The Bugatti Royale returns, but this time, it’s not as a car. Instead, the French automaker pins the name to a new home audio system it’s created in conjunction with Tidal, the lossless audio—and high-definition video—streaming service.
Like the Bugatti Type 41 Royale of the late 1920s, the Royale home audio system features imposing proportions and art-deco design. Each of these grand gadgets houses four subwoofers, a three-way front speaker with a midrange driver, and a diamond-diaphragm tweeter—the latter of which Bugatti also includes in its four-wheeled machines. A matching music controller completes the kit.
While the Royale’s technology may impress audiophiles (or possibly leave them wanting—we’ll leave that to the expert audiophiles to determine), the speakers’ true raison d’être is arguably its style. The custom pieces are available in a single hue or in a two-tone scheme (Monocoque and Duotone in the language of Bugatti and Tidal). From there, consumers customize the units to their liking, with decors such as carbon fiber, leather, dark aluminum, and polished, stainless steel all available to choose from. A Bugatti logo on the front of the speakers and a “Tidal for Bugatti” plaque at the rear, meanwhile, serve to remind owners and their guests of the units’ design inspiration and origins.
Both Bugatti and Tidal are mum on pricing details for these speakers. Nevertheless, we guess the reborn Royale will command a sum worthy of the Bugatti name, with the limited-run (just 15 pairs each) Edition Noir and Edition Blanc speakers likely costing a good deal more than that of the two models’ standard counterpart. Still, the Royale kit will surely sticker for a lot less than one of Bugatti’s seven-figure cars, which means these speakers might just be one of the most affordable ways to call yourself the owner of a genuine Bugatti product.
