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Do you buy hifi because it looks good or sounds good?

As someone who has a house half full of B&O equipment, I think I can safely say that aesthetics and sound quality are equally important to me.

;)
 
gassor said:
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I would convince myself this is a great sounding amp regardless of anything!
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Same here. I'm even worse when it comes to a Leben cs300/600 amp - I wouldn't even need to switch them on.
They look as good as any HiFi can ever look.
 
Rug Doc said:
I adore this hobby but I wondered how many of us choose hifi components because the design initially attracts us rather than actually going to audition a load of things and buying because it sounds good and say screw it to the looks.

Especially in this the classic section? As loads of people love the classic gear, but surely it's as much aesthetic as the sound that comes out?

Furthermore as all amps sound the same etc etc, surely it's at least a 50% visually driven hobby?
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More than would care to admit if my experience selling is anything to go by.

Looks influence what we hear for sure, speakers being the worst culprit, especially size & colour.
 
But I do think a beautiful hifi rack like Stands Unique or HiFi racks makes average looking hifi look ace - so I would aim for great looking stand that works in room - with separates that sound good
 
It used to bug me if my Naim boxes had different shades of olive. Now I'm less bothered, having only one olive box amongst a sea of black and silver. But I don't think I could stomach the champagne gold of Accuphase or blingy tat. In a dark room, I have a mix of red and green lights, and I'm OK with that. The sound still comes first.
 
Purely on looks it would have to be... Pink Triangle PToo, with a Swedish Audio Technologies arm, Koetsu Red K Cartridge, Icon Audio PS3 Mk II Phono Stage, Marantz SL1 Pre, Marantz MA24 mono blocks into JBL L300 speakers. I suspect I could probably live with the sound it made as well.
 
FireMoon said:
Purely on looks it would have to be... Pink Triangle PToo, with a Swedish Audio Technologies arm, Koetsu Red K Cartridge, Icon Audio PS3 Mk II Phono Stage, Marantz SL1 Pre, Marantz MA24 mono blocks into JBL L300 speakers. I suspect I could probably live with the sound it made as well.
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Cool, when I was a teen the local HiFi store (in Västervik, Sweden) had L300's on demo. My 4331B's got mould in the cabinets so they are now rebuilt with unfinished DIY chipboard cabs. Not for looks...
 
Sound only for me.... most of my gear at times is in the form of PCB's laying on the carpet or sometimes in cases with no lids on to enable easy "tweaking"...
 
Both, though since discovering (through much comparative testing about a decade ago) that it's quite difficult to buy poor sounding hi-fi electronics, and that sonic differences are often trivial, the visuals are dominant today.

If something looks crap I wont buy it, however good the sound because there is just so much great looking kit around that sounds absolutely great.
A hair shirt amplifier from a backroom boffin, however good it sounds, just wont get a look in when I can pick up a vintage Pioneer or Marantz, built like a tank and sonically more than good enough.
 
Robert said:
Both, though since discovering (through much comparative testing about a decade ago) that it's quite difficult to buy poor sounding hi-fi electronics, and that sonic differences are often trivial, the visuals are dominant today.

If something looks crap I wont buy it, however good the sound because there is just so much great looking kit around that sounds absolutely great.
A hair shirt amplifier from a backroom boffin, however good it sounds, just wont get a look in when I can pick up a vintage Pioneer or Marantz, built like a tank and sonically more than good enough.
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I strongly disagree with that! Both phono stages and power amps (I tend to use only passive pres) can sound so different from one another that some can render the system unlistenable to me but others can transform the sound into the truly sublime ;)
 
Arkless Repairs said:
I strongly disagree with that! Both phono stages and power amps (I tend to use only passive pres) can sound so different from one another that some can render the system unlistenable to me but others can transform the sound into the truly sublime ;)
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No, differences between audio electronics are frequently grossly inflated IME.
Of course you can find dud equipment, either incompetently designed or compromised through choice but the market (mostly used in my case) is awash with excellent kit.
The biggest differentiator between phono stages is RIAA accuracy (impacting tonal colour) the LF roll-off characteristic chosen and loading. Plenty get this right including the stages found in many good vintage amplifiers. There is no excuse for even a budget amp/receiver from a major brand not having a quiet MM phono stage accurate to within say +/- 1dB down to say 35Hz.

Being a collector I have a room full of them!

Of course today most amplifiers don't include a phono stage, so we still need good alternatives like yours.
 
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