Wrensilva Record Console Collection

Continuing with this week’s retro-gear vibe, we now turn to Wrensilva, a San Diego-based company who are debuting two new entries into their Record Console Collection — the M1 and The Standard.

Said to be “created for the design-inspired music lover,” all Wrensilva consoles are built by hand in San Diego’s Barrio Logan district. Each console is made with locally sourced, hand-selected woods. Finish options for both the M1 and The Standard include blonde mahogany (seen directly below), tobacco walnut (seen a bit further on in the story), and classic natural walnut (seen above). These new consoles also sport louvered doors with book-matched grain patterns, duo-weave speaker fabrics, leather-lined record pockets and armrest, and 7.5in brushed-metal spindle legs.

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As can easily be gleaned by looking at all the console photos herein, the new Wrensilva Collection has been inspired by the look and feel of vintage recording studios and classic consoles alike, albeit with a contemporary spin.

Customization options are available to tailor the look of these new Wrensilva consoles so that they can “blend into any interior space.” For example, they can be styled without using the fabric covers in order to display the custom two-way bass reflex speakers, which feature a horizontal wood grain pattern taken from a single source of wood.

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The top-line M1 console features five listening modes — vinyl, Sonos, Bluetooth, Aux 1, and Aux 2 — plus, it delivers 300 watts per channel (Class D output, IcePower) and can store up to 150 albums (130 in the cabinet, 20 in the on-deck pocket). The M1’s dimensions are 70 x 31.5 x 22in (w/h/d — with the lid stowed, the height is 37in; with the lid in an angled position, the height is 50in).

The M1 contains a floating split-plinth belt-driven turntable with a 1⅜-in frosted acrylic platter, and a solid-state preamp. The company provides a custom two-tone aluminum tonearm and counterweight, and the arm is fitted with an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge. The grain-matched figured wood deck has an LED light panel, and the custom control panel boasts solid aluminum knobs. The LF driver is a 9½-in Egyptian Papyrus cone, while the HF driver is a 1in Textile dome. Frequency response is given as 31Hz to 20kHz ±3dB at the “typical” off-axis listening position.

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As for The Standard console, it also features the same table/arm/cart combo, five listening modes, and 300wpc (Class D) as the M1 does. The Standard can store up to 130 albums (115 in the cabinet, 15 in the on-deck pocket), and its dimensions are 59 x 29 x 19in (w/h/d — with the lid in an angled position, the height is 45in). Its LF driver is a 7½-in Egyptian Papyrus cone, and the HF driver is a 1in Textile dome. Frequency response is given as 33Hz to 20kHz ±3dB at the “typical” off-axis listening position.

While designing the consoles, Wrensilva co-founder and audio leader Scott Salyer solicited insight from noted producer and mixer Giles Martin of Abbey Road Studios, mix engineer and studio owner Manny Marroquin of Larrabee Studios, and producer Joe Harley from Blue Note Records. “Our signature is a warm, faithful sound. It’s not about us, it’s about what the artist made,” Salyer said in a press statement. “It is difficult to stay out of the way, and that is why collaborating with creators is so important to us.”

Speaking about the console, Martin added, “It sounds as warm and wonderful as it looks, with a truth and honesty that brings your favorite albums alive,” while Marroquin noted, “This is like bringing the studio home.” (You can see Salyer and the producers talk about the console design and the end-result performance in more detail in the YouTube clip above.)

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All new Wrensilva consoles also come with what’s been dubbed Wrensilva Presents, Volume 1: Blue Note Selections, a 3LP collection that celebrates 85 years of Blue Note Records with a trio of albums handpicked in collaboration with Blue Note President Don Was — namely, John Coltrane’s seminal 1958 classic Blue Train, Madlib’s 2003 remix project Shades of Blue, and Norah Jones’ deeply affecting 2012 release, Little Broken Hearts. You can see Was talk about the selection process — and see him personally auditioning all 3LPs on one of the consoles! — in the YouTube clip below.

Finally, the baseline SRPs for the new Wrensilva Record Console Collection finds the M1 starting at $18,880, and The Standard starting at $14,880.

For more about Wrensilva and how to order the M1 and/or The Standard directly, go here.

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COMMENTS
Peter Music's picture

Did you say Class d for $19,000? That's a lot of cabinet.

