Bar · Cali / Colombia

Bonsai HiFi

Name: Bonsai HiFi
Address: Calle 2 #10-30, San Antonio, Cali, Colombia

The room

Records sit behind the wooden bar and plants hang overhead at Bonsai HiFi, a small listening bar in Cali’s San Antonio neighbourhood. Vinyl and digital selections move through Brazilian and Latin music, house, disco and soul, bringing the intimacy of a home listening room into a shared space.

The booth keeps the turntables within reach of the bar, while vintage amplifiers and a carefully integrated bass system reflect an ongoing interest in how music works in a compact room. Recorded sets, including Mecato’s Brazilian and Latin selections, offer another way into its musical world.

Instagram ↗YouTube ↗

From the venue

Bonsai HiFi on Instagram

Photos and video published by @bonsai.hifi.

Open @bonsai.hifi on Instagram ↗

Allow embedded media in Cookie preferences to load Instagram.

Inside Bonsai HiFi

Records and community from the Bonsai HiFi collection.

Mecato — Grooves Tropiversales / Caribe Amazónico.

Sound system

Browse this venue’s gear ↗

Two Technics 1200-series decks feed an ARS MODEL9900 rotary mixer. The main speakers are sealed GR-Research X-CS Encores, each using two M-165 woofers around a central tweeter. The design is rated at 90 dB sensitivity with a nominal 8 Ω impedance. A Sansui BA-2000 provides amplification, with Threshold 400A and S/150 amplifiers also in the collection and rotation.

One KEF KC62 and two KC92 subwoofers support the sealed mains, while miniDSP processing addresses troublesome room frequencies. A kick-sub position sits behind the bar, although its model assignment is unspecified. With several bass sources in a compact room, their placement, level and timing are central to integration with the main speakers.

Equipment · Browse this venue’s gear
Component	Manufacturer	Equipment / details	Get the Sound
Mixer	ARS / Alpha Recording System	MODEL9900 rotary mixer
Turntables	Technics	SL-1200 Series1200 series · pair	Shop SL-1200MK7 on Amazon ↗Affiliate link · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.SL-1200MK7 purchase option; venues use different SL-1200/SL-1210 revisions. Check model, seller, voltage and plug compatibility.
Main speakers	GR-Research	X-CS Encore · sealed enclosure; two M-165 woofers; nominal 8 Ω; rated 90 dB sensitivity
Current amplifier	Sansui	BA-2000
Amplifiers in rotation	Threshold	400A and S/150 400A S/150
Bass system	KEF	1 × KC62 and 2 × KC92 subwoofers; kick-sub position behind the bar, model assignment unspecified KC62 KC92	Shop on Amazon ↗Affiliate link · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.Amazon US listing; check seller, condition and delivery. Shop on Amazon ↗Affiliate link · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.Amazon US listing; check seller, condition and delivery.
Room tuning	miniDSP	Digital processing used to tame troublesome room frequencies

Affiliate links: We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Confirm the model, condition and delivery with the retailer.

Explore the equipment

Product video / Crossfader

Technics SL-1200 — the history

Watch on YouTube ↗

Product video / TSH Radio

ARS Model 9900 — long-term review

Watch on YouTube ↗

Product video / Donnie Mulligan

X-CS Encore — speaker build

Watch on YouTube ↗

Technics turntables and the ARS MODEL9900 at the centre of the wooden booth, with speakers and vintage amplifiers above the records.

The playback system in its everyday setting: records, plants, lighting and speakers behind the bar.

A GR-Research X-CS Encore, showing the two woofers and central tweeter in its wooden cabinet.

The Threshold S/150, one of the vintage amplifiers in Bonsai’s rotation.

Vintage amplification above the record shelves, with a GR-Research speaker alongside.

A closer look at the X-CS Encore’s drivers and cabinet.

A selector at the Technics decks and ARS mixer, with the room’s speakers behind the booth.

Allow embedded media in Cookie preferences to load Instagram.

Equipment in context

Manufacturer performance / Technics DJ

Cristian Varela: six turntables, 60 minutes

A Technics-published performance using SL-1200MK7 and SL-1210MK7 decks. Equipment reference only: this is not footage of this venue and does not establish its turntable generation.

Watch on YouTube ↗