BDI ELEMENTS WHEAT MEDIA CONSOLE - REVIEW
BDI ELEMENTS WHEAT CONSOLE (8779-CO)
My first experience with a BDI Console came in my Napa, CA home. I had ordered two of its CORRIDOR Models—8177 and 8179. The longer of the CORRIDOR (8179) Consoles housed my two-channel reference system and the shorter CORRIDOR (8177) became my headphone bar. They were not only beautiful in my favourite design motif—MidCentury Modern (MCM)—but their functionality was singularly impressive.
In its role, the larger CORRIDOR held within all manner of audio componentry—preamplifiers, amplifiers, streamers, DACs, a power conditioner, etc. And they were all well accommodated within the generously sized BDI CORRIDOR Console.
The second CORRIDOR Console, used as a headphone bar, allowed for the storage of all electronic equipment within and through its vented front facade; access to all equipment was easily maintained. The headphones themselves sat atop the Console, appropriately spaced, affixed to stands, and accessible. So beautifully did the CORRIDOR Console conceal the headphone electronics and the various wires attached to them that one would have been hard pressed to find discontinuity in the overall aesthetic, as it appeared free of all electronic wires.
The BDI Consoles had also been optimized for connectivity via generous pass-throughs for wires and cables, with the added ability to remove the left and right end section backs. The removal of the section backs provided a generous flow of air for all products, in particular those hot-running products. Additionally, cable management was dramatically improved, and for the fastidiously neat, cables remained completely hidden from sight.
In the end, the cable management at Casa Heartsong West for my two-channel reference system and my headphone bar was meticulously arranged, and few were even aware of what lay within the beautiful CORRIDORs. That is, until the music began playing; then there was great interest to find what was hidden beneath.
The two CORRIDOR Consoles had blended incredibly well with the overall MCM motif—the Eames Chair, the MCM dining table and chairs, coffee table, etc. And my significant other at the time thought the consoles quite beautiful.
When I decided to leave California to move to the Midwest—first Wisconsin, then Minneapolis—I decided to leave the two Consoles with my now former significant other and she was quite pleased indeed. She still owns them to this day, several years later.
Fast forward to my new home in Minneapolis, and Casa Heartsong East in a high-rise apartment building whose date of construction sets its squarely in the midst of MCM design and yes, MCM again serves as my design motif.
I contacted BDI once again after looking through its current offerings for an audio/media console that would beautifully match the interior decor and again lend its tremendous functionality. This time, however, I’d only need one console, as my headphone bar would be set up in a private office, off the beaten track for visitors.
I chose what I believed was BDI’s most beautiful and elegant console—the ELEMENTS WHEAT Console (8779 CO)—in my favourite styling—MCM of course. What was so eye-catching about the ELEMENTS WHEAT Console in the walnut finish was that its “sculpted” front facade depicts stalks of high wheat in a beautifully intertwined pattern across its entire face. And when sunlight passes across its face from the room’s quite large picture window, the wheat stalks appear to come alive with movement.
Between the gaps in the wheat stalks lies a backing screen that allows for 1.) remote contact and control of the equipment therein, and 2.) the absorption and diffusion— sound treatment—of sound that travels to it. It has proven nicely effective in this manner. Yet the ELEMENTS Console also easily accommodates additional forms of component isolation/treatment—footer cones, bases, etc.—within its generous interior, further improving the fidelity of the music.
Speaking of the ELEMENTS Console’s generous dimensions, its 20-inch depth allows most turntables to sit atop it and on an isolation base if needed. And its mid-section interior, at 40 inches in width and 18 inches in height, accommodates the vast majority of components, save for those component monstrosities, you know the ones, whose engineers/owners get more than a little carried away. I’m sorry, but who wants or needs a four foot tall or a 28-inch deep amplifier? I wonder if the engineers/owners know that they’re 1.) possibly breaking up marriages or 2.) banishing said owners of such monstrous equipment to listening dungeons and root cellars.
In my case, there was no component that could not be comfortably accommodated within the BDI ELEMENTS Console. And this not only provided for clean, optimally managed cable runs, but again, the “hi-fi” interior components remained completely invisible. I did decide to keep my streamer atop the WHEAT Console as a marker, if you will, that exceptionally talented components lie within.
Well, to sum up, there are four benefits of the BDI ELEMENTS console that I’ve come to know, besides its gorgeous looks. First, there is its exceptional built-in cable-management system, which allows for a great deal of freedom of connectivity. Second, it provides its own sound diffusion and absorption modalities via its front mesh of perforated steel panels, and greater isolation can be had, as mentioned above, via third-party equipment—footers, cones, isolation bases, etc. Third, it has the option of wheels, which can be discreetly hidden away, a true bonus for reviewers. Lastly, at least for me, there is its flawless design continuity with my MCM design motif, which it beautifully complemented, and it is very “significant-other friendly.”
Further, the combination of the ELEMENTS Console’s inherent isolation abilities, even when coupled to third-party isolation devices, is considerably more cost-effective than the various hyper-expensive component racks of the day. And this I know with great certainty.
In the end, I have an aesthetically beautiful audio/media console in the BDI ELEMENTS WHEAT Console that comports itself beautifully in a MCM interior design motif. It houses my reference gear with exquisite care, provides sufficient room for it to breathe, isolates the gear via rigid construction, and it moves(!) to facilitate easy switching-out of gear. The BDI ELEMENTS WHEAT Console also hides my system away, making it invisible yet always easily accessible. Suffice it to say that designers love this BDI Console.
In the end, I could not be more pleased with the BDI ELEMENTS WHEAT Console (ELEMENTS 8779 CO) and as a reviewer, that’s saying a great deal. The BDI ELEMENTS WHEAT Console in walnut is a clear choice for our GOLD KEYNOTE AWARD for both functionality and beauty. Bravo!
CASA HEARTSONG
COMPANY
BDi USA