Australia may not be the first place your mind turns when thinking of innovative audio gear, but there have been some intriguing pieces coming from Down Under lately, including some excellent in-ear selections from the aggressive start-up, Audiofly. Bruns Acoustics continues Australia’s burgeoning trend of intriguing audio artistry with its new Bluetooth speaker which is built from recovered timber and dons the clever moniker “the Timbre.” (See what it did there?)
Though a glut of manufacturers have reached their arms into virtually every conceivable corner of Bluetooth speaker design, the Timbre offers a refreshingly different take on the trade. Hand-carved into gorgeous wooden cabinets, each speaker in the Timbre Classic series is grain matched from one piece of salvaged Australian timber. It’s then fixed with vintage-style metal accents, a hand-dyed leather handle, and a sleek grill of black cloth.
The biggest obstacle to the Timbre’s success may be the price, which comes in at around $835.
If you’d rather go deeper into the vintage world, the Timbre Relic series speakers are designed to emulate a hard-worn amplifier, and are built with that theme in mind from the ground up. Features include “worn finishes, aged parts, rusted hardware, and nostalgic color combinations.”
But putting aside the Timbre’s exterior, the most attractive aspect of the speaker might be what’s under the skin. Instead of tacking on one of the ubiquitous digital amplification systems you’ll find inside almost every modern wireless speaker, the Timbre goes old school, choosing a proprietary 75 watt B1A analog amplifier with “premium components” to bring both warmth and nostalgia to your digital world.
Aside from the amplifier, interior specs include a double shot of 3-inch drivers, matched by a 3.5-inch woofer for a claimed 50Hz-20kHz frequency response. The speakers offer both Bluetooth and a hardwired 3.5mm connection for your device, measure 14-inches wide, 5-inches deep, and 8-inches tall, and weigh from 11-15lbs – depending on the wood.
The biggest obstacle to the Timbre’s success may be the price, which comes in at around $835 American – a pretty penny for a single speaker, but it does give us hope that there’s some serious quality built in to these units.
We’ve yet to try out one of Bruns’ creations, but we’re looking to get our hands (and ears) on one soon to see if the Timbre can provide a sonic experience that’s as interesting and attractive as its rustic exterior. Stay tuned for our final verdict, or check out the Bruns website to get one for yourself.
