A-bsolument Prodige Bluetooth Speaker Made from Recycled Materials Now Available in North America

Since 2023, Focal Naim America distributes A-bsolument, a French company known for restoring and upgrading old radios, giving them modern functionality. Almost 10 years after the birth of A-bsolument, the company launched the A-bsolument Prodige Bluetooth speaker ($899 USD), made in France from recycled and sustainable materials. This timeless design, inspired by the iconic jewelry radios of the 60s, generates an impressive stereo sound which benefits from Focal drivers inside.
 
Entirely hand-assembled in France, each Prodige loudspeaker is the object of particular care guaranteeing an impeccable finish. But more importantly, the whole project was designed to be sustainable, repairable and upgradable, using only recycled materials, including aluminum collected and recycled in France, PEFC wood from eco-managed forests, and 70% organic paint made of seaweed and vegetables.
 
Recognized for its original activity of modernizing radios of yesteryear, the French company announced this unique Bluetooth speaker at the beginning of 2023. Since then, the design has won a Red Dot Design Award in the Audio Product Design 2023 category, and is now available in North America, thanks to the Focal Naim America distribution partnership. Not surprisingly, the relationship between French speaker manufacturer Focal and A-bsolument also contributed to making the Prodige design deliver on the audio reproduction front.

According to A-bsolument, the Bluetooth speaker offers a powerful and high-fidelity sound that also adapts to the listening room thanks to AcousticRoom processing technology and its selectable three bass levels. Labeled "Focal Inside," the white box features two 15W Focal TAM tweeters and one 60W woofer, all powered by a 90W Class-D module. The source signal is provided by a Bluetooth 5.2 module with aptx HD and Multipoint support. "Prodige was born from a dream: to bring a modern version of a legendary object to life while preserving its original beauty and spirit," says Arthur Verne, CEO of A-bsolument. "A slightly nostalgic variation that would trigger so many sensations and emotions. A variation that would stand the test of time without ever losing its prestige. A variation capable of reinventing itself to constantly become a perfected version of itself."

After having breathed new life into more than 5,000 old radios for nearly 10 years by «reconnecting» them to our times, A-bsolument is now looking to the future by creating original speakers that will appeal to music-lovers all over the world.

"It was the difficulty of finding old radios in good condition that first led us on the path of this new adventure," explains Verne. "Faced with growing demand, we had to react. Driven by the desire to achieve excellence in terms of the listening quality offered and to become a key player in timeless sound, we set ourselves the challenge of giving life to a unique device ourselves." Apart from Bluetooth sources, the Prodige is also able to play from connected USB devices, such as a network player or a smartphone, while the interface will also provide power to the device. For some strange reason - weird for a company that worries about obsolescence and sustainability, the Prodige still features an old USB A type connector, instead of the (now universal and mandatory in Europe) USB-C. Fortunately, there is also an obsolete but still useful 3.5mm jack analog input.

No doubt, A-bsolument will be soon offering options to replace the Bluetooth module as well as an additional board to replace the USB connector, since everything in the Prodige design is repairable and upgradable.
www.a-bsolument.fr
www.focalnaimamerica.com