Famous Tennessee whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s has cosied up with premium San Diego hi-fi console brand Wrensilva to come up with a handmade hi-fi console finished with aged Jack Daniel’s barrel staves. Want one? Well, you'll need to put in the work – the limited-edition Wrensilva and Jack Daniel’s console will be auctioned off to the highest bidder between now until 22nd July, on Charitybuzz, with proceeds going to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.
Sweet Relief Musicians Fund is a non-profit charity that provides financial assistance to musicians and music industry workers who are struggling to make ends meet. And, after more than a year of cancelled gigs, there's never been a better time to make it count and show your support for live music.
The flagship Wrensilva M1 Console on which the collaboration is based was already quite the looker – and when you consider its $11,000 asking price, it ought to be. But add the flurry of Jack Daniel’s accents (a front panel made from barrel staves, custom caddy designed to hold three bottles of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, upholstered drinks mat, custom-engraved turntable platter) and this particular M1 edition reveals why its auction guide price is $15K.
This isn't the first time a special something has been added to vinyl and streaming consoles: in 2018 we noted a Frank Zappa-themed console made by a luxury design company called LUNO. This is, however, the first time that a high-end firm has suggested you combine your very expensive hi-fi console specifically with whiskey-drinking.
Powering the Jack Daniel's Wrensilva M1 console (the bigger brother to the Wrensilva Loft) is a 300W-per-channel class D amplifier from Bang & Olufsen mated to a set of two-way bass-reflex speakers designed by Wrensilva, comprising an 8in coated-paper cone driver and 1in textile-dome tweeter with removable 'speaker frames'.
The belt-driven turntable, which has been isolated from cabinet vibrations, uses a 9-inch vertical Yoke tonearm with an Ortofon 2m bronze moving-magnet cartridge. It will spin your plates at either 33-1/3 RPM or 45 RPM.
And as with either the firm's Wrensilva Loft or its Sonos Edition Console, the M1 is Sonos-enabled. You can use Sonos' app to stream music to the console, but it can also act as a Sonos source device, thus allowing you to stream your vinyl to any other Sonos speaker in the house. You’ll also find Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, a 3.5mm analogue input and two stereo RCA auxiliary inputs.
The console will go to the highest bidder (at the time of writing, bidding has reached $9000 with 20 bids placed) and, although its new owner won't quite have a one-of-a-kind hi-fi system, they will be keeping good company; the only other people getting one are the artists enlisted to help Jack Daniel’s and Wrensilva promote the auction. Zedd, K. Michelle, Ashley McBryde, and De La Ghetto are among those giving up their time to help the effort.
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