Metaxas & Sins Ethereal Electrostatic Headphone Amplifier/Tourbillon Clock

Among the very exclusive number of highly recognized ultra-high-end audio builders, Metaxas & Sins, a greek family affair based in Switzerland with headquarters in Amsterdam, is by far the most exquisite. All the company's designs are simultaneously design masterpieces and beautiful, unique art pieces. The most recent proposal is the Ethereal Electrostatic Headphone Amplifier, combining horology (the study of mechanical time-keeping devices) with reverie.

This patent, granted to MrSpeakers, the company from San Diego, CA that is now Dan Clark Audio, was granted in the same month that this review was published in Voice Coil. The patent details a headphone driver that should also be of note for the speaker industry. As Croft notes, the patent office initially rejected the claims due to prior patents, eventually accepting the inventor's arguments, in 2016. The review provides the historical context for planar magnetic transducers, and explains why this is an important patent.

High end headphones can be a very rewarding category for a few very focused manufacturers, and it's always refreshing to see a completely new closed back design that actually involves a serious R&D effort and advances headphone technology further. The new Stealth planar magnetic headphones by Dan Clark Audio (US $3999) are based on a custom-designed planar driver, matched with superior materials and ergonomics.

Dan Clark Audio introduced a special edition of its AEON 2 planar magnetic headphones, the AEON 2 Noir. As the San Diego-based company explains, since the launch of AEON 2 headphones back in 2019, when the company also changed its name from MrSpeakers to Dan Clark Audio, the market has been frequently requesting an all-black version, complemented with perforated pads. The company responded and the AEON 2 Noir, available in closed and open back versions, are now available.

In order to better reflect its focus on all things audio, the audio company known until today as MrSpeakers is now called Dan Clark Audio. According to the company's President and Founder, Dan Clark, the new name is a more accurate reflection of the company’s role as a designer and manufacturer of a wide range of products well beyond loudspeakers. The new brand is also a strategic move at a time when the company is launching their most affordable Aeon 2 planar magnetic portable headphones.