advertisement


Name a 'beautiful' amplifier.

stevec67 said:
Your Miele vacuum sells alongside a Kirby that hasn't been redesigned since 1960-whenever. You may not find it attractive, but most of the consumers must, otherwise they wouldn't choose it.
Click to expand...

You are assuming people buy vacuum cleaners purely on aesthetics. I bought the Miele because a) it is a very good vacuum cleaner, b) it is made in the EU, and c) it has absolutely nothing to do with that exploitative Dyson Brexiter dickhead. The looks didn’t even come into the equation.
 
Tony L said:
You are assuming people buy vacuum cleaners purely on aesthetics. I bought the Miele because a) it is a very good vacuum cleaner, b) it is made in the EU, and c) it has absolutely nothing to do with that exploitative Dyson Brexiter dickhead. The looks didn’t even come into the equation.
Click to expand...
I'm not assuming anything of the kind.

some people may say the same of cars as you do a vacuum. It may be true in a few cases. However, people in general buy things that they like the look of. Otherwise vacuums would still look like the one my grandma had. Domestic boilers wouldn't come in a painted case, they would just be in "boilerhouse model" trim.
 
TimF said:
v70se_silver_6550.jpg



I always liked the Octave range of amplifiers. Simple, purposeful looks. The V 70 SE is one I would love to own, sounds wonderful with my Duevel Venus. Someday...maybe.
Click to expand...

Agree, combines old and new in a typical, efficient, clean German Bauhaus fashion without going over the top and use half the world's Alu resources for a case.
 
Brian S said:
Is it not the case that black boxes have dimensional characteristics that might define them as beautiful or ugly?

Brian S
Click to expand...
Golden ratio, absolutely. That's why the Linn Sondek has a black rim to the underside, it appears slimmer and more elegant. Same goes for bevelling the edges, all the rest.
 
I don't give single thought to what stuff looks like. Certainly not vacuum cleaners or toasters. The former is a Sebo Felix, which does a great job of, well, vacuum cleaning, the latter is a Sainsbury's owm brand which cost a tenner and which has lasted longer than any previous toaster I've owned.
 
Marchbanks said:
I still haven’t grasped why an old valve amp that looks like a 50s fridge is by definition inherently less well designed than a modern one that looks like a raygun from a 2021 sci-fi movie, if they contain pretty much the same complement of transformers, caps and resistors inside and the case is the only distinguishable difference.
Click to expand...
I’m making a distinction between what I think of as ‘design’ and ‘industrial design’. The former is the performance, the electronic design, and the latter has more to do with both aesthetics and functionality in the ‘form follows function’ sense. The industrial design aspects contribute to that notion of beauty, but also to how easy it is to live with the product, I think. So Alessi stuff is a fail, because it does the beauty but at the expense of functionality. Whereas a Max Bill wristwatch is both beautiful, and easy to use and live with. IMHO, obvs.
 
TimF said:
v70se_silver_6550.jpg



I always liked the Octave range of amplifiers. Simple, purposeful looks. The V 70 SE is one I would love to own, sounds wonderful with my Duevel Venus. Someday...maybe.
Click to expand...
Take a Leak TL12. Paint it silver. Erm, that'll do. Who's coming to the pub?
 
I think the introduction of other consumer products might dilute the purity of the ‘beautiful amplifier’ debate. It’s clear to me that the ‘beauty’ of some products goes way beyond their functionality for some, but for others the ‘beauty’ lies in its ability to continue to perform. When a manufacturer nails looks/function/reparability then they have nailed it in my book but I am not as far down that path as others here.

One big difference between audio and let’s say cars is that the functionality of modern vehicles is in a different universe to the forefathers. In my garage is a car designed in the 1930’s and built in the 1980’s. It’s a great car in many ways and I have driven it to Central Europe and back but in no way does its functionality stand comparison to my 21st century vehicle on the drive. With older audio designs, their performance can be the equal of modern designs with the added bonus of reparability, a bit like my 80’s Beetle but by almost every other criteria my 21st century car makes the bug look broken.

As for beautiful amplifiers, well I quite like the look of the hunky JVC 1010 I am using at the moment but I don’t think it’s beautiful and I fear there may be unobtainium parts in it. I much prefer the look of the A&R A60 which has a rather lovely small form Scandi look about it and is probably repairable in a way the JVC may not be.
 
Marchbanks said:
I still haven’t grasped why an old valve amp that looks like a 50s fridge is by definition inherently less well designed than a modern one that looks like a raygun from a 2021 sci-fi movie, if they contain pretty much the same complement of transformers, caps and resistors inside and the case is the only distinguishable difference.
Click to expand...
It depends what the design brief is. If the brief is to have an industrial item, then the Fridgetastic FridgyAmp is a winner. If you want something your wife will let you put in the lounge, it may not.
 
Joe Hutch said:
I don't give single thought to what stuff looks like. Certainly not vacuum cleaners or toasters. The former is a Sebo Felix, which does a great job of, well, vacuum cleaning, the latter is a Sainsbury's owm brand which cost a tenner and which has lasted longer than any previous toaster I've owned.
Click to expand...
Well, that's it decided then. All the industrial product designers have been wasting their time all these years.
 
stevec67 said:
It depends what the design brief is. If the brief is to have an industrial item, then the Fridgetastic FridgyAmp is a winner. If you want something your wife will let you put in the lounge, it may not.
Click to expand...
So the opposite could also apply if she’s not fond of Star Wars props, I suppose...

Is my vac designed to look like a modern bling-amp from this thread, or are modern bling-amps designed to look like my vac? (Personally, when I’ve finished using it I fold it across my chest and pretend I’m Luke Skywalker. The illusion lasts until I breathe in some of the dust and I start sneezing uncontrollably.)

51099155853_5af60b479a_z.jpg
 
Marchbanks said:
So the opposite could also apply if she’s not fond of Star Wars props, I suppose...

Is my vac designed to look like a modern bling-amp from this thread, or are modern bling-amps designed to look like my vac? (Personally, when I’ve finished using it I fold it across my chest and pretend I’m Luke Skywalker. The illusion lasts until I breathe in some of the dust and I start sneezing uncontrollably.)

51099155853_5af60b479a_z.jpg
Click to expand...
Blimey, gawd knows what that's supposed to look like! Is it from Men In Black?
 
gingermrkettle said:
Last seen being flipped out of the arena on Robot Wars.
Anyway, this?
Audio-Innovations-Alto-AM1-Integrated-Amplifier-Chrome-Grey.jpg
Click to expand...
At least AI tried with this... It’s a decent go and NOT a Black Box anyway. I understand budget kit sticking to safe and trusted forms... good design will add a whack to production costs if curves and unusual materials are involved, but once we are into the High End kit there’s no excuse not to try at least.
 
stevec67 said:
Take a Leak TL12. Paint it silver. Erm, that'll do. Who's coming to the pub?
Click to expand...
And the daft thing is, if they hadn’t painted it silver but left it the original colour it would (a) look much better and (b) they would have had more time in the pub. Just no telling some people.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top