advertisement


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

Aesthetics, price, reputation, forum myths & personal bias will influence the sound you hear.

Price will be the pick of the bunch when listening to hifi equipment where bias is concerned.
Country of origin is another source of bias. British is always better than Japanese, yes?
 
Not really. I have quite a bit of Jap stuff and they do know how to make good kit when they want to.
I know that; I was suggesting bias, not reality. How many "audiophiles" turn up their noses to Pioneer, Yamaha and other popular Japanese brands? Except for a Scottish TT and Danish CD-P, my rig is all Japanese now.
 
I know that; I was suggesting bias, not reality. How many "audiophiles" turn up their noses to Pioneer, Yamaha and other popular Japanese brands? Except for a Scottish TT and Danish CD-P, my rig is all Japanese now.
Hm. MIne is from Portugal, China, Canada, England, USA, Norway and Germany (speakers) and Netherlands. Purely by chance, nothing from Japan.
 
In the early days the flat earthers discouraged many people from buying Jap stuff. I was never bothered what anyone else thought about my choice of hifi and ended up with quite an eclectic mix of kit during those stifling years some of which I still have today although only the Pioneer tuner gets any use now.
 
In the early days the flat earthers discouraged many people from buying Jap stuff.
I never understood why, except perhaps maybe they were replete with tone controls and other gizmos that purport to compromise sound quality.
 
A lot of the ‘flat earth’ speakers were low efficiency with very reactive loads dipping right down to 2 Ohms or below. Many Japanese amps don’t like this, same with Quad, Sugden etc. How much of this was deliberate marketing strategy I have no idea. My assumption is Japanese amps were likely designed with nice efficient monitors, NS1000s, JBLs etc. As ever synergy > individual component choice.
 
I really don't care what it looks like, if it works well.
Anyway these days, with an intelligent remote control system, you could put the hifi in a cupboard and never have to look at it (speakers excepted of course).
 
I care about looks mostly from a resale perspective. All else being equal, nice looking kit in good condition fetches a better price.
 
"Do you buy hifi because it looks good or sounds good?" - I own a Croft Micro II - does that answer the question? :D
 
"Do you buy hifi because it looks good or sounds good?" - I own a Croft Micro II - does that answer the question? :D
Afraid not. Unless you mean you don't care about either? :p
I did borrow and clone an early Micro about 30 years ago, and it was rather nice. Not in looks, obviously.
 
Both - always like the Quad "house design" although I appreciate simple black box understated design of my old Onix amp and simple unobtrusive design of my current amps. I never was particularly keen on the large VU meter/"mission control" look though.
 
My systems are completely Japanese, apart from the Welsh dac and transport. I like the minimalist look of my JVC M-3030's (look a bit like Quad 405's from the front) and the "mission control" look of the JVC M-L10 is growing on me, both sound much better than their looks imo.
 
Speakers = sonics first.

Most of the rest = An even balance between sonics, looks, functionality and build quality.
 
I won't buy hifi because it looks good. If it sounds good but looks vulgar or ugly, I will not buy it. Sorry I am superficial. :rolleyes:

Incidentally I find a lot of vintage gear to be attractive or utilitarian (which is also what I like). In contrast, I find lot of high end hifi to day to be vulgar or tacky in a Versace sort of way. Focal, D'agostino, Triangle Art, etc. Enough said.
 


advertisement


Back
Top