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METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:29 pm
by audiofilio
I'm not sure if this is the right thread to post this topic, but since I'm particularly interested in a brand that I believe has been out of the market for quite some time, Technical Archives seem a logical forum.

The brand I'm referring to is Metaxas.... the model, IKARUS
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The reason for my sudden recall of this small wonder ( in terms of wattage & size, and also in terms of company name ), is that I recently bumped into someone, who I can consider as my "audio" mentor. I frequented his audio store Sound Advice here in Bacolod religiously during the early '90s. When you were nuts about hi-fi during that time, and you live in Bacolod, Tata Salgado is the person to go to.

The Ikarus sounded magical no matter what speakers it was hooked up with, if I remember correctly, it was paired with, among others... Vandersteen 1Bs ( the Ikarus drived it decently ), the better Tannoy Sixes model/s.

If anyone still owns this wonder amp, what speakers do you pair it with now? What other speakers are recommended?

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 11:40 pm
by amonv
I still have my MAS solitaire II with Mas marquis preamp. It is paired with piega p3 with good result. If your in alabang area you are welcome to come over to listen..

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 3:02 pm
by audiofilio
wow.. MAS separates! Thanks for the invite amonv. I haven't encountered Metaxas separates yet, and Piega speakers too. If I'l be in town I'l surely take your offer sir, raincheck muna for the meantime. Thanks for sharing.. I seldom encounter Metaxas owners.

Btw.. the pics I posted above are the ones of Ikarus Mk.II (?). Tata Salgado used to have the original model ( chrome body ), he is now a wiredstate browser! Welcome to WS Tata.

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 5:53 pm
by amonv
Oooops mine is not seperates.... dual mono (?) what they call it... you are welcome to come over...

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 7:42 pm
by rvc
i had a metaxas ikarus II, if i'm not mistaken. the thinner one with a black faceplate, steel knobs and polished chrome casing. aside from the sound, the build quality is very impressive. had a solid feel to the controls. what i remember most about it is the weird balace control response it had. instead of decreasing one channel, it would somehow move the entire soundstage left or right. does yours do the same?

with matching speakers, it sounded detailed and quite robust for its power. but i could be very picky with speakers.

sold it several years ago. now i miss it.

enjoy yours.

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:33 pm
by troporobo
I had never heard of this gear, so did a quick search. Interesting. It is (was?) an Australian company, founded by a Greek man. Their web site is still live (www.metaxas.com) with product descriptions, but strangely it says "new products coming soon for 2009" which suggests maybe its not still in active business. The most recent review I could find on the net was from 2008. Cool looking stuff though, that's for sure!

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:31 pm
by m_shoe_maker
If I'm not mistaken, Metaxas was brought in by Upscale Audio back in the 90s.

Very maporma looking units with lots of bling! 8)

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 3:42 pm
by audiofilio
troporobo wrote:I had never heard of this gear, so did a quick search. Interesting. It is (was?) an Australian company, founded by a Greek man. Their web site is still live (http://www.metaxas.com) with product descriptions, but strangely it says "new products coming soon for 2009" which suggests maybe its not still in active business. The most recent review I could find on the net was from 2008. Cool looking stuff though, that's for sure!


Kostas Metaxas ( Metaxas Audio Systems ) is Australian of Greek heritage. Very classy guy.. even ventured into publishing a lifestyle magazine. His 3 references in music are Belafonte @ Carnegie, The Weavers @ Carnegie and Porgy & Bess w/ Ella & Louis.

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 11:41 am
by tasa
yeah, metaxas products were very maporma looking. have you seen their product brochure during that time? it can put others to shame! the metaxas ikarus you are refering to was a 40wpc integrated amp. it has a stainless steel housing, not chrome. the construction was very detailed. you should see it to appreciate it. yes, it came from Upscle Audio in Makati. during that time, i was a provincial audio dealer in bacolod of upscale, reference,audiophile, avesco and others of which i have forgotten. anyway, i had the luxury of comparing all the products of these competing brands from various dealers all at my store. i can still remember that the ikarus, paired the the vandersteen 1B floorstanding 2-way speakers and rotel rcd955ax was a very outstanding set up. REGARDLESS OF PRICE. if i remember right, 1 set up that i has that could surpass it was a rotel 955ax cd player, coupled to audible illusions modulus 3 preamp, aragon 2002 power amp and the martinlogan AERIUS hybrids. to audiofilio, t y for the kind words!

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 12:25 pm
by JackD201
Welcome Tata! You still active in the industry? I have lots of friends in Bacolod. :)

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 2:25 pm
by tasa
not anymore. commercially!

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 5:35 pm
by audiofilio
tasa wrote:not anymore. commercially!


Ta.. maybe we can bring back the good ol' days of bringing in hi-end audio here in Bacolod, if we're both not busy. just a thought hehe..

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 9:26 pm
by amonv
I've heard the solitaire paired with martin logan... it's a perfect match....

The amp has been my main system since the 90's until I was reintroduced to the tube world... :lol: :lol:

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:48 pm
by audiofilio
To amonv.. the Solitaires are 100 watts per monoblock right?

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:53 pm
by amonv
I think its 130 watts per channel

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:54 pm
by amonv

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2011 10:18 pm
by phil100
Reactivating this thread: I own one of these - the chrome plated Ikarus (I think mkII).

Purchased new in the 1990s with phono stage after a lot of listening tests with various low-mid power integrated amps (Meridien etc). It absolutely killed them all, superb open sound with - as the magazines say - tons of air around all the instruments and a huge 3D soundstage. Glorious strings, vocals, piano. Mids and highs like velvet. Very fast. Bass a little jelly-like since this is not an massive Krell or something. That could have been the room also - andit was driving massive speakers (though high sensitivity).

I met Kostas Metaxas once in Melbourne in his cafe and I told him just how good I thought it was - which was satisfying for both of us. He answered emails last year. He said MAS no longer provides service on his gear. He put me on to a technician in Germany who could service his stuff if need be. Corresponded with said technician who said under no circumstances sell my Ikarus - they are collectors items and high end audio folk in Europe do not let them go. Pity, MAS stuff is fantastic.

It's been in storage for years but now I'm putting this chrome-plated marvel back into service! Yay!

Question: what small speakers to get for a small odd shaped room with this wonderful amp? Where I am I can't try out a lot of brands. Metaxas used to recommend BBC-style bookshelf speakers for this as I recall (Rogers etc).

So, looking at the web, I thought maybe Harbeth Compact 7-es3 or P3ESR. Or maybe Dynaudio Excite X12 would be good (half the price)?

What speakers have people tried with these? Comments?

Edit: adding an image which I found on the web

Image

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2011 1:24 am
by rtsyrtsy
tasa wrote:not anymore. commercially!


Tata! Ikaw nga ba yan?

You probably won't remember me. But you were the first audio dealer I bought gear from: a Nakamichi IA-3 and a Tannoy 607. I was working for Shell then in Panay. That brought me years of pleasure.

Glad to see you on this board.

--Russell

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2011 3:37 pm
by phil100

Re: METAXAS IKARUS INTEGRATED AMP

PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2011 6:55 pm
by amonv
Question: what small speakers to get for a small odd shaped room with this wonderful amp? Where I am I can't try out a lot of brands. Metaxas used to recommend BBC-style bookshelf speakers for this as I recall (Rogers etc).

Try to audition Jackd's LSA with ribbon tweeters..