If you’re aiming to spend £6000 on a headphone amplifier, you’re going to worry about more than just how it looks. However…
One of the world’s most bonkers pieces of hi-fi just went on sale in the UK. The Marquis ‘Memento Mori’ by Metaxas and Sins is a headphone amplifier with a casing that’s CNC-machined from a solid billet of aluminium – and shaped like a human skull.
The design’s more than just a gimmick, though, since it provides a perfect place on which to rest your equally extravagant headphones when you’re not clamping them over your sweaty ears.
Within each of the two eye sockets is a VU meter to show sound levels, while a pair of red dials sit beneath the cheekbones for volume and input selection. The headphone socket’s in the mouth. Obviously.
Related: Best headphone amps
Venture beyond the aesthetics and you’ll find some cutting-edge amplification circuitry, a power supply hidden in the base, and space for an optional battery to provide five hours of portable playback. Good job explaining the aluminium skull statue on your train table, yeah.
Around the back is a pair of analogue inputs, but nothing digital – there’s no internal DAC to be found here, sadly.
The Metaxas and Sins Marquis ‘Memento Mori’ is available in the UK from Audio Sanctuary in London.
Oh, and in case you were wondering about the meaning of ‘Memento Mori’, it’s Latin for ‘Remember that you must die.’ There’s a cheery thought.
Want or want to unsee? Let us know in the comments below.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.