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

Rug Doc

pfm Member
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?
 
Definitely sound, though if I'm honest, the only bit of kit that I own that draws any comments from visitors with respect to looks is the Michell Hydraulic reference, which is a thing of beauty and when I saw it in the shop window many years ago I was immediately drawn to it.
 
Both! I don’t care how good some bling-fi with dazzlingly bright blue LEDs sounds I couldn’t bare to be in the room with it!

As one of the classic/vintage kit fans here I’ll also argue I buy it as I feel much modern audio has lost its way. Whenever I walk around shows etc I’m frequently annoyed by tizzy, thin, forward, lean and bright presentations that sound nothing at all like either music or a studio control room to my ears. I’m convinced many are either stone deaf or somehow confuse brightness with detail.

To my ears there is very little out there that is anywhere near the quality of say a 60 year old pair of Quad IIs or Leak driving ESLs, big Tannoys, BBC monitors or whatever. I love digital audio though so I’ll happily conceed sources and the general accessibility of music has improved exponentially. The best approach is to mix and match the best of all eras.
 
My current system is based around a set of speakers that I loved the look of as a teen, the NS1000 and I was lucky enough to find a pair of the XW versions. Then I started searching for matching components and Mcintosh really interested me (I have a full Mcintosh system in the car, so know it's good.) but mainly because the MC275 is just such a good looking piece of kit.

Then the Yamaha B-2 was found, then the C-2 etc and now I'm a fully fledged fan of their ethos. Happily it all sounds decent too. But it was a desire to own because of looks rather than actually listening to it.
 
Looks matter. You simply cannot separate the sound from the vision. Impossible - plus the manufacturers know this, especially so when you have a partner etc. Your mind is quicker than you are. I think studies have shown that your subconscious often makes a decision milliseconds before you even realise it.

So it's just a question of how much more that the sound matters to you. I'm now at the stage that some ugly piece of HiFi bling would have to sound pretty fantastic for me to put up with. My days of any colour as long as its black have long gone, nowadays its maple or rosewood or even white so it disappears against the walls. Red or green LEDs are cool too!
 
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I would convince myself this is a great sounding amp regardless of anything!
 
Ah those hypnotically blue McIntosh meters :). That look seemed to reflect the house-sound of McIntosh. I built a system around the bling. I grew up, though. Now it's mainly about finding the sound I like and if the component looks good, that is just a bonus. Of course, I did order my amp in black instead of silver. Ha ha.
 
You do not spend a lot of money on an ugly watch (well, there is some opinion on some watches, but generally true, no?)

Who would buy a Bentley or a Ferrari if most people thought it was ugly?

Same applies to hifi - why spend money on ugly? Most (clearly not all!) brands, big or small, will want to make their product look attractive, match the rest of the 'brand' and a boat load of marketing speak.

If my wife ever allowed me to spend £50,000 on a system, she (and I) would expect it look the part.

Bang & Olufsen, as an example, have understood the importance of looks for years.
 
Both but I’m not into bling or oversized boxes at all, compact, cool, elegant and understated are where it’s at for me... with the exception of the Michell Gyro and Orbe and of course the Hydraulic Ref, they’re design classics.

Kit such as Modwright and Esoteric might sound very good but I couldn’t stand to look at it every day.
 
I do a lot of listening in the dark as things are just so much more real without the visual cues or where the speakers and walls are. I have no issue with tubes gently glowing and the odd muted red or green LED, but anything more intrusive than that would need to have a display off option or whatever. This really is critical for me and I’d reject kit that tries to light up a dark room. It is the main reason I detest blue LEDs so much, you could land a helicopter with most of them.
 
What Tony said above. I have Croft Micro 25 pre and Series 7 amps, about as bling as a Model T Ford, but I love them for sound, and quite frankly, their Spartan looks. Simple, tiny green LED's for power and that is about it. Nightime listening, no laser beam lighting. Just wonderful music. That is what I want these days.
 
But the kit still has to look OK in the daylight and when not being used. Unless you go for the shut away in a cabinet look of the old Radiograms and custom cabinets.
 
I really do not care about the looks, and I think most HiFi enthusiasts would take sound quality over looks. Of course a lot of people need to deal with WAF he he, so are forced into buying things that are an aesthetic fit rather than for sonic reasons as most of us have our systems in a living room.
 
But the kit still has to look OK in the daylight and when not being used. Unless you go for the shut away in a cabinet look of the old Radiograms and custom cabinets.

Though that is personal taste, e.g. I think the subtle understated yet very cleverly thought-out aesthetics of vintage Quad, Leak, Thorens etc is just beautiful to the point of being art/sculpture, others prefer the to my eyes in-yer-face bling of modern Chord, McIntosh, Boulder, MBL, Modwright or whatever. No right answer here!
 
Both. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't influenced by the aesthetic appearance of the hifi gear I've purchased. This was especially the case during my formative years, when the more retro and more "statement making" the gear was the better. Growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s I thought the 70s was the coolest era ever, and this led to my acquisition of the likes of the Yamaha CR-1000, CR-2020, CR-2040, Pioneer SX-1250, Akai AA-1200, Akai GXC-570D, Akai GXC-760D, Teac A-3440, IMF RSPM MKIV, JR149, JR150, etc. But I also thoroughly researched all of this gear before I bought it to make sure it's performance lived up to its aesthetic hype. These days my aesthetic preferences have mellowed and become a little more tasteful / understated, but I still listen with both my ears and eyes, which is why I could never have a stack of black shoeboxes at the heart of my system (no offence to Linn, Meridian or Naim owners! ;) ).
 
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