Pre/Power Amplifiers

Metaxas has a first here: yes, we've had speakers that look like books or Grecian urns, but the Marquis ignores the needs of form as defined by a headphone amp, and turns instead to artistry. Beyond his high-end audio activities, Kostas Metaxas is a noted industrial designer who has created stunning objects including fine pens for S.T. Dupont. His latest electronics [Metaxas Ikarus, HFN Sept '17] and speakers exhibit alien forms reminiscent of SF film hardware. The Marquis, on the other hand, takes a familiar shape that has nothing to do with high-end audio, beyond earlier functional appearances as dummy heads for binaural recordings. Yamaha's and Nakamichi's sloped cassette decks aped tilted open-reel machines in studios, but that was about practicality. The beauty of MartinLogans is a solution from designers who were constrained by the needs of a panel, but made handsome rather than just purposeful. With the Marquis, Metaxas has a high-end component you might buy for looks alone.