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And the record for the ugliest amp ... goes to Hi Fi rose !!

Just look at most Macintosh amps and I think you will find they are neck and neck in the competition for the first place of this honour. Of course, my favs might be others' ugly ducklings.
 
Grandinote products are, to these eyes, aesthetically unresolved, even though I'm sure they perform well

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Hmmm, yes. It’s just a tad over-designed.

I mean, anyone could be forgiven for first thinking that this on-show planetary volume control* and the volume level window above is all quite quirky and nice, but really, it’s atrocious...

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* See the tuning dial on Henry Kloss’s KLH radios from the 1950s (the inspiration for current Tivoli designs, ofc) for a neater implementation of the same idea. Or rather, don’t see it, as it’s all hidden.
 
I don't think the narrator in the video is that impressed with the design either. Quoting - 'I will go through the design, features and then specification of the amplifier. The Design...' Then says nothing for a few minutes!!
 
Someone please explain the "logic" of dial-style L/R volume meters in an up/down arrangement?

It's OK for an LCD, where one can instantly see any disparity between upper and lower, but ....
 
Tumeni Notes said:
Someone please explain the "logic" of dial-style L/R volume meters in an up/down arrangement?

It's OK for an LCD, where one can instantly see any disparity between upper and lower, but ....
Click to expand...
The whole thing is something of a masterclass in how not to do good industrial design, isn't it.
 
No shortage of ugly from chord and Manley. The poly in particular has the aesthetic charm of a politician’s avarice.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
The whole thing is something of a masterclass in how not to do good industrial design, isn't it.
Click to expand...

That's probably closer to 'decoration' than 'design' as I define it.

And yet... while the purist in me wants to run and rinse my eyeballs with bleach, there is a certain quaint HG Wells/Jules Verne vibe about it.

I would seriously consider it if manipulating any of the controls triggered the clunking, grinding sounds of heavy machinery, chains and pulleys being activated behind that front panel. The occasional hiss of escaping steam...

And I'd like the remote control to be fashioned in the form of a harpoon, please.
 
paulfromcamden said:
The clockwork-y volume control thing is a bit nuts.

I'm all for lots of knobs and switches 70s Sansui stylee but why use six different styles of control on one amp?!
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Focus groups.

‘We’re getting feedback suggesting folk with lots of disposable income really like to buy those watches that have got the, y’know, coggy things all showing. Any chance we could build some of those in?’
 
TheTim De Paravicini Hi-Fi News HFN009 headphone amp is proper ugly - think sticky-backed plastic shoe box with a knob at the front.
 
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