Poll: Do the Visual Aesthetics of Audio Gear Affect Perceptions of Sonics?

Actually, it has been others here arguing semantics.

 

I’ve never met An arguing semantic

 

Pretty much anything can affect your "perception" of sonics so I'm not sure what the point of this question is

 

I couldn't find a thread for ugly components, just one for ugly speakers. I don't care how great their stuff is, Mytex gear is just garish.

 

Kinda with ya on that. Dash of the Bandit’s Trans Am

 

I don't think there's music serious enough to keep me from cracking up with these staring back at me!

 

Yes. My plain Odyssey mono-blocks make me think they will not sound as good as other brands, and boy am I wrong. Of course I could have chosen a different face-plate color, but plain old black will do.

 

No.

But it sure is nice when the gear looks fine!!

 

Think it depends on the person.

Back when audio was newer to me, how components looked was definitely more of a factor. Now I find myself not caring all that much. I'm looking for sound that gets an emotional reaction. Would I take an ugly system that did this over one that is gorgeous? Definitely. I don't stare at my system, I listen to it. As long as gear isn't smelly and dirty, ugly is fine.

While I don't think my AN AX-Twos are ugly by any stretch, I chose them over nicer looking ProAcs with real wood veneer. Why? They cost me less and sounded just as good.

Now, on some subconscious level, do looks have an effect? Probably, but I think after all these years I have learned to separate that from the equation and so the effect is about as low as it can possibly be.

I should mention as well, nowadays I don't see many components that are ugly. Some may be a little plain (e.g. Exposure) but most things look at least pretty good. Thus, I don't think the compromise one has to make for great sound (at the expense of looks) is all that great.

 

If the food is delicious, I "eat" with my nose first, then my eyes.

I might eat something that may not look that appealing (or I may not).

But, if there is anything about the smell that I don't care for, no way is it going near my mouth.

That kinda happened at a newly opened restaurant that opened a few years back, in out area.

The chef was very creative. He did different things with vegetables and potatoes, which were served with each dinner plate.

One day, I was eating there in the dining room which has reduced lighting.

The potatoes the he was serving was some sort of purple potato. It was mashed and put on the plate piped though a pastry bag, in a nice little pile.

It was kind of swirled around in a pile, which got narrower at the top.

Guess, what it looked like on the white dinner plate, under the subdued lighting?

 

Here is one from the Royal Institute.

How To Make Fake Poo - Psychology for Kids - ExpeRimental #26

 

Brussel sprouts? Vinegar? Not the best smelling foods but I eat them. There is this Asian fruit (Durian I think) that is supposed to smell almost revolting. I'd try it if I got the chance. It's just fruit, not poisonous and in fact I'm sure fairly healthy.

Mind over matter. And not much effort required since...it's just chocolate!!! Not exactly a Fear Factor scenario.

Our eyes and nose (and ears) may tell us a lot but it's good to recognize those times when they are deceiving us.

 

No.

Had many,many different systems over the past 30 years.
Price does not. Matter, nor does aesthetics.

It’s the speakers which ultimately give you the sound you need.
Amps and sources play a small role. But it’s the speakers that will be magical.
Most amps sound fairly similar, I did hear a pair which did change my mind, a brand called “Symphonic Line”
There was just something to the sound, most others sounded the same.

Anyway, my answer is no

 

But, I do find a bottle which reads 25 or 30 with dual cask storage worth the price, and the taste is superb compared to the measly 12, 15, 18, or 21 year single malt’s.
Bushmills has a very nice 21 year single malt Irish whisky. YUM

 

Poll: Do the Visual Aesthetics of Audio Gear Affect Perceptions of Sonics?

In my case no, but I understand why a person who has a listening room with high quality furniture and/or a wife would place importance on this...
I think about how wine judging contests are conducted by concealing the label to avoid bias... I prefer to use this approach.

 

For me the answer is Yes, but mostly in the 'honeymoon phase'.

I think it works like this: first you do some research on a piece of equipment you may want to buy. At that point, you have not heard it yet, but: you have seen it! This means that in your mind it is almost defined by how it looks (and of course what you read about its sonic performance). So when you start evaluating the piece in your system, you finally start listening but your perception of the piece is still clouded by the earlier 'visual only' definition. Then, as you keep listening, over time your a priori image of the piece will evaporate and in the end only its sonic performance really matters anymore. But that takes a while.

 

First impressions are the most important. You've heard this, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. If an audio component does not visually support the product's marketing it makes the sale harder. Sometimes the conflict will thwart sales. It's why credentialed industrial designers are the lead contributors to what everyday products look like. In the consumer electronics arena Sony and Mcintosh visual appearance contrast starkly, one uses history to make a statement of product worth, while the other uses the future to make a statement about the latest technology.

 

Not for me. The sound is it. Not that I don't appreciate nice looking equipment, but that is secondary.
My phono pre-amp (Hagerman Bugle w/ matching power supply on a "bread board") looks like a "kit", but I would not trade it for $1,000.

 

Good point.

 

I feel like people misunderstand the question. Its not about if you think it matters to you.
The question is if it can affect a human impression of the sound.

 

I suppose that would preclude responses to folks having conducted marketing studies of focused interest group's preferring one of two identical audio systems dressed in different facades.

 

Well thats what I mean, it doesnt matter what you think, only how things actually are.

 

Perhaps some marketing guru with a study or two will present his findings. My advertising agency represented businesses which had no need for marketing studies of this sort so I guess I'm a useless contributor.

 

Using that interpretation you are suggesting that the poll is asking people to answer yes or no, to the question, do they understand other people's biases. What would be the point of a poll that asks people to answer their thoughts on other peoples perceptions?
In general terms, yes looks affect performance. Everyone knows there are people that think red paint and chrome makes cars faster. If that is the point of the poll then basically the poll is asking if audiophiles understand marketing in general.

IMO the poll needs to be about the respondents experiences, not their interpretation of other's biases.

 

Hmm, I love the hammered metal look. I have a Brooklyn+ in for review now. It's a terrific component.