CES 2013: Tri-Art

I am a fan of Darren & Bonnie's (Avatar Acoustics) rooms. Lemme tell you, they put on a full-package deal, from the heated Himalayan rock-salt lamps, to the aroma therapy candles, and the sultry tunes. Man cave? Ha! They're going a bit more risqué than that -- really, they're just trying to help you out, because, as we both know, you need the help. Shown here at CES was their newest line, from Tri-Art. If I were giving out awards for "Best Look", Tri-Art would win. They're stuff is sweet looking, wow.

My favorite of the set is that turntable (above). The Block TA-2 is made entirely from bamboo — the plinth, the base and the platter. The TA-1 tonearm is a 10″ unipivot, also made of bamboo, with the sides all drilled out. YUM. The matching electronics include a passive preamp called Bam-Bam and a matching pair of Class-D amps, will be available in 25wpc or 50wpc configurations. An integrated version will be available as well. Last but not least is a battery-PSU, used for powering the amps I’m guessing, called the Block Battery Pack, and you get them with dual outs, and configured for 12v or 24v, and they come with a big dial that’ll tell you how much juice you’ve got left — supposedly, they’re good for about six hours before needing a recharge.

You have the option of mounting controls on the front, like normal, or if you’re a show-off (and why wouldn’t you be, if your gear can look like this), you can get them mounted on the top of the case … the fascia for this version is concrete. Yeah, baby. Lookin’ good.

Prices are still TBD.