The Funky Series by Angela-Gilbert Yeung

Angela-Gilbert has a number of obsessions - Art, audio, food, and the environment. They hate - and I mean HATE - to waste anything, especially food. Now, there is no food inside a Funky, but it does provide the protein and energy necessary to design, build, and create a Funky. 

The desire to use cost efficient and readily available material has led Angela-Gilbert to make really interesting and useful audio components out of ordinary household items  - power line filters in ABS pipe, a preamplifier in a purse, a power amplifier in a pair of shoes, etc. Apparently just about anything can be a medium for a piece of audio equipment, from a butter cookie tin, to a plain old hunk of MDF, to a BBQ grill. Angela-Gilbert creations have been showing up in alternative "containers" for over 25 years. 

... And the question was this - can you build a production integrated amplifier that competes favourably at the $1500 price point to compete with some of the well-known brands in that price range? Obviously, the answer was no. The large companies can mass-produce equipment at a far lower cost, so trying to compete in that arena is a fool's errand... Or is it? What if you could save some of the cost by re-using some of the more expensive component parts, like the transformer, the chassis, the heat sink, or the inputs and outputs? Not only would money be saved on parts, but also on the cost of assembly and fabrication. 

At some point, every Funky becomes a medium for an artistic statement, and really these are all functional art pieces. The combination of colours, numbers, and letters, is at the same expressive and descriptive. Speaking both electrically and visually, every funky is unique. The nature of the component is defined by the original parts salvaged, the integration of current design factors, and the related art work on the outer chassis. Additionally, every Funky is upgradeable, in fact upgradeable to ridiculous levels. There is never any need to sell it to improve it. And, in the unlikely event that you do want to sell it, the fact that every Funky is upgradeable, and every Funky is different pretty much ensures that you won't experience the same depreciation as you would on a more "normal" mass produced unit. If you want something unique, something that sounds terrific - especially for the money - and something fun, interesting, and even possibly a little controversial, a Funky might be just what you're looking for.  

Here is the Funky recipe... take an old chassis that is not functioning, and keep the existing parts that are healthy. Then, add some parts off the shelf, include a generous helping of current Angela-Gilbert design and expert assembly, and you've got a functioning component. No, the under $1,500 goal was not achieved, but it's not far away from that, either - an impressive feat considering that the Funky is essentially a custom built component. More importantly, for the price you pay you will take home an integrated amplifier that will substantially outperform anything at or near its price range. Every Funky is a serious performer. Come and listen - then you'll know.