The look, the sound, the price, the bragging right or something else..?

[DaveyF]

On another forum, one of the members there ( who happens to be an audio dealer) stated something that I have heard as a prevalent comment. His comment was that he believed that a lot of a'philes buy gear only due to the aesthetic and price tag...not at all interested in the sound, or really that concerned about the price or anything else. IOW, akin to picking up a piece of jewelry and having the bragging right that goes along with the brightest and biggest bauble.
He used the Dan D'Agostino gear and the new SAT tonearm as an example of his comment. The copper heatsinks and the steam type gauge on the front as an example on the DAG..and with the SAT arm...all of the brass and shiny fittings and the numerous adjustment mechanisms...leading to a much higher cost factor, but in his opinion doing nothing for the sound!
In reality, i question how many of us choose their gear based exactly on what this dealer is pointing out....and that the manufacturer's know this and are simply building gear to accommodate a need. Is SQ the prevailing reason that we buy our gear...I know speaking for myself it is...
Is that the case for other members...and if not, what are the prevailing reasons why you open your wallet? How much does the 'bragging' right really play into the purchase decision...how much the aesthetic, how much the price....and lastly how much the sound?
Let's be as honest here as we can....

 

[JackD201]

IMO Bragging rights is the worst motivation. How long do you get to brag and who really cares anyway? There will always be something newer and shinier just as there will always be someone richer and with our luck much better looking to boot LOL.

I don't know who that dealer is but I think he went a bit too far. The design goals of D'Agostino were to shoehorn the horsepower of his earlier works in a smaller package. The Cu heatsinks are a technical solution given the limited surface area. That D'Agostino also wanted to exude the build quality of swiss timepieces with the Breguet looking meter, well, why not?

To be honest I don't see anybody staying in this hobby long term if the motivation is anything other than getting the sound you like. Looks are a bonus but as far as looks alone, where the systems usually hardly get played, I'd say the better investment would be art and a good interior designer!

 

[Rodney Gold]

I chose my giyas cos I loved both the aesthetics and the SQ .. I wouldn't have bought wilsons (sorry wilson guys) if the SQ and price of both had been the same.
My rack is not pretty or impressive tho , devialet , miniDSP , touch

 

[Diapason]

His comment was that he believed that a lot of a'philes buy gear only due to the aesthetic and price tag...not at all interested in the sound

I don't think it's "either-or", and I think you can be very interested in sound but still want shiny toys and bragging rights. In fact, I think that's the niche that most audiophiles I know inhabit, somewhere on the spectrum but not at either end. Personally, I've sampled pieces of equipment hoping I wouldn't like them because they were too ugly for me to buy. What that does for expectation bias I have no idea, but let's just say I've never ended up buying them! Certainly I understand that for many the hobby is primarily about playing music with great sound, but not exclusively that. There are other aspects that many of us enjoy: the exclusivity, the geeky passion aspect, yes the bragging rights, the way a system looks whether beautiful and shiny or a mass of cables and boxes strewn on the floor.

Actually, only last night my wife wandered into the nerd-cave as I was listening and admired how the speakers looked. She said "you must look at these every time you sit down and think 'oh yes'". She's right. I do.

 

[Joe Whip]

I personally only go by sound as my stuff sits in its own room out of public view. However, I have known some audiophiles ( are they really audiophiles?) who clearly purchased based on looks. Theirsystems are prominently displayed in their homes and when people ask about the stuff, you never hear about how great is sounds but how great it looks. I think that these types do exist but are in the distinct minority.

 

[Rodney Gold]

I like my room to look neat and pretty... just for myself

from that, to this

 

[Purite Audio]

You can't blame a manufacturer for making a product which he believes is saleable. Technically and in terms of performance the Agostino amps offer nothing new, in terms of sound quality I am sure it would be indistinguishable from any other capable Class A/B amp.
Diamond encrusted Rolexes target the same niche, in terms of high fidelity very few designers are pushing the boundaries IMHO.

Keith.

 

[Rodney Gold]

What stirred you when you selected your significant other?

Initially it has to be something to deal with looks in most cases
then performance....

