It looks like a valve amp, but will this oddball appliance brand’s Bluetooth speaker deliver a high-end sound to go with that hot and steamy price tag?
Balmuda, the Tokyo-based appliance brand best-known for its steam-driven toaster promising “the ultimate aroma and texture” for your morning slice, has taken all of its heat-meets-water know-how and popped up with… a glowing Bluetooth speaker.
Such credentials wouldn’t normally have us eager to test it with a view to adding it to our best Bluetooth speakers buying guide. And then there’s the price: $399 (which is around £329 or AU$599) – hardly a bargain buy.
The thing is, we’re intrigued… After all, if a toaster allegedly licensed by (if not officially announced) the XBox Series S is possible, why not a decent Bluetooth speaker from a company more used to fashioning breakfast appliances?
And although McIntosh still makes one of the most gorgeous-looking Bluetooth speakers I’ve ever laid eyes on, Balmuda the Speaker (for that is its name – the company’s catalog also includes Balmuda the Lantern, Balmuda the Kettle, and of course Balmuda the Toaster) calls upon the same peak hi-fi aesthetic.
