Goldmund's GAIA loudspeaker is monumental in any way you want to approach it. GAIA has obviously not been designed to fit into everyone's listening space at over two meters tall, 85cms deep and 65 wide and tipping the scales at 380kg. Furthermore, should you have the space, you also need understanding neighbours as the speakers are rated at 2,500 watts per channel! Finally, there's the exclusivity that a half-million pound price tag brings with it.

There has been a changing of the guard at the Geneva-based high-end hi-fi manufacturer, and the young team have some exciting plans that they shared with me in Munich. The first fruits of the next-gen Goldmund are from either end of the scale. On the one hand, you have the desktop/ standmount PULP (below), and on the other, the statuesque GAIA, the latter taking its name from mother earth in Greek mythology.

GAIA follows in the footsteps of the iconic MoMA exhibited Apologue and Epilogue designs and results from the new team aiming to create an up-to-date reference design with a contemporary aesthetic for the 21st century.

The new speaker is the vision and creation of two highly talented women – designer Cecile Barani and Dr Veronique Adam (Head of Acoustics at Goldmund) - and appears to be hewn from solid metal. The minimalist design is ingeniously fabricated with no visible fixings, exhibiting the typical luxurious manufacturing that we have come to expect from a Swiss-Made product.

GAIA features eight drivers and eight channels of Goldmund's unique Telos amplifier and Alize DAC circuitry. This results in the five-way DSP active speaker producing 2,500 watts per channel with the added convenience of Goldmund's proprietary wireless connection.

GAIA incorporates the Swiss firm's mechanical grounding technology with this latest evolution creating a supporting endoskeleton, as opposed to the classic Z-Frame exoskeleton seen on such models as the Apologue.

Finally, as befits a flagship design, GAIA will be one of the first models produced in Goldmund's brand new manufacturing and R&D facility that opens later this year in Geneva.

The Goldmund GAIA is available to order from Robert Taussig Co (London) with a UK price currently of £500,000.

Visit Goldmund for more information