Aesthetics - how important are they?

[GT]

My experience as a manufacturer of 25 years is whatever you make, someone will always want something different, or something you don't make...

 

[Arkless Electronics]

I’m a car guy but I like everything to look factory original... modifications that improve performance however, bring them on!

I’ve had quite few young lads pull up next to me in my golf and try and race me off the lights (It’s a yellow GTI, like a red rag to a bull for them), it’d beat them in stock form, but mine isn’t stock, and it leaves them for dust.

Even funnier was when a Citroen C2 pulled up next to this, loud exhaust, popping little flames (from a flame kit he’d installed)... I let him get a head start.

Street sleepers are where it's at! All go and no show... just like hi fi should be

 

[Arkless Electronics]

My experience as a manufacturer of 25 years is whatever you make, someone will always want something different, or something you don't make...

...and if you give them loads of choice to try and cater for all options they don't want it cos then they can't decide and are paranoid that they may not have picked the "best" version!

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

My experience as a manufacturer of 25 years is whatever you make, someone will always want something different, or something you don't make...

...and if you give them loads of choice to try and cater for all options they don't want it cos then they can't decide and are paranoid that they may not have picked the "best" version!

I suggest you two set up a new joint venture: Hobson’s Audio.

 

[Rockmeister]

There's no excuse for yellow cars, unless you're driving a taxi in New York.

and less for gold. Blimey.

 

[Big John]

Street sleepers are where it's at! All go and no show... just like hi fi should be

I used to have a MK1 Rover SD1 mk2 rear window for the wiper & glass fibre Vitesse front with a crap paint job, front brakes Jaguar XJS discs and calipers much bigger than Vitesse brakes Vitesse wheels suspension lowered 2" strut tops rotated 16 degrees to restore caster and camber angles, group A gearbox, selected engine block with Toyota diesel liners Omega pistons an Iceberg crank offset ground group A rods & push rods high torque cam professional big valve heads, 4 carbs, modded ignition, engine capacity 4.3 litres, my old heap gave 126 bhp at the back wheels at 1150 rpm revved to 6750 310-325 bhp dependent on ignition timing, torque 375 ft lbs at 4250 rpm it surprised a few beemers. My system is the same

 

[Minio]

nah...amber. The only truly cool uncool colour

Modern Yamaha amps get heaps of street cred for exactly that.
You want to love them before you've even heard them.

 

[RXH2]

I'm very much in the form must follow function camp. Also, if I have to look at the hi-fi, I want to see something pleasing but largely unobtrusive. I don't like red displays tho, they remind me of old clock radios...give me cool blue.
Many years ago a work colleague asked me about buying a hi-fi. Myself and another work mate told him to audition the usual amps, NAD, Arcam, Audiolab...he bought a large Japanese receiver because it had more knobs, buttons and switches..32 in all. He also bought a BSR programmable turntable...more buttons.
He said he like music but actually he like pressing buttons..

 

[Romulus]

I don't like B&O components, for me they look very retro, objects which originated from original Star Trek series, trying their best not to look like HiFi... Also I don't like over the top expensive speaker designs which go out of their way to look different, even bring some sense of humour into the proceedings but end up looking rather a clumsy monstrosity . Apart from that have no problems with most designs, however I do tend to lean for 'handsome' looking equipment.

 

[Strictly Stereo]

It is clearly a very significant factor in most people's hifi purchasing decisions. It is equally clear that not everyone likes the same things.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

I don't like B&O components, for me they look very retro, objects which originated from original Star Trek series, trying their best not to look like HiFi...

I absolutely love the B&O stuff from the ‘70s. One day I may buy some, even if it is non functioning*, just to have and to look at.

*better still if it works properly, though.

 

[Jonathan]

aesthetics should be everything to a forum dedicated to sound quality. it's not as though 'aesthetics' exist only in the visual domain.

 

[Arkless Electronics]

I absolutely love the B&O stuff from the ‘70s. One day I may buy some, even if it is non functioning*, just to have and to look at.

*better still if it works properly, though.

Looks great, sounds good but is quite poorly made and tends to be unreliable.

 

[linnfomaniac83]

There's no excuse for yellow cars, unless you're driving a taxi in New York.

I respect your opinion... it’s wrong but I respect it.

 

[linnfomaniac83]

and less for gold. Blimey.

If you don’t like my car aesthetics, maybe you’ll like my HIFI instead... if not, we can’t be friends!

 

[James]

Good aesthetic design is timeless, functional and intuitive to use.

I really rate the aesthetic of the Yamaha NS-1000M. Yamaha must have done something right to make a loudspeaker that was available for sale for almost a quarter century and is still highly desired a quarter century after production was stopped. That it sounds absolutely wonderful is almost secondary to this discussion, if looks didn't matter.

 

[James]

There's no excuse for yellow cars, unless you're driving a taxi in New York.

To be fair, not all cars look good in yellow. The Suzuki Swift Sport does.

 

[linnfomaniac83]

To be fair, not all cars look good in yellow. The Suzuki Swift Sport does.

And a Golf GTI (in my opinion of course).

 

[gints]

Easy answer, look how big is system pics topic.

 

[Wolfmancatsup]

I appreciate good design and build quality and will always happily pay for it. I never confuse that with bling. Just really good industrial design along with long-term serviceability. To be honest it is another reason I have little interest in so much modern hi-fi as things have moved way too far from ‘form dictated by function’ to my mind. I certainly have no time for all the huge CNC-machined ‘bling for the sake of bling’ high-end stuff, it is extraordinarily ugly IMHO. I’ll take the timeless classics every time.

Argh! I have CNC milled boxes *and* blue LEDs!