The Ministry of Sound auction has now opened, and its biggest lot is the rig a whole generation of clubbers felt in their chests: the six-stack Martin Audio soundsystem that drove The Box, the London club’s main room, for almost 20 years.
The sale is run by Wax Poetics, the music memorabilia auction house. Bidding opened on Thursday 29 October at 5PM and closes on 26 November at 8PM. Wax Poetics has billed it as a 35th anniversary sale, covering speaker stacks, flyers and awards from 35 years at Gaunt Street.
Why the Ministry of Sound auction matters to ravers
The Martin Audio system went into The Box in 2008 and quickly became part of the room’s identity. It came out in January 2026, when the club gave its main room a full overhaul to mark 35 years since it opened in 1991.
Its replacement is a custom four-point KV2 setup, installed by Patchwork London. It uses SL412 tops with a mix of VHD2.21 and VHD2.16 subs. The refit also lowered the DJ booth into the crowd and rebuilt it as a modular structure that can handle 360-degree layouts. It added an elevated backstage area around the booth and raised capacity by about 200 people. Club director Matt Long said the aim was a future-facing room that kept the venue’s industrial character.
Mirror balls, dancefloor and gold discs
The speakers aren’t the only lots. Collectors can also bid on:
Both original mirror balls from the club, a section of the original dancefloor and the original architectural plans for the building.
There are also 12 issues of Ministry magazine, plus flyers, press negatives and photographic slides. Sales awards for Eric Prydz’s ‘Call On Me’ and the label’s compilation ‘The Annual III’ are in the sale too.
Wax Poetics co-founder Dave Holt said each item tells part of the club’s story, from the names on the flyers to the nights in the photos. He added that the soundsystem is different, because it was the equipment that turned records into something the whole room shared, night after night.
Fans of the old system can still own a piece of Elephant & Castle club history, if they can find the space and the budget for it.
More news on BEATMAG TV.
