We already knew that the Absolute would be a looker. Close-up shots of its shiny curved lexan where sundry parts below telegraph to degrees depending on how many white LEDs are lit were doomed to degrees of failure.

At full clip, the Manley goes well past 11. That's when all 16 of its volume indicators light up like above. In action, you should never see that.

Here's a sample with all lights off that's been overlaid on one with two lights on. It gives a vague impression of dual-layer ambiguity which includes reflections and micro dust. It'd be a job for a professional glam photographer to properly tell that story.

Here comes a light show of a different kind – tube filaments.

My sample's EL90 were vintage RCA, its 12AX7 current-production Ruby Tube.

For Flash Gordon flash, our Final Sonorous X heavyweights hitched a ride for this photo op.

In the flesh, this Absolute hits visual chords quite off the usual charts so beyond what photos convey. That alone is an accomplishment. How many new ways to style and featurize headfi amps are left because they've not been done yet? Where Manley are concerned, at least this one.