 

[FrantzM]

Many here are passionate enough to go for gears they like whatever the cost (again up to a point ) . I would say most but there is that kind of thing. No doubt. I know for a fact that a very big ex-basketball, Hall-of-Fame-bound player had a system that likely cost millions. He acquired it on the whim of "Best Hifi system my money" could buy. He played it for a few times and reverted to his Pro system in his private disco a few weeks later .. The system was mothballed after he was traded and his ex-wife wanted these "things" out of her sight.. Extreme example? of course... But there are many who buys gears just for the sake of their exclusivity and price. The dealer is right and knows what he is talking about. Any manufacturer worth its grain of salt will make sure of having a stupendously expensive item in his catalog ... We can see it everywhere .. The market for those are not the SQ guys but those with money to burn...

 

[PeterA]

I bought my Magico Mini II based on the way they sound. I'm having a difficult time upgrading them because of the way they look in my room. There are no bragging rights with SME gear. It sounds great though. Pass electronics sound great and work with the rest of the system. I also like their looks. The Vibraplanes and compressor in the living room are for sound only.

 

[Purite Audio]

I bought my Magico Mini II based on the way they sound. I'm having a difficult time upgrading them because of the way they look in my room. There are no bragging rights with SME gear. It sounds great though. Pass electronics sound great and work with the rest of the system. I also like their looks. The Vibraplanes and compressor in the living room are for sound only.

View attachment 25881

I think that is a purposeful system, SME is solidly engineered, as are the amps and speakers, arguably a contemporary pair of active loudspeakers might yield higher sound quality, in terms of room interaction.
Keith.

 

[spazmatron]

if you chose your gear by any other means than engineering and sound then you're not a audiophile, you're brand and status oriented. having said that people like to be able to identify with others, for some having a certain brand is a way into a exclusive club, a way to belong and feel valid and accepted some guys want to be envied... how aware or honest they are of their true motivations is another matter.

i would not like to say how many here fit into what camps, that would be unfair and pointless. i don't know if the membership here reflects the typical hi-end consumer type or not. the dealers here would know.

 

[bonzo75]

My girlfriends always chose me for the looks and bragging rights of my, er, gear

 

[bonzo75]

Even if a guy chose a piece of gear for the bragging rights, there are so many planes he could brag on...why is only an expensive well-known box considered a bragging right? Many seasoned audiophiles think that it is the immature ones who stick to the high-street brands, and they even include the audioresearch, focals, wilsons as high street... and they brag about the exotic rareties they have stumbled on. Some brag about how well they have put a system together, or how flat their frequency curve is. There is a camp for each. Someone who owns a 100k dac would be seriously embarrassed if he tried to brag about it in the wrong camp.

 

[Purite Audio]

Vanity,vanity all is vanity.
Keith.

 

[bonzo75]

Vanity,vanity all is vanity.
Keith.

Take Keith, for example. He is always trying to brag all his speakers and electronics sound the same, just that he is presenting it to the wrong camp

 

[Purite Audio]

Take Keith, for example. He is always trying to brag all his speakers and electronics sound the same, just that he is presenting it to the wrong camp

Speakers sound very different, anything with a valve in sounds different, NOS dacs sound different , any product which has been delibrately engineered to sound 'different' will sound different .
I just want to replay the file with the highest fidelity possible, because that's what I believe.
Keith.

 

[Folsom]

The only gear I can personally say clearly gets sold for bragging rights the most is McIntosh. Aside from that there's a lot of dealer interpretation on the situation. Perhaps some prefer to take it home and listen, even purchased, before they really know how much they like it? Unless they literally walk in and say, "that looks cool" and walk out with it, it's hard to make these claims. There's factors like just because someone doesn't know how to setup a stereo well doesn't mean they aren't in it for the sound, but the dealer might think that.

For future reference if I go to a dealer knowing I already want to buy something I think I'll do my best to feed this notion. "Wow that will look wonderful next to my leopard skin, I'll take it"

 

[Bruce B]

On another forum, one of the members there ( who happens to be an audio dealer) stated something that I have heard as a prevalent comment. His comment was that he believed that a lot of a'philes buy gear only due to the aesthetic and price tag...not at all interested in the sound, or really that concerned about the price or anything else. IOW, akin to picking up a piece of jewelry and having the bragging right that goes along with the brightest and biggest bauble.

There are a few on this forum but they won't admit to it, but you know who they are.

You can also add the Dartzeel monoblocs. Just give me a good sound without the bling.

 

[Folsom]

I don't really understand how there is a problem with people buying real audio products as bling. If you're not into doing that, don't. They are, and it supports the industry.

The companies offering straight bling without much for sound quality admit to it. They call it lifestyle, and art, etc.