Kostas Metaxas of Metaxas Audio Systems might well be seen as a symbol of multi-cultural Australia - an Australian of Greek parents with a German education. US heroes, an Ethiopian muse and a French 'patron'; getting rave reviews in Germany, French and Hong Kong audio magazines and filling export orders as far afield as Finland and Canada.

Metaxas might also serve as an object lesson in how a confident, cosmopolitan attitude and total lack of cultural cringe can win international recognition for Australian products.

A certain mystique and controversy surround Metaxas - both the man and his creations. Introduced to true hi-fi as a Melbourne teenager by exposure to his uncle's up-market American rig, Kostas was never likely to settle for second-best. Trying to match his uncle's system on budget , he experienced the reverence that local hi-fi dealers had for the classic marques of audio, and the pecking order of product excellence that must always have a top.