to create a sound that is extra-ordinary

IXION, Smart Audio of Norway, has today been launched as an audio brand at Harrods in London.  The idea, says Tom Austad, CEO of T Radio, “is to create a sound that is extra-ordinary”. There is “to be no compromise anywhere”, he adds.  Blimey, no holding back here then.   After five years of development, a £4 million investment and the input of Norwegian uber-designer Bard Eker, known for designing Hydrolift and also Koenigsegg cars this is a real labour of love.  Bard explained that any audio product such as this has to be designed ‘from the inside out’ and that every time something was changed in development everything beforehand had to re-examined for accurate audio reproduction.

Today, IXION were showcasing their first two products; the very beautiful Maestro, a smart audio music centre, and a smart satellite speaker called Solo:2.  The aluminium chassis products are high resolution to 24 bit and 192kHz and with Android control in a quad core processor they play music and audio in every way.   You can of course also play wirelessly, via a Wi-Fi network and Bluetooth with full smartphone control.  The Solo:2 is connected to the Maestro through the power sockets (power line communication) in your home for full multi room flexibility and family friendliness.

the crisp sound is at least as good as it looks, and it is beautiful to look at

Lovingly, Tom explained to me that the 2 front facing 2.75″ speakers (there are four in total and a down firing 5.5″sub underneath) in the Maestro are directed 4 degrees downwards to create the right sound.  ‘It may not be mathematically correct but it sounds good and that’s what we need’, he said today.  I have to say, with the small selection of songs I heard, the crisp sound is at least as good as it looks, and it is beautiful to look at.  One of the other key features that Tom Austad was particularly keen to point out was that each IXION Maestro and Solo:2 is hand built and finished by their team.  Each Maestro is run in for 48 hours to ensure nothing is missed or forgotten.  The products have a five year warranty such is their confidence in this product.

The products were  launched today in Harrods where the Maestro is retailing at £1099 and the Solo:2 is £299.

There is more information about IXION here.  The full Maestro I/O spec is here:

SPDIF digital input
RCA connector
3,5 mm jack (stereo)
3,5 mm input for headphones (stereo)
FM/DAB+ antenna (F-connection)
LAN
USB-port
WiFi (2,4/5 GHz) ∙ Bluetooth (APTX)