I’m still old enough to remember radio and FM, but not quite at the peak of its popularity; for me, radios existed mostly in cars or during my mother’s weekend early morning cleaning frenzy. My impression of radios (outside of cars) is that they’re bulky, ugly hunks of equipment with scratchy sound, and they never play the music I am in the mood for, so needless to say, I don’t listen to the radio much.
Where am I going with this again?
Ah, yes, the Tivoli Audio Model Two Digital. For all my ramblings about the radio, the Tivoli Audio Model Two Digital is not actually one. It just looks like one; which is great if you’re looking for an elegant speaker that matches any aesthetic.
We got a chance to review one of these pretty speakers, and here’s what we thought about it.
Editor
Jennifer chevron_right
Table of Contents
Design
The whole design language of the Tivoli Audio Model Two screams high-end. The variant that we got was in walnut/gold, which has a body that is crafted from real wood, giving it a luxurious and warm appearance that fits into just about any aesthetic. The front metal grille is finished in a soft gold colour that is simple yet elegant.
Simple and minimalistic, the speaker is also pretty compact, fitting nicely on my bookshelf without taking up too much space. For scale, when placed vertically, the Model Two is just a little bit thicker than two hardcover copies of The Deathly Hallows.
For the purposes of my review, and also simply because it looks nicer, I had it placed horizontally. The clean lines of the speaker mean that I don’t really lose shelf space even with it taking up half the shelf; I can always place things on the flat top of the speaker.
The primary control for the speaker is a single volume control dial located on the bottom right of the front panel. There are no bells and whistles about it—you press it to turn it on, press it again to cycle through the connection options (Bluetooth, WiFi or Aux), and turn it to adjust the volume.
A light strip accompanies the dial, flashing different colours to signify the different modes of connections: white for power on, green for Wi-Fi, blue for Bluetooth, and orange for auxiliary mode.
Performance & Sound Quality
The Tivoli Audio Model Two Digital is equipped with a 3/4" tweeter and a 3.5" full-range driver, which together deliver an incredibly rich and full-bodied sound. For such a small body, it certainly packs quite the punch in volume and bass, easily filling the room without deafening me.
I’m not exactly a bass lover, but I do enjoy a speaker with a good thump. The Model Two Digital offers exactly that: deep and prominent bass, but not so overpowering that it drowns out other frequencies. Low to mid-bass music sounded amazing on the speaker.
Now, once again, the Tivoli Audio Model Two Digital is not a radio. Tivoli makes other speakers that are also FM radios, like the Model One or the new SongBook, but the Model Two Digital is decidedly not one. Not that it matters much, though, wince most of us stream music nowadays, anyway. Spotify killed the radio star, or something.
The Model Two Digital has three connectivity options: Bluetooth, which is the main one I use, WiFi, Chromecast, Airplay, and via an auxiliary cord. All options function pretty well, but it would probably be prudent to note that there’s no connected app for the speaker, so if you want to adjust the EQ settings, you’re out of luck. What you hear is what you get, basically.
