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

Not always, but i tend to like the sound signature from British... just personal taste
In the '70s, there were national sound signatures. The Germans liked boom and tizz, the Japanese fast and percussive, the British liked the BBC monitor sound, etc. Cultural differences, particularly in the types of music each country preferred. I am guessing that has narrowed now, due to cultural and commercial intermingling.
I blame the EU. :D
 
I bought a Meridian 602 CD Transport because it had great reviews at the time and it just happens to look good too. Still going strong.
 
I think too many people are scared or feel intimidated by asking for a demo.... at home preferably. Never buy equipment without listening.
 
Tony,
Agreed. I had an Audiolab M-DAC+ on home demo for over a week from Richer Sounds.

Ian

Ian,

Indeed.....If a dealer cant offer a home demo then they're not worth their salt IMO. Ok some will say you need to take on 'sale return etc' but once you are know to them often its done on trust.
 
In the '70s, there were national sound signatures. The Germans liked boom and tizz, the Japanese fast and percussive, the British liked the BBC monitor sound, etc. Cultural differences, particularly in the types of music each country preferred. I am guessing that has narrowed now, due to cultural and commercial intermingling.
I blame the EU. :D
+1 agree with you!
 
I think too many people are scared or feel intimidated by asking for a demo.... at home preferably. Never buy equipment without listening.
i personally would ask for a demo, but the problem in asia, demo isn't always available, specially home demo.
 
I think too many people are scared or feel intimidated by asking for a demo.... at home preferably. Never buy equipment without listening.
I've only been refused a home dem once. Before I bought my current car, I also asked for a home dem. That way, I know how it'll fit in my garage, what the headlights are like at night, and what my neighbours might think. ;)
 
I've only been refused a home dem once. Before I bought my current car, I also asked for a home dem. That way, I know how it'll fit in my garage, what the headlights are like at night, and what my neighbours might think. ;)
Ferrari!!!
 
Appearance is important, obviously, but it falls farther down in my own criteria than sonics. It is somewhat related to build quality to me. In either case (build quality or appearance) there would have to be two candidates with very similar performance and acquisition cost before either of those criteria would be the deciding factor, and I'd take build quality over appearance even in that case.

Were I made of money, I'd take all three into top consideration, but that's not me at the moment.

When I do DIY, I do like to spend a bit on appearance. In that case I feel it offers a "Pride of Ownership" premium that I value. When it comes to hobby craftsmanship, I like outcomes that belie the DIY roots; I like it when it looks OEM quality.

But the other two are still above it. Perhaps put another way, a heat sink is still a heat sink and you can't avoid the cost, but an ugly heat sink is still ugly; there is no or little extra cost penalty in choosing a nice looking one. Or, I am more impressed by the feel of a switch than it's appearance.

The "DIY Reality" is that enclosures are relatively expensive inputs, and even if you take extra effort to minimize that cost, it's still significant enough that a little extra doesn't make much difference in the overall Bill of Materials & Construction (BoM&C).

In contrast, with retail goods, given the standard 5x multiplier, a fancy face plate ends up costing a relatively large amount of actual $$, so I see it as a different situation.
 
The "DIY Reality" is that enclosures are relatively expensive inputs, and even if you take extra effort to minimize that cost, it's still significant enough that a little extra doesn't make much difference in the overall Bill of Materials & Construction (BoM&C).
I find that as I do all my own metalwork (including turning knobs) and woodwork, enclosures cost me very little. I had the birch ply and cherry veneer left over from a previous job, also the handles and ball feet. The transformer covers and 5mm aly plate cost about £50 total for two enclosures. But this style is not to everyone's liking.
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People do seem more obsessed with the looks of equipment than I could have possibly imagined 20 years ago... A few times I've thought it could be a good idea for a new product to offer something genuinely high end in performance but kept down to a good VFM price by being in an admittedly crap/industrial/home-made case with cheap plastic knobs etc etc... lets say an amp you would expect to pay £1000 for but reduced to £400 by these means and with the same innards as the £1000 one... I would have thought the impecunious audiophile would jump at this but nope, no way, they won't touch it with a barge pole!

On the other hand (and getting a bit off topic as appearance is not involved here) I've known things be doubled in price with no actual change other than "MkII" being added to the name and it suddenly flies out the door... go figure...
 
Exactly, vintage hifi is now seen as a cool, standalone item - even a piece of artwork in it's own right, so the whole hifi buying model has changed..
 
Most people have good looking interiors. Impecunious students and some renters are not so fortunate. But if you live in a 'nicely' decorated house, probably with significant others, then the kit you have for your hobby has to either look good (WAF) or stay out of sight. There has been a lot of plug ugly hifi over the years, my old Class A amp was one. Even today there are still too many pointless lights - several blue LEDs in my set up are on verge of distraction when the lights are low and I am in listening mode.
 
I reckon hifi manufacturers are missing an obvious trick here. Put a picture of a cat or dog on your equipment and the pfm fraternity will buy it by the truckload.
 
But if you live in a 'nicely' decorated house, probably with significant others, then the kit you have for your hobby has to either look good (WAF) or stay out of sight. There has been a lot of plug ugly hifi over the years, my old Class A amp was one.
I have a stack of Mana, big loudspeakers and an old class-A amp with its terminals on the front. I also have a dedicated listening room so my kit is out of sight. Nice coincidence, but I could not be happier.
 


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