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A scaled-up version of the 6–8 Kwai-type multianvil apparatus has been developed at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut for operation over ranges of pressure and temperature attainable in conventional systems but with much larger sample volumes. This split-cylinder multianvil system is used with a hydraulic press that can generate loads of up to 5000 t (50 MN). The six tool-steel outer-anvils define a cubic cavity of 100 mm edge-length in which eight 54 mm tungsten carbide cubic inner-anvils are compressed. Experiments are performed using Cr2O3-doped MgO octahedra and pyrophyllite gaskets. Pressure calibrations at room temperature and high temperature have been performed with 14/8, 18/8, 18/11, 25/17 and 25/15 OEL/TEL (octahedral edge-length/anvil truncation edge-length, in millimetre) configurations. All configurations tested reach a limiting plateau where the sample-pressure no longer increases with applied load. Calibrations with different configurations show that greater sample-pressure efficiency can be achieved by increasing the OEL/TEL ratio. With the 18/8 configuration the GaP transition is reached at a load of 2500 t whereas using the 14/8 assembly this pressure cannot be reached even at substantially higher loads. With an applied load of 2000 t the 18/8 can produce MgSiO3 perovskite at 1900 °C with a sample volume of ∼20 mm3, compared with <3 mm3 in conventional multianvil systems at the same conditions. The large octahedron size and use of a stepped LaCrO3 heater also results in significantly lower thermal gradients over the sample. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]