Como Audio Blu Streaming System + Analog Turntable review: For contemporary listeners

Value When Reviewed

$799.00

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Como Audio has built a title with stellar world wide web radio streaming units and exclusive mid-century modern design. The company’s newest bundle combines its fantastic analog turntable with its new Bluetooth streaming speakers to develop a little-but-mighty stereo method that handles vinyl and streaming music with equivalent excellence.

This critique will dive into the turntable initial, then the Bluetooth streaming and, lastly, describe how the two equipment integrate when used collectively.

Como Analog Turntable

The Como Analog Turntable is also identified as the Turntable Analog on the company’s website. Select which expression is effective for you and know that this useless-basic turntable is a fantastic mid-degree answer for vinyl listening.

How simple is it? The belt-generate turntable comes with an built-in phono pre-amp and its tonearm is pre-well balanced, so novices can plug and engage in ideal out of the box. A 3-placing ability swap on the remaining facet of the plinth selects 33rpm, 45rpm or off positions. There’s a lever to raise and reduce the tonearm, but you’ll will need to physically return the tonearm to its rest.

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The turntable is obtainable in both a walnut or piano black gloss (vinyl in each circumstances) and measures 16.3 x 4.65 x 12.6 inches (WxHxD) with its removable transparent include in position it weighs 11.68 pounds. The plinth is built of MDF but the walnut vinyl on our assessment device seemed wonderful.

Como Audio ships the turntable with Ortofon’s OM 5E cartridge, a strong choice given this turntable’s retail price tag. If you are a person who likes to examination points out for on their own, the Analog Turntable will come with a Pro-Ject monitoring power gauge/protractor for much more in-depth alignment or set up of future cartridge updates. The organization touts its 300mm significant metal platter and an involved audio cable with a foil protect to reduce RF interference and 24K gold-plated RCA connectors.

The built-in preamp enables you to plug the turntable into any amp or speaker with an Aux enter. If your preamp has a phono input, swap to the Phono Out environment beneath the chassis close to the RCA outputs and you are all established.

Como Audio has also incorporated a whole-shade setup manual with pictures (and not too numerous text) that will make setup remarkably distinct and effortless. What seems like a great reward for professional consumers will make lifetime significantly less difficult for newcomers to vinyl, in particular considering that it demonstrates precisely how to set up the belt-drive program.

James Barber/Foundry

Como Audio Blu

The Blu streaming stereo process has one particular foot in the wi-fi existing and one foot in the analog past. The still left speaker acts as a Bluetooth receiver and amplifier, though the suitable-hand speaker connects to the remaining with a wire.

We may dwell in a globe overpopulated by Bluetooth speakers that assure to pair up and stay synced, but all too typically, the technological innovation simply cannot appear to preserve a music resource and various speakers participating in devoid of dropouts. The engineers at Como Audio embraced an elegant and functional remedy: Use speaker wire to connect a pair of speakers that will preferably be put 6 to 8 feet apart.

Guess what? No dropouts at any time, at the very least more than the quite a few months I have been tests the Como Blu. The technique works by using Bluetooth 4.2 and can keep in mind connections with up to five units. As soon as you’ve connected to a resource, you can stream music from a subscription services, enjoy music from your personal songs library, or hear to radio or podcasts.

James Barber/ Foundry

There’s also an Aux input that allows you to plug in a CD player, MP3 player, cassette deck, turntable, or anything at all else that pumps out songs via an audio cable. A Resource knob on the front of the left speaker switches concerning Bluetooth and Aux when you push it.

That’s it. You have bought two playback options. Of course, you can swap out Aux input equipment as significantly as you could possibly like, but the Como Audio Blu is genuinely intended for listeners who prefer to focus their solutions on what’s in front of them.

In addition to the Resource knob, there an on/off knob that also controls quantity and a third knob that plays and pauses the audio or skips forward and backward when you turn it. Once once again, straightforward, clear style and function will make this technique a joy to use.

The Como Blu is fantastic for use in an workplace or residing region simply because the system’s left speaker has a electronic clock display that shows in both 12- or 24-hour format. Pair the method with an Iphone and the time immediately sets itself. The great information for mild sleepers is that the time disappears when you ability down the Como Blu. The device does not have any alarm clock perform, so continual screen of the time is not necessary.

James Barber/Foundry

I examined the Como Blu with a energy provide plugged into the wall, but you can obtain an optional battery pack for $29.95 if you want to use the speakers as a moveable procedure. The 2200mAh, 14.8V Li-Ion battery pack promises 8 hours of playback on a cost. Considering that these speakers appear legitimate walnut veneer, I’d wait to carry them out of the property because that veneer could effortlessly chip at the time you are banging them all over.

The cabinets are made of MDF. Rear bass ports double as carrying handles for each individual speaker. There’s a knob to alter bass level on the rear of the still left speaker and a headphone jack for personal listening. Just one pleasant aspect for those people who like it loud is a mute button on the top of the left speaker that’s best for those instances when another person needs to communicate to you proper now and scrambling for the pause button in your songs app would just consider too lengthy.

The Como Blu program precisely demonstrates the high quality of the source. That signifies these speakers do not do a great deal to address the flaws in previous 128Kbps mp3 files or the output from streaming expert services that give considerably less-than-lossless good quality. Even while the Como Blu does not aid the most innovative streaming protocols, lossless or superior songs sources audio extremely good on the method.

A great pair

The Como Blu speakers seriously glow when paired with the Analog Turntable. They make an excellent no-fuss technique for everyone who’s devoted to today’s most well-known listening formats: vinyl and streaming. Switching amongst the two sources is quick and trustworthy and there’s no fuss when it will come to powering up and slapping an LP on the turntable.

Relieve of use counts for a large amount for anybody who new to house audio. Como Audio has designed a process that can be set up by just about any person in just a couple minutes and sounds fantastic ample that it ought to give listening satisfaction for many years to occur.