The Kalista Dreamplay X is priced at €59,900. Add the DAC option and that rises to €68,700 – a surprisingly small increase considering the hardware involved. Aside from various finish options, stands and accessories, that’s the Kalista line-up in a nutshell – at least, that’s the core components. In keeping with its luxury positioning (and honouring both the original Kalista’s design and its inspiration) the Dreamplay TWENTY-TWENTY is a Kalista turntable that actually does play vinyl. In this case, a cooperative venture with Pro-ject’s high-end team, at €51,500 it’s a limited edition offering for well-heeled Kalista owners who want to extend their system’s aesthetic identity. Finally, there’s the massive Éa speakers, which carry a price tag and are available, but whose main purpose is to show off the rest of the range at shows.
In an industry that so often tries to mimic the success and approach of so-called luxury brands and marketing, the Kalista products represent a rare combination of credible performance and a powerful visual identity. The streamlining (no pun intended) of the product line is perfectly on trend in a market where such trends matter – but the attention paid to power-supply, engineering and technology demonstrates that in this case, performance matters too.
Hiding in plain sight…
Meanwhile, built into rather more traditional, although still beautifully finished rectangular boxes, the Métronome line represents the company’s mainstream audiophile offerings. These can be split into three family groups: the DS (Digital Sharing) series: the Classica (Le DAC/Le Player) entry-level units and the AQWO audiophile performance products. The latest Le Player 4+ top-loading CD player offers an optional streaming input (€1,800) and is priced at €9,400. The Le Player 4 transport offers the same streaming option and costs €7,700 with Le DAC 2 proiced at €6,990. Like the more affordable products, the AQWO is available as player, transport or DAC, the one box integrated unit costing €16,990, the t/AQWO Transport, with its separate Elektra PSU weighs in at €22,300 and the matching two-box c/AQWO DAC (again with Elektra external PSU) at €21,800. You can also opt for a tube output stage on the AQWO and c/AQWO, which adds €1,990 to the price of each.
So much for the shape of the Métronome range: what makes it really interesting is that it shares the same design ethos, production values and assembly lines as the Kalista – and that brings us to the heart of the Métronome operation and what makes it tick.
Ask Jean Marie Clauzel what sets Métronome Technologie apart and he’ll point to two things: the absolute belief in the importance of power supplies to audio and musical performance; and the way that the company combines advanced digital technology with traditional engineering, rather than as a substitute for it. He is proud to point out that they hold the coveted EPV badge (Enterprise du Patrimoine Vivant), a French government award that recognises companies that possess and maintain traditional, specialist manufacturing knowledge. That belief and trust in traditional engineering techniques is reflected in the hand-built assembly of the products, the local sourcing of all mechanical and chassis elements and their on-going commitment to physical media. Streaming may be a fact of modern audio life that’s too important to ignore, but despite the DSS 2 network player (€4,550) and the streaming inputs/options on the other products, Métronome isn’t just committed to disc replay, it continues to develop the capability and refine its execution. All of the disc transports are top loading – an engineering led decision if ever there was one – while the Kalista and AQWO units sport sleek, internal sliders that offer an incredibly clean appearance and smooth, manual operation.
