For those with the cojones...and chequebook to match!

[Mike Lavigne]

if i purchased audio gear, and retained audio gear, based on the appearance, industrial design, and pure elegance, i would still own Kharma Exquisite 1D speakers, Mark Levinson #33 amps and #32 preamp, a Linn CD-12 CD player, Rockport Sirius III turntable, and Transparent Audio Opus MM speaker cables.

not saying everyone would agree with me about what i view as great industrial design or elegant looking.

my three Studer A-820 RTR decks would still earn their place, but maybe the Nagra T might be a consideration.

that system above described would sound good, but not anywhere close to what i have now IMHO.

but appearance is really beside the point so while i surely appreciate elegant looking products, i listen with lights dim anyway. i do happen to like the look of most of my current gear but i don't really stress about it one way or the other.

 

[PeterA]

If I cared mostly about looks, I would never have sold my Magico Mini 2s. They sounded and looked fantastic, but I prefer the sound of my new speakers.

I know a guy who decided not to buy an SME 3012 turntable, not because of the sound, but because he did not like the looks. Interesting to me is that he did not mention SME build quality and reliability, or price, as factors in his decision to buy a different table.

Who are we to judge how others make their purchase decisions, especially with such expensive products? The successful manufacturer/designer, on the other hand, are probably keenly aware of what motivates potential buyers.

 

[Tango]

well if any amp constantly receives the butt ugliest award each year it is mine and it cost a small fortune but for me they are lifers and I will never sell them.

Lamm could care less about the look of his design which really hasn't changed in well over 20 years.

For me I could care less what an expensive piece of equipment looks like. Rather I only care how it sounds. Besides my listening sessions are always with lights off. Problem solved

The ML3 is one of the most timeless looking amps imo. Nothing butt ugly about it.

Tang

 

[RogerD]

So someone with great resources available walks into a dealer and says “this gear looks outstanding’ and spends 1.5 million. One year later after the person has achieved somewhat of a educated ear, he calls the dealer and wants to trade some of the gear in.
It’s not the price or design of the product, sooner or later it comes down to the listener, gear,music and enjoyment.
Since I have been in this hobby for 50 years, class A gear comes and goes and prices continue to escalate and designers build their dreams. But it’s still not about the highest price or the looks of the newest art piece it is about function and performance, the culmination of years of experience and a very personal system of which many of us have built “a system” that brings us happiness.

 

[Steve williams]

The ML3 is one of the most timeless looking amps imo. Nothing butt ugly about it.

Tang

It is butt ugly . Vlad hasn’t changed the design in over 20 years. Yet the build quality is second to none. And the sound is for me all that matters. It delivers. I don’t get wound up like others here that if I’m buying it has to be eye bling. I listen with my ears not my eyes

 

[DaveC]

Who are we to judge how others make their purchase decisions, especially with such expensive products? The successful manufacturer/designer, on the other hand, are probably keenly aware of what motivates potential buyers.

Yup, industrial design is a really big deal.

For me, even though I appreciate good design it's not a top priority and I'd have no problem owning either Lamm or Boulder amps. I'd also be happy with Lamborghini or Ferrari... or even Porsche if I had to settle...

It's true you're probably not looking at your audio gear while listening in a darkened room, but I can't see the outside of my car while I'm driving it either.

 

[Elliot G.]

I was a dealer for a very long time and now a distributor, all I can say is that many people, not all, but many do care what it looks like as well as what it sounds like. ( McIntosh, DAG, Kharma, Meridian, B&O, and the whole generations of products that now come in Colors. Why make colors if NO ONE cares???
There are so many examples which I gave a few and to dismiss this is just not correct. Having said that I have owned many products that were not beautiful however I was always concerned with how it was made since that does truly explain and hopefully somewhat justify the costs.

 

[the sound of Tao]

Good design expresses both the spirit and the context of a thing. I love it when the design matches the intent. Al, Spectral is a case in point, timeless.

Bling followed with no go is the biggest no go. The promise of the wrapping should be true to the core. Dishonesty in design is just horribly shallow. Steve I also find Lamm gear attractive and would happily live with it, Thomas Mayer’s 211 drive 211 amps even more so.

Valves express the spirit of life and illumination and beauty so they have a giant head start in truth in design.

