CE Veteran Tom DeVesto Launches Como Audio
Former head of both Cambridge SoundWorks and Tivoli Audio forms Kickstarter campaign for Como Audo, a self-enclosed tabletop music system.
Longtime consumer electronics pioneer Tom DeVesto is at it again. After launching both Cambridge SoundWorks in the late 1980s and Tivoli Audio in 2000, he has formed his third Boston-based audio company called Como Audio. The company has a Kickstarter campaign aiming to raise $50,000. At press time, more than $21,000 had been raised.
The company officially launched with the first Como Audio’s products, table-top music systems called “Solo” and “Duetto,” neither of which is available until this fall. The compact units are targeted at the direct-to-consumer wireless streaming audio market led by players such as Sonos and Bose.
Solo has a custom Digital Signal Processor with a digital amplifier. It comes with six pre-sets, a 2.8-inch color display for Artist/Song metadata and available album art, four-layer voice coil, 3-inch woofer, and 60-watt RMS amplifier with ¾-inch tweeter. It offers dual independent alarms, Internet Radio access and has multiroom capability. It handles Bluetooth with aptX and is Google Cast/Amazon Dot-ready.
Other features include NFC, DLNA, four high-res inputs, DAB/DAB+ available for outside North America, and an optical input to connect audio from a TV. It will wirelessly stream music from a computer and comes with a remote control unit, as well as free iOS and Android “Como Control” app. Solo comes in furniture-grade wood finishes, as well as a high-gloss lacquer white.
Duetto has everything that Solo has except it comes in a slightly larger model with a 3.2-inch color display for metadata and has more drivers. Each product will receive updates through the Internet.
“Today music is everywhere through so many content sources and the list keeps expanding and evolving,” says DeVesto, Como Audio founder and designer. “I wanted to make it easy to access all of the music content available through one device that would deliver robust, true high-fidelity sound in a compact wooden design that would not only produce great room-filling sound, but have the ability to sync music throughout the house.”
Solo measures 5 x 9.5 x 4.7 inches (HxWxD) and will retail for $299. Duetto is 5.3 x 5.6 and will retail for $399.
DeVesto co-founded Cambridge SoundWorks in 1988 jointly with late industry pioneer and CTA Hall of Famer Henry Kloss. That company, which eventually become one of the first in the industry to sell online, was later sold in 1997. Tivoli was launched in 2000 and is sold online and via various retailers, including custom installation CE pros.