While I enjoyed this piece and it reminded me of my parents, it kind of bothers me that you publish stuff that was written by the seller's PR team--"bringing the studio home"? We'd be much better served, and you'd have better credibility, if you described this as it probably is--A gorgeous midcentury modern cabinet with a good sounding mid-tier stereo inside. Not a comparison to your current $10,000+ set up, but if looks are critical, you could do a whole lot worse

HiFiMark's picture

All the right nostalgia boxes to be sure and presumably is a decent to good sounding HiFi.

While $15-$20K is a lot of coin, really not outrageous when one considers the cost of a good mid-fi system and the cost of truly fine furniture (which I assume this is). Good grief, Box Furniture racks are ~$4K and up for far less material and likely less complexity and labor for production.

Got the perfect place for this, and would love a turntable in the living room (2nd system) but alas it's just not enough of a priority and I suspect even my exceedingly tolerant wife would not be too excited.

That said, I hope they do well and sell a done. Maybe one day they'll sell me one amp free and I can put my old Mac and Dyna kits inside to get truly vintage...

rich d's picture

These guys are 15 minutes down the road from me and I didn't know about them. More importantly, they're half a mile from the best taqueria in the county.
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I'm not the right customer for this product, but it looks cool and if I had a second living room I would outfit it with burnt orange and tobacco shag carpet, captain's chairs and a Wrensilva console. In walnut, obviously.

Glotz's picture

and going straight for the jugular...

HELL to the fuck NO.

The same furniture designs, sharp lines and 50's styling. Kill me.

Round some lines, come up with radical designs in the same form factor. Something different.

The rest looks competent, but not $20k worth. Not even close and I don't care about the wood. It's wack and old. Come up with something that looks new and fresh, not this bullshit. Mid-century revival be damned.

Don Was has been controversial for a long time. This continues it.

HiFiMark's picture

Glotz, dude, take a breath. No one is forcing you to embrace or buy.

I appreciate that you don't care for this, but please don't bust an artery over it. We want you around in this community!

In the mean time, I'll take a Wrensilva Standard in tobacco walnut.

My "A" system is for the serious listening, this will be for the living room dance parties with kids, grandkids, and friends, or winter evenings by the fire, Manhattan in hand, Frank crooning, my beautiful wife by my side.

Glotz's picture

It's an opinion. I am usually positive. If I crap on a $20,000 console system, I'm justified. It's one dude's opinion.

It can exist- I'm not going to hunt down the maker... lol.

rich d's picture

...that Glotz doesn't like it. And I was gonna buy him one for his birthday! Guess I'll get him the same thing I got him last year.

Glotz's picture

I want one now... especially from you.

Trevor_Bartram's picture

There's good reasons consoles disappeared: Vibration isolation is poor. The listening position is the floor (remember those 50s audio magazine covers?). Consoles are not environmentally friendly (too much wood). Of course, anyone that purchases one is immediately off the hook, most will think it's an old console refurbished.

Tom L's picture

Jamming a system into a cabinet always compromises the sound in many respects. Spending this much on a "secondary" stereo is silly. It would be easy and less expensive to assemble a better system that's completely hidden except perhaps for the speakers. These things are essentially aimed at economically comfortable people who don't know what they're doing.

HiFiMark's picture

we are all aware of the weaknesses of a console / cabinet design but good grief, a little over-analysis here from Tom and Trevor?

For sure, it's easy to assemble a better audio system for less coin, not always so easy to hide, or to do so in a way that is considerate of the aesthetics of others in the home. Hide the speakers? Where? How? Other than in wall...

As for the cabinet materials, the ultimate renewable resource. Other than chickens maybe.

In a world of $10K power cables and $100K turntables, this is hardly an outrageous proposition.

I am not in the position to spend this kind of money on a second system of any level, but if I were...

Tom L's picture

Fine. No more analysis allowed here! Instead of looking at some nice speakers, which I usually find rather attractive, get a hulking piece of furniture. That's cool.

HiFiMark's picture

is all good. I just get a bit rankled when fellow audiophiles dismiss others with implications of stupidity / ignorance / wastefulness, etc. when they don't follow the "established" dictums and dogma of audiophile life.

Indeed, there are many fine looking speakers in the world. But speakers in the living room, no matter how attractive, don't always find appeal and acceptance with other important folks in the house. And then there is cabling of course... (yes, yes, I'm aware of wireless speakers. They still need power cables)

ChrisS's picture

...Look where you landed!!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

ChrisS's picture

...6...

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