After 40 years of creating audio equipment, the last thing that artist-designer Kostas Metaxas wanted to produce was “another box with transistors on a heatsink”. He was apparently inspired by ‘the most spectacular architecture, design and sculpture’ he had experienced and ‘wanted to bring that emotional intensity, daring and seductive beauty to an audio amplifier.’
The Solitaire 2016 is the result. Machined from a solid block of either aircraft aluminium, copper or titanium, it’s totally bespoke and Metawas claims that ‘the modular electronics make it future-proof’. Even the circuit boards are CNC machined from 1mm solid silver coated clear polystyrene. 100% designed and engineered by Kostas Metaxas, each amplifier is assembled by his sons, either Andreas or Alessandros Metaxas.
The Solitaire 2016 along with the Ikarus Integrated Amplifier and Opus preamplifier will be “world premiered” at the Munich High End Hifi Show in May 2016. A Studer A80 will be playing 10″ Analogue Master Tapes from a selection of the over 300 Classical and Jazz concerts recorded by Metaxas on his modified Stellavox Tape equipment. Hifi Pig will be there to report back on how they sound.
