What do you prioritize in your system SQ or asthetics ?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Khorn, Feb 21, 2018.

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  1. PooreBoy

    PooreBoy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lake City, TN
    For me it's the sound. If it looks nice then that's just a bonus.
     
  2. ralf11

    ralf11 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    buy a black panel for it & remove the lift handles
     
  3. Khorn

    Khorn Dynagrunt Obversarian Thread Starter

    I remember way back after I sold my McIntosh stuff I went out and bought the then new Bryston 1b and 4b combo. Some friends dropped over
    (non audiophiles) and were really impressed with the sound saying they could actually hear defined lyrics. I wondered what the heck the we’re accustomed to listening to!

    At one point they started laughing so I asked what’s up. They pointed at the two Bryston “black boxes” and wondered aloud “how they could sound so good as they didn’t have shiny face plates,flashing lights and a bunch of big shiny knobs.

    So much for good looks!
     
    Kyhl likes this.
  4. ukrules

    ukrules Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kentucky
    Good sound is easy...integrating gear into a good design is often the challenge given restrictions of budget, room, wife, etc.
     
  5. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Central PA
    I don't see why you can't have aesthetics in your choice of equipment along with sound quality. You just need to work a little harder at it to achieve both goals.
     
    ukrules and rischa like this.
  6. Khorn

    Khorn Dynagrunt Obversarian Thread Starter

    The definition of “GOOD LOOKING ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS “ anybody? I’m talking about the “boxes” that sit on your shelves or rack.

    FORGET speakers in this case as many are real works of art. Even some simple ones because of the outer materials they use.
     
  7. ukrules

    ukrules Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kentucky
    Naim
     
  8. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    [​IMG] Both!
    I love it to sound good AND look good.
     
  9. docwebb

    docwebb Forum Resident

    What do you think? This isn't Better Homes and Gardens.....it's the Steve Hoffman music forums!
     
  10. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    Sound but if it has blue meters that look nice that's OK too.
     
  11. whaleyboy

    whaleyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    This! I want the room to be enjoyable with and without music playing so I strive for a balance between looks and sound. A great system that is not completely optimized is way better than no system at all.
     
  12. Werner Berghofer

    Werner Berghofer Forum Resident

    Both sound quality and aesthetics are important for me. I prefer reduced minimalistic product design with a high-quality manufacturing quality. That’s why I don’t like British gear with the typical script typeface on the front plate or the typical US American “brute force heavy duty bigger is better” look.

    Forgive me ;-)
     
    Kyhl likes this.
  13. ukrules

    ukrules Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kentucky
    Your German...you can't help it...please don't change!
     
  14. Werner Berghofer

    Werner Berghofer Forum Resident

    No, I’m an Austrian from Vienna. I just decided to spend most of my retirement time very close to the North Sea coast ;-)
     
  15. quicksilverbudie

    quicksilverbudie quicksilverbudie

    Location:
    Ontario
    They are on the floor(s) between amps and speakers 1 on each side of the MONO Blocks>
    I don't keep them on more than 4 hours .
    5 years no issues so far> thanks for the advise!

    :agree:

    sean
     
  16. quicksilverbudie

    quicksilverbudie quicksilverbudie

    Location:
    Ontario
    I get you, the lava helps me get centered to the sound stage...very sweet sound stage> perhaps 1-2 feet .

    sean
     
  17. Shiver

    Shiver Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Those AR handles do suggest more industrial than domestic inclinations. I like 'em but could see why they'd look odd amongst other stuff at home.

    And thinking about it, I had mismatched black amp and silver CDP from the same range - latter because it was a bargain - and that grated a bit. Call it sound-prioritising, or just cheap!
     
    Kyhl likes this.
  18. irender

    irender Forum Resident

    Sound when I'm listening, looks when I'm not.
     
  19. Kyhl

    Kyhl On break

    Location:
    Savage
    Sure, if you want to throw money at it.

    I bought the LS27 used at less than half of retail, from a dealer, with a warranty and including shipping. Not bad for a current model but I took what was available for the price.

    The Gungnir MB was purchased as a factory blemish, discounted.

    Both bang for the buck. I could have thrown more money at other items or options that work on the same level and look nicer but I don't want to do that.
     
  20. Kyhl

    Kyhl On break

    Location:
    Savage
    To me, the definition of good looking must include symmetry. Just about anything from VAC is designed with symmetry in mind. McIntosh's big blue meters wouldn't look so sexy if they were mounted to one side of the box.

    Anything with knobs mounted willy-nilly and offset displays. Not sexy.
     
  21. allied333

    allied333 Audiophile

    Location:
    nowhere
    Ears are not great now. So, huge ugly & great sounding Klipsch Cornwalls replaced with bookshelf speakers.
     
  22. Bigbudukks

    Bigbudukks Older, but no wiser.

    Location:
    Gaithersburg, MD
    I think I dated her once. Does she still eat like a horse? :D

    For me it's always been the sound. That's why I'm here. If sound wan't the priority I probably wouldn't know audio forums exist. Aesthetics? It's electrical equipment! I'm not the kind of guy who walks around the neighborhood saying things like, "Wow! those power line transformers really are good looking, aren't the honey?".

    Obviously I'm not married. I've yet to meet a woman who doesn't take a rather dim view of a stack of stereo equpiment that can actually be seen. Ew! Ick! :shrug:
     
  23. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Sound quality is my priority, as well. My gear looks really cool to me, it's just the wires that are snaking all over the place that can look like clutter. I envy the guys that place the cables so neatly and unobtrusive.
     
  24. blair207

    blair207 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Fife, Scotland
    I like the look of Cyrus Gear
     
  25. JoeSmo

    JoeSmo SL1200 lover....

    Location:
    Maidstone
    SQ first and foremost and then try to make the most of the awkward resulting aesthetic afterwards. Currently my setups visually quite nice looking but that’s because I’ve no extra power supplies feeding pre-amps or CD Players.....
     
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