Standard Resolution Version 23MB - TONEAudio MAGAZINE

995:Sound That Won’t Break The Bank
56
TONE AUDIO NO.51
FEATURE
Blue Aura v30
Blackline Integrated
Tube-Amplifier System
By Mark Marcantonio
With the burgeoning
number of adults working from
home, the office-audio category
has become an industry bright
spot. Filling this space is Blue
Aura’s $549 v30 Blackline music
system, which satisfies the craving
for vacuum tubes and matching
speakers, and does so in a spaceconscious
package.
Out of the Box
The handsome, three-piece system
looks sharp wherever I place
it in my office—I tried both my
bookshelf and credenza—but the
system’s striking aesthetics never
dominate the décor. Los Angeles–
based Blue Aura wraps the speakers
and the body of the amp in
black faux-leather, and accents the
amp with chrome trimmings.
The amp is 10 inches wide, 7.5
inches deep and 5.5 inches tall,
and the plated handles on either
side of it double nicely as bookends.
Adorning the front panel is a
pair of matching chrome knobs—
one for adjusting the volume and
one for selecting from the three
inputs (USB, LINE, and AUX). Two
6N1 tubes flank the taller 6e2 tube,
with its decorative but unnecessary
green glowing light filter. A fourpost
tube guard with a plexiglassand-chrome
top shelf protects the
tubes from inadvertent fingers or
the common office mishap.
December 2012 57