We love to give practical buying advice on the latest gadgets here at TechRadar. But sometimes what we love even more is to indulge in the most outrageously high-end, cutting-edge, luxurious tech on the planet. That's what we bring you in these Money No Object columns – you can read the whole series here.
The best stereo speakers sound fantastic but often underwhelm in the visual department; I know that I'd be hard-pushed to pick my bookshelf speakers out of a line-up, and I'm a working musician. So it's always a joy to see speakers that look as good as they're intended to sound – like the new Stratton Acoustics Element 6 and Element 8 speakers here.
These are not budget buys, with price tags of £15,000 / $20,000 (about AU$31,385) for the Element 6, £20,000 / $25,000 (about AU$41,850) for the Element 8 and £3,500 / $5,000 (about AU$7,323) for the stands. But just look at them. If I had the wealth to buy these for my mansion, I absolutely would. If I had a mansion.
Stratton Acoustics Element 6 and Element 8: not just a feast for the eyes
The star here, other than those enclosures, is Stratton's own, patented decoupled and waveguide loaded 29mm soft dome tweeter. That's paired with a six-inch mid/low driver in the Element 6 and an eight-inch unit in the Element 8, making the Element 6 more suited to smaller spaces or near-field listening positions.
The enclosures have dual-resistive port vents to reduce unwanted resonance from the bass reflex port, and they're made with acrylic-silica reinforced polymer matrices – again with claimed resonance-reducing powers – and aerospace-grade aluminum baffles.
According to Stratton, the combination of enclosures and baffles "ensures clean, transparent sound with a durable, luxurious finish that will last for decades to come."
As for the stands, they're precision-machined from aerospace-grade aluminum too. And Stratton is making big claims for their design: "Their sculptural form mirrors the jewel-like detailing of the front and rear baffles of the speakers, with a flawless finish that plays with light and reflection to striking effect, elevating the entire system to the level of modern art."
Stratton says that these speakers "offer a visually arresting presence, premium materials, class-leading electro-acoustic design, and engineering, delivering a luxurious experience for both the eyes and ears." I'm sure they do, although sadly I think it'll be a long, long time before I can afford a pair.
The new Stratton Acoustics Element 6 and Element 8 are available now.
