New in the UK is the German Maestro range of headphones, from a company founded by former managers and employees of speaker brand MB Quart.
The company, which was started when MB Quart was bought up and its production moved to the USA, has a wider range of headphones on offer, from studio and home-use models to 'near-indestructible' designs aimed at museums and other public applications.
The products are said to use innovative design and materials, and are handcrafted at the final stage of assembly at the factory in Obrigheim, Germany.
Among the innovations are a new floating earcup design described by the company as 'a five-dimensional Cardiomatic suspension system'. which is said to ensure a comfortable, secure fit for any head-size.
Now available via KS Distribution and at the HiFiHeadphones online shop, the range kicks off with the £74 GMP 160, a semi-open design for portable applications. It's designed to be easy to drive, making the most of low-powered portable devices and weighs just 70g without the supplied cables: a 1.2m main cable and a 5m extension with volume control.
At the top of the range, and shown at the top of this story, is the GMP 450 PRO, at £229: a closed design particularly well-suited to studio and monitoring applications, it's designed to be comfortable to wear over extended periods, and uses copper-plated aluminium voice-coils and lightweight layered diaphragms.
There's also an open-backed version, the GMP 400, at £219, with soft velvet earpads and again those floating earcups for comfort, while if you want a bit of anti-style, as the distributor puts it, you could go for the GMP 8.35D (left), at £159, which is said to have an 'indestructible housing material'.
Like all the German Maestro headphones, it comes with a three-year manufacturer warranty.