. Cambridge's radio 730 has also been touched by the hand of H. Kloss and sounds like what a radio ought to. Full and rich with tone controls to tune it according to placement. its heads and shoulders above the tivoli and bests the BA recepter HD as well. I lined out (using the record out) the tivoli to a pair of klipsch PM20 multimedia speakers, and they sound just fine. vocals are no longer recessed and nasally. it sounds like a radio ought to. The subpar sound quality is by design. Thats what 800$ gets you. My suggestion, the much superior CAmbridge 730 for sound quality or if you must have one to grace a shelf to keep up with the Joneses or not hurt aunt mays feelings, line them out to a decent pair of multimedia speakers.. audiengine A2s, Klipsch PM20, Creative T,.. what have you. It wil still keep the footprint small and liven up the music with tangible vocals.

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The Model Two is a modern update on the Henry Kloss designed KLH Model 8, a simple hi fidelity system that combined a decent tuner/amplifier with a separate acoustic suspension speaker. It featured… bauhaus/lab equipment inspired design that was minimalist and clean. If you were to see KLH equipment from the late 50's through the early 60's you would not only struck by it's classic, timeless design, but it's striking similarity to the Model One and Model Two by Tivoli Audio. Choosing this is perhaps more a matter of aesthetics as it is performance. It is indeed one of the best compact stereo systems available, but at this point there are many other very capable options available, some at a more affordable price. It is unfortunate that the price on the Tivoli Model One and Two have climbed so much in the last few years. You are paying for nice packaging, including a real-wood grain cabinet. But whether or not that is worth $300.00 is debatable. I fell victim to the Model Two for the reasons outlined in my title. I admire the human engineering that went into vintage stereo equipment. I love Braun's beautiful stereo systems from the late 50's. Buying a Model One or Model Two allows you to get a system with this same clean, focused design, but with current electronics and a warranty. It is a piece of equipment that will be valued 20 years from now for the same reasons it is prized today. You get ample inputs for connecting a computer or mp3 player, and a subwoofer output for their companion subwoofer, which add a modest amount of low-end to the system. I wish they had chosen not to use 3.5 mm connectors for equipment, instead of more rugged RCA connectors. Headphone type connectors are simply not as durable, but fortunately I have had no complaints so far, but I would recommend not repeatedly unplugging and plugging in equipment to the connectors. So -- I won't argue based on sound quality. The system sounds good, but for $300 there are many other potential choices that cost less and sound as good. This is a decision that can't be made by only one side of the brain. It is as much about how it looks as it is about how it performs. I was tempted to give it four stars because it's cost to performance ratio simply isn't that good, but as I have repeatedly said here, it is not all about how it sounds.

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I purchased the Tivoli Model Two as a replacement to a Cambridge Soundworks "2.1" computer speaker system I had (i.e. Two speakers and a sub). I chose the Model Two because stereo is a necessity for much… of the gaming I do...or at least used to. I also wasn't quite ready to make a the jump back to mono, no matter how great it sounded. A big draw for me was the mix input, which would allow me to listen to the radio, while not missing out on dings, pings, bleep, bloops, and noises from my computer. All that being said, the Tivoli Model Two performs just as I hoped. I've owned and used it for about 2 years now without a problem. Though I live in Waco, Texas, I can pick up most Dallas/Ft. Worth Stations. I listen to a pretty wide variety of music, and it all sounds great to me, from U2 to Rachmaninov. The bass is plenty, and I even prefer the rich sound from these 2 speakers over having a separate subwoofer. My old sub had a cables coming out of it like entrails, each going to a speaker, volume control, power outlet. The Tivoli slightly simplifies my cable situation, and incorporates volume control into the speaker housing, saving yet another cord. I have enjoyed it so much, that I ended up buying a Model One for my office, which I also used to replace my stereo desktop speakers (no need for stereo at work). I highly recommend the Model Two for anyone who wishes to invest in a sharp-looking radio that elegantly replaces desktop speakers.

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i purchased the tivoli model two stereo along with the subwoofer. the set up was easy, it was great to have cables and wires that are plenty long. this has long been a complaint that i have had with… electronics and tivoli does it right. the sound is great from such a small source and i can not be happier with the beautiful modern appearance. the only complaint that i have, and perhaps it is only because others have complained that i noticed, is that the writing on the face of the stereo is difficult to read. perhaps it is intentional, to keep it from standing out too much, but it is difficult at times to see. this is the reason that i rated it a four instead of five. i would definitely order this again, it is an attractive, nice sounding addition to my room.

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