Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Margules Group Mexico at CES 2011
Remember this turntable? Well, I was able to meet with the gentleman from Margules Group Mexico, the company that is trying to make these turntables a reality. They stopped by the Cardas room for a while and I was able to speak with them about these amazing designs as well as their strategy for bringing them to the audio marketplace.
Julian Margules, the patriarchal head of Margules, spent a few minutes providing me with updates. He let me in on some amazing information such as:
1. They want to bring these turntables to the international market for less than $1000. This will include the arm, which for now is a Rega OEM arm based on the highly-tweakable RB-250.
2. Oh, wait...there's more! For $1000, Sr. Margules wants to include a built-in phono preamp that's built right into the gorgeous plinths. That means this will truly be a plug and play analog solution.
3. Sr. Margules told me if he can't make this the best-sounding $1000 turntable on the market, he simply won't do it. He realizes that there will be some real challenges in accomplishing this, but he simply won't compromise the sound.
4. These designs were actually produced by design students in Mexico. He was amazed at the style, simplicity and execution from these 18 and 19-year-old individuals.
Colleen Cardas told Sr. Margules that she wants the first one...serial number #001. AND she wants it in pink. He hedged a bit--you can tell he wasn't nuts about the whole "pink" thing. But he will try to deliver.
I told him I wanted the second one off the line. I made it easier by telling him I wanted the one in wood, however. I hope Margules Group Mexico can achieve these goals, as I think this will be an exciting product that will really shake up the affordable turntable market.
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