I'm obsessed with this wildly expensive, handcrafted record player because it's full of technology
Behind-the-scenes of photos of Wrensilva's factory where it's hand-building record players.
As a long-time technology writer and music enthusiast, I’ve fallen hard for Wrensilva’s record players—The Standard and M1. The company’s products feature an integrated turntable with custom components, from tonearm to in-house speakers, housed in a custom-built console.
I’ve visited Wrensilva’s San Diego factory a couple of times, personally seeing how the units are hand-crafted from start to finish. Each time, I come away trying to figure out how to come up with an extra $10,000. The Standard in the walnut finish starts at $12,900, with other model configurations going even higher.
And yet, because I’ve had a chance to listen and put my hands on them, the price seems completely justified. Here’s a peek into how they’re made, and why Wrensilva’s wildly expensive record players aren’t such a crazy purchase for people looking for a statement piece.
Everything is hand-crafted and carefully considered
The Wrensilva factory isn’t huge. A modest warehouse near downtown San Diego, in the shade of the Coronado bridge. It is light and airy though. With the rolling doors open, the laid-back feel is evident, even to guests.
If you’re browsing the company’s products online, it might not be clear that these are crafted from scratch by hand. But each time I’ve visited and scanned the factory floor, I can almost see a cabinet being constructed in real-time. From the basic frame and the doors on one side to the metal legs and a more finished product on the other side. Each stage a moment in time.
Rolls of soft materials that are easy to glance over, but they’re there, hiding under tables or draped over bars. Those are the pieces that ultimately make the finished units feel complete. They appear on the magnetically attached grilles and internally lined areas concealed until you open the doors, which soft-close. If you do pop off the grilles, you’ll notice that the speakers are color-matched to the unit.
In hindsight, it’s all obvious. Looking closely, you can see how the practical decisions collide with the creative woodworking. Of course, the obvious choices, like speaker faces that match the grain of the wood around them, are the ones that usually take the most time to implement and get right for each unit.
The technology doesn’t take a backseat
The center of The Standard is the turntable, which is fully decoupled and belt-driven, coming with an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge. Most noticeable, at first glance, is the Wrensilva aluminum tonearm and a 5/8-inch frosted acrylic platter. Both are lit by an LED strip hidden inside.
The Standard is more than a nice turntable though. There’s a Sonos Port for streaming your vinyl record to other Sonos speakers, or for wirelessly streaming music from the Sonos app to the Wrensilva speakers. Bluetooth connectivity enables a quick way to stream directly from your mobile device.
Importantly, it’s all modular. The components can be swapped out in the future if needed. The Sonos Port sits on an internal shelf that’s easy to access. It wouldn’t render the whole unit useless if that piece were to die or become outdated. The Standard even includes two sets of AUX inputs for whatever else you want to add.
In the end, it’s all about the music
The Standard and M1 from Wrensilva are exactly the types of products that are easy to become obsessed with and hard to forget.
For music lovers, the speakers are a defining feature and have been vetted by industry superstars like Giles Martin. They have a rich and lively sound, that’s coupled with a detailed delicacy. They pull you in and make you contemplate how each of your favorite albums will sound through them. The best speakers will do that.
For music lovers, it’s a never-ending quest to discover whether a new set of speakers will uncover a new appreciation for a song and be able to embed it further into your consciousness. I imagine it’s the same type of feeling for people obsessed with cars. They wonder how the streets they’ve driven so many times before will feel with a new car that has more power, different wheels, and a unique vantage point.
The bad news is that even for the music-obsessed people who can afford The Standard from Wrensilva, it won’t cure their desire for a new music player. But it should satisfy it for a long time. And even then, I doubt it will ever be replaced. It’s made to be timeless.