Kostas Metaxas, with over 40 years of playback and 25 years of concert recording experience plus some very interesting amplifier designs to his name, has now “challenged what is possible in the aesthetic of loudspeaker design”. His latest creations will be on show at High End Munich 2017.

Once Metaxas perfected the art of CNC machining organic shapes with amplifiers, it opened up similar possibilities with speakers. Kostas told us: “CNC allows the sculpting of a shape with incredible rigidity, in a much smaller form factor than is possible with other materials.  At the same time it minimises front baffle diffraction whilst maximizing internal volume for an ideal and extended bass response”.

The Macrophones

Mimicking the inverse of the microphones used in purist recordings, the “Macrophones” are mini-monitors designed to be used to seriously monitor recording/playback, which can be scaled with the addition of “modules” to become as miniature for location work to as grand as is necessary for studio or home playback. They were specifically developed to monitor for the perfect positioning of microphones in 3D space and to help the recording engineer stereo mix the 4-5 microphone channels in real time to a stereo analogue tape.

Each macrophone is machined in two halves forming an ideal shape to mount the Accuton ceramic drivers and reduce cabinet colourations. The solid CNC-machined solid aluminium essentially extends the ceramic cone supports from the rigid speaker baskets to the entire cabinet. A pair of Macrophones can fit into a Pelican 1600 series for eases of transport.

The Sirens

Kostas told us more about these very interesting looking speakers: “With more than a passing reference to Homer’s Odyssey, the apt metaphor is testimony to the sheer musicality and realism that allows this potent 3-way system, CNC carved from a block of solid aluminium [or titanium] to engage and captivate it’s audience with its sound and to invigorate the mind with it’s extreme sculptural aesthetic”.

“Using ideas borrowed from Neumann TLM 50 and M150 microphones, the SIREN embeds the Accuton drivers into spheres mounted onto an organic “time-aligned” sculpture. Despite the unique and unusual shape, the design is a seriously engineered, no-compromise loudspeaker with emphasis on absolute sound quality. Accuton ultra-low colouration ceramic drivers are used in some of the most expensive systems currently available, but it’s only when you marry them to a curvacious, stiff, inert massive machined “body” that you can really hear – and probably for the first time appreciate, their sheer neutrality”.

In a true “bespoke” manner, the actual configuration of drivers can be chosen, Since there are different “levels” of Accuton ceramic drivers, up to and including their ultra-expensive “diamond” tweeter, the customer has a choice of which tweeter,  midrange and 8″ woofer they would prefer to use now, or in the future.

Find Kostas and his creations in Hall 1 Stand D01a

Find coverage of High End Munich past and present here!