How important is how your hi-fi looks?

[newlash09]

But highly rated..yes...there is something called as the Cyrus sound. Supposed to be Pacey and clear. Unlike the naims , which are Pacey but with very low daping.

 

[Al ears]

But if you are limited like me to place the speakers where they are evident to one and all Wouldn't you want them to look good too

I wasn't referring to the speakers these obviously have to be out in the open

 

[newlash09]

I guess you want to know how that parasound sounds. Since you've been keen on one. Unfortunately I presently have them in an less than optimal setup. They are present paired with 50 pound lenco speakers. But all is not lost. Those same speakers paired with the lenco hifi was absolutely unbearable to my ears. After plugging them out and adding the parasound to the mix, there is a really huge difference. I know the usual viel being lifted stuff and also the wife hearing the difference. But honestly those cheap lenco's paired with that parasound are a different beast from what they initially were.

 

[newlash09]

90% of those 1000 pound qacoustics concept 40's. IAM solidly in the amp is important camp

 

[chebby]

Looks are, to my mind, there to impress your mates..... don't think they would be impressed with my setup ...

Ask them.

 

[Nelis87]

Looks are, to my mind, there to impress your mates..... don't think they would be impressed with my setup.

Sonically it's brilliant but looks? I can only wish....

Or to get the WAF

 

[Nelis87]

Looks matter to me. My setup is in my living room and I want it to look clean and modern. The oldskool hifi stuff just doesnt appeal to me and no matter how good Cyrus may sound it will never buy it because of how its looks. I'm a fan of the more common 43cm components, like Onkyo a9150, Vincent sv500 etc.

Maybe half width is not for you. All I can say is that I had three amps consecutively on home loan. Roksan and Arcam were full width.

By far the best sound and the one I chose was Cyrus. To me it's absolutely unthinkable that I could have based the choice on looks.

If you haven't properly heard Cyrus, maybe it's better that you never do in case you discover what you're ruling out. (Though to be fair, you did say you didn't care how good it sounded!)

I didnt mean to bash Cyrus, I know they sound good. The disign just isnt my thing. But yeah that is true, I dont like the look (formfactor) of Rega Brio either. That said I dont buy based on looks, I just dont demo amps I dont find physically appealing cause I dont see myself buying them. Luckily there is still a pretty good selection of full width amps.

 

[tonky]

Looks are, to my mind, there to impress your mates..... don't think they would be impressed with my setup.

Sonically it's brilliant but looks? I can only wish....

Or to get the WAF

What is WAF?

tonky

 

[Nelis87]

Looks are, to my mind, there to impress your mates..... don't think they would be impressed with my setup.

Sonically it's brilliant but looks? I can only wish....

Wife acceptance/approval factor. Sorry, nerdy internet slang.

Or to get the WAF

What is WAF?

tonky

Wife acceptance/approval factor. Sorry, nerdy internet slang.

 

[Al ears]

Looks are, to my mind, there to impress your mates..... don't think they would be impressed with my setup.

Sonically it's brilliant but looks? I can only wish....

Wife acceptance/approval factor. Sorry, nerdy internet slang.

Or to get the WAF

What is WAF?

tonky

Wife acceptance/approval factor. Sorry, nerdy internet slang.

Luckily WAF doesn't enter into it at present because system is in large bedroom and not living room where we entertain guests....

If it was wife might have different ideas.

 

[tonky]

Looks are, to my mind, there to impress your mates..... don't think they would be impressed with my setup.

Sonically it's brilliant but looks? I can only wish....

Wife acceptance/approval factor. Sorry, nerdy internet slang.

Or to get the WAF

What is WAF?

tonky

Wife acceptance/approval factor. Sorry, nerdy internet slang.

I suppose the only answer can be LOL.

cheers tonky

 

[Vladimir]

Wallet Acceptance Factor

 

[Al ears]

Wallet Acceptance Factor

A complete archaic factor recently superceded by CCAF ( credit card acceptance factor)

 

[davidf]

But if you are limited like me to place the speakers where they are evident to one and all Wouldn't you want them to look good too

Of course you would. Other than a small group of people within this niche market who really don't care what their system looks like (either single or their other half lets them get away with it), most people want their hi-fi system to look good too. Would anyone go out and buy a pig ugly car? Nissan Juke owners aside, ugly cars were left back in the 80s and 90s (Metros). Nowadays it's just bland looking cars that are all starting to look they're from the same manufacturer.