I also find I develop a deeper relationship with gear as it delivers. The greater the music the deeper the connection. So in the end I have been lucky to find gear that has given me lasting appreciation and so I come to appreciate the designer and their work. Ken Shindo another gem like emerald enamelled case in point. Both the man and the components.

If there is a form that truly follows out of function then that is art for me as well even if that is actually opposed to the definition of art where art has no function other than to express meaning. One of my students (who is an industrial designer) took me to task last week in class for suggesting that industrial design could also be art. I see beauty as a lack of visual noise, and great gear has a lack of noise generally. I am not fond of unnecessary ornamentation and appreciate good balance, much like in music and sound. There is also inner beauty and I love it when you look inside the gear and the layout and components express a care and have beauty in their order.

I could better cope with an awkward bit of visual design if I didn’t have to look at it for any length of time so speakers for me definitely need to appeal visually since that is where my focus is most concentrated. But generally I haven’t found gear designed with love to not contain beauty. Form expresses intent and if that is pure then that is beauty for me.

 

[Woofer and Tweet]

Thanks for the boatload of ideas for new cartoons.

 

[NorthStar]

In hi-end audio sound is number one raison d'être for an audiophile.
The looks are for hi-end decorators.

Solid casings and solid engineering and upgradeable parts are for hi-end reliability, durability, longevity.

It's like live music Pop, Rap music concerts with gold chains and a la mode clothing with nice make up versus a ballet à l'Opéra. Something in that line anyway; an Orchestral symphony where you close your eyes versus having them open for the visuals and lights and dance and theatrical circus of a Pop/Rap dance music show (kids stuff).

 

[the sound of Tao]

In hi-end audio sound is number one raison d'être for an audiophile.
The looks are for hi-end decorators.

Solid casings and solid engineering and upgradeable parts are for hi-end reliability, durability, longevity.

It's like live music Pop, Rap music concerts with gold chains and a la mode clothing with nice make up versus a ballet à l'Opéra. Something in that line anyway; an Orchestral symphony where you close your eyes versus having them open for the visuals and lights and dance and theatrical circus of a Pop/Rap dance music show (kids stuff).

Bob, is this a rule? Is their no room for being another kind of audiophile than this particular version? What happened to the Bob who celebrates individuality and self expression... somebody has stolen our Bob!

 

[spiritofmusic]

Bob is stuck in one of these bling-laden chassis'.

 

[the sound of Tao]

PS Bob, I also much like pure bling minimal but beauty in design for me isn’t about ornament or gold chains so much and yes so I also love solidity and durability especially if this is an essential part of the intent of the design.

 

[the sound of Tao]

Bob is stuck in one of these bling-laden chassis'.

Then the beauty is within.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Don't encourage him.

 

[NorthStar]

Bob, is this a rule? Is their no room for being another kind of audiophile than this particular version? What happened to the Bob who celebrates individuality and self expression... somebody has stolen our Bob!

There are no rules in art; we like what we like. I just shoot my opinion in the moment, freely with deep thinking first. Every day is a brand new day, and our ideas are like waves on the ocean; on some days they are calm and on others swelling "vicerofucuouly".

'Peoples' don't change, their ideas do.

 

[NorthStar]

Bob is stuck in one of these bling-laden chassis'.

It's just the other way around; I live outside the chassis.

* Steve said it best. I think some of you took it too personal with the gold chains of rapper artists. A good woman is one with a good heart.

Don't encourage him.

This is not my thread, it's your thread Marc; for people with the "cojones" and the cash (a bunch of us).

 

[the sound of Tao]

There are no rules in art; we like what we like. I just shoot my opinion in the moment, freely with deep thinking first. Every day is a brand new day, and our ideas are like waves on the ocean; on some days they are calm and on others swelling "vicerofucuouly".

'Peoples' don't change, their ideas do.

vicerofucuouly will be my word of the week Bob, not sure how I’ll fit it into a sentence tho. Love it!

 

[the sound of Tao]

It's just the other way around; I live outside the chassis. .

Now that is our real Bob! Classic!

 

[KeithR]

always find comparing hifi to Pateks and Ferraris humorous - as the latter two products don't depreciate 50%+ in the first two years of ownership