High fidelity

Steve Jobs’s 1982 apartment featured Acoustat Monitor 3 speakers, a Threshold preamp, a Michell GyroDec turntable and a Denon TU750s tuner. Author Haruki Murakami used Tannoy Berkeley speakers, two turntables (Thorens TD520 and Luxman PD-171A) and Accuphase amplifiers to savour listening to his collection of more than 10,000 vinyl records.

Sweet symphony

Why do the well-heeled place such a premium on quality sound systems? Because a true audiophile knows that a good hi-fi system is worth its weight in gold. A monument to design and craftmanship, these high-end audio systems offer a more engaged listening experience, turning your penthouse or villa into a personal concert hall.

They’re also excellent examples of how design can synthesise with acoustic engineering. Designed to occupy places of prominence in living rooms or dens, these audio systems are as much a status symbol as a personal indulgence. While some of these speakers were launched decades ago, they are still considered works of art for the pure crispness of music that they bring to one’s ears. Here are fi ve sonic marvels to check out.

Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus

$165,000~
Created by designer Laurence Dickie, the conchshaped Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus is an example of functional design turned modern sculpture. The spiraling tapered tubes and snail-shell silhouette eliminate internal resonance for clear sound, proving that tech brilliance and aesthetics can coexist. Over three decades after it was first introduced, the Nautilus remains B&W’s flagship product. Each pair is still hand-assembled in the UK and can be custom-finished in a colour of your choice, such as the abalone pearl anniversary edition.

Acapella Triolon Excalibur

$240,000~
For symphony enthusiasts, the Triolon Excalibur is pure audio turned haute couture (its glossy finish is reminiscent of a vintage Ferrari). Crafted in Germany, these speakers tower at over seven feet and weigh nearly 408 kg each. The Excalibur comprises three spherical horn flares — each horn is sized differently for bass, mid and high frequencies — crowned with an ‘ion plasma tweeter’ to deliver ultra-high frequencies with purity. The result: Incredible sound output even at low amplifier power. These speakers can fill a grand space with symphonic sound using only a handful of watts. A special-order item, it is crafted differently for each buyer.

Magico M9

$750,000~
California-based Magico is a leader in marrying aerospace engineering with high-end audio. The Magico M9, a four-way, six-driver dynamic speaker, is an expression of that ethos. Standing about 6.7 feet tall and weighing 454 kg per speaker, the M9 is the world’s fi rst loudspeaker enclosure to combine inner and outer skins of carbon fi bre with an aluminum honeycomb core. These elements come together to deliver an immaculate, vibration-free sound experience.

Sonus Faber Suprema

$750,000~
The loudspeaker system from Italian home audio company Sonus Faber blends cutting-edge innovation with old world luxury. Unveiled at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last year, the Suprema system consists of two main speaker columns, two subwoofers and a single electronic crossover. The main towers have Sonus Faber’s signature lute shape, a graceful silhouette that minimises resonance, while the subwoofers have an elliptical profile, inspired by the outline of a Stradivarius violin. The company claims that it has used the best mix of electroacoustic configurations to achieve the perfect tonal balance with impeccable timing and soundstage in all three dimensions.

HartAudio D&W Aural Pleasure

$4.7 million~
These loudspeakers, particularly the sole 18-carat solid gold edition, represent the pinnacle of material luxury.
At first glance, these speakers don’t loom large like others on this list — they stand a mere 28-inches tall. But each cabinet, consisting of a dual-concentric woofer and a Vifasupertweeter, is cast as a single solid piece of precious metal, giving it an astounding weight (The gold version, for example, weighs over 50 kg per speaker).

For the design, creator David Hart drew inspiration from the human ear. He produced 99 pairs in bronze ($64,000), five in sterling silver ($300,000) and just one in gold. Free of wooden resonances, these dense, metal speakers deliver clean and detailed sound, proving his thesis that a silent cabinet lets the music speak freely.