As you say newlash, people do have less space nowadays, or aren't willing to give up too much space to a system they use a few times a week, so the likes of wardrobe speakers are out of the question, as are a rack of separates. And unless a cupboard is handy, the system will be on show. And whatever they get has to be able to sound great in a small space - only a small percentage actually does.

This is one reason why I started what I'm doing - high quality, compact hi-fi that is able to work in small rooms. I do bigger stuff too, but most hi-fi stores only tend to keep a handful of products that fit this criteria, and half of that is by default.

 

[davidf]

90% of those 1000 pound qacoustics concept 40's. IAM solidly in the amp is important camp

The amp is very important. Very few people get the most out of small speakers. They either presume small speakers don't need particularly powerful amps, or only need cheap amps. Most wouldn't upgrade to a better amp with small speakers - they'll buy bigger speakers, and usually end up with a sound that is worse because the amp they had can't control large speakers.

 

[steve_1979]

The looks of a hifi is situation dependant. In my man cave the asthetics aren't too improtant. I'd still rather it look good than not but the way it sounds is by far my primary concern here.

In the living room or elsewhere in the house asthetics become much more important as the hifi becomes part of the furnature and is shared be other people so it's only fair to take their views and opinions into account too.

 

[jmjones]

Function over looks for me, it's a bonus if it looks pretty. A mate of mine had an Alchemist Kraken in pride of place on top of his rack (made operating the turntable lid awkward on the lower shelves!!). Vastly varied opinions on the visuals of the monster. He loved it.

If you get stuck on the appearance, you can always do what I did. Buy an AVI "sideboard" and hide the lot.

 

[Vladimir]

Visual aesthetics affect percieved sonic performance and overall derived pleasure from the experience.

 

[CnoEvil]

Visual aesthetics affect percieved sonic performance and overall derived pleasure from the experience.

True....but not always the case.

I love the look of the expensive Chord stuff....but can hardly sit in the room with it, especially if turned up loud. I've also heard great looking speakers from Triangle and Focal, which I didn't enjoy at all.

 

[Vladimir]

My epos es14 speakers (preowned) cost 100£ - perceived value - fantastic - aesthetically - their ok - but at that price I don't really care.

They look good in white and natural wood finish. Black ash... meh.

This guy did an awesome job IMO.

 

[chebby]

Yep. That oh-so righteous 'knocked together in a mate's garage with no concession to aesthetics' look takes just as much design effort to get right as B&O.

 

[tonky]

I think most hifi equipment looks acceptable enough for the majority. Obviously some people will compromise with speakers (available room size etc) But even smaller speakers require a decent stand). Most hifi equipment is placed at the room extremeties and might be some distance from prying eyes (and hands).

My epos es14 speakers (preowned) cost 100£ - perceived value - fantastic - aesthetically - their ok - but at that price I don't really care.

cheers tonky

 

[tonky]

My epos es14 speakers (preowned) cost 100£ - perceived value - fantastic - aesthetically - their ok - but at that price I don't really care.

They look good in white and natural wood finish. Black ash... meh.

This guy did an awesome job IMO.

They look great. He's done a very nice job - mine are in a nice (original) wood finish - totally unblemished and with the original custom stands (black ash speakers - agreed - awful)

cheers Tonky

 

[Al ears]

My epos es14 speakers (preowned) cost 100£ - perceived value - fantastic - aesthetically - their ok - but at that price I don't really care.

They look good in white and natural wood finish. Black ash... meh.

This guy did an awesome job IMO.

They look great. He's done a very nice job - mine are in a nice (original) wood finish - totally unblemished and with the original custom stands (black ash speakers - agreed - awful)

cheers Tonky

Agree. Used to be they default colour. No idea where or why so much black ash was produced. ;-)

 

[CnoEvil]

One of the best sounding systems that I've heard, looked like it had been knocked together by students in their school workshop....and was in fact from Audio Note.

I would be delighted to own it.