How important is speaker design?

[admin_exported]

In how they look, that is.

My speakers are in the lounge, which means they have to function as a piece of furniture as well as their intended purpose, or so my partner tells me.

She has a point - remember how the CRT TVs, especially those widescreen behemoths, used to dominate lounge rooms, and the lengths people went to to hide them in cabinets? Loudspeakers can be large items, and there's nothing like a pair of overblown stand or floor mounts to ruin your carefully-chosen decor.

Can't help thinking of my now-retired Epos speakers, which were consigned to corners where they couldn't be seen, no matter what the impact on the sound was, as compared to the Sonus Faber Minimas I now have, which are allowed out of the corners and to be 8 inches from the wall. The only problem is that it's my duty to dust and polish them.

So, when you're choosing speakers, do you consider how they'll look in you room? If so, would you not buy better sounding speakers if they were ugly, and choose instead those with slighly inferior sound but stunning looks?

 

[idc]

Tarquinh, tell your partner it is part of the new alarm system you have had installed and you can use it is an occasional table and where is that music coming from..................................?

 

[chebby]

Hmmm £11,000 B&O Beolab 5 active speakers? Tasty.

Tell the wife they are humidifiers.

 

[up the music]

Hmm, my system is a bit dominant in my room. Is this why I'm still single?

I go for sound in a 13 by 17 ft room, build and price. Looks are way down my list. I'd even go for those uglies above if I could afford them and they sounded OK.

 

[chebby]

up the music: I'd even go for those uglies above if I could afford them and they sounded OK.

They sound more than OK.

I heard them as front speakers in an all B&O home theatre set-up worth over £40k and they are awesome.

 

[idc]

Sound over looks any day, or else who would buy these.......................................?

Speaker placement is a pain unless you have a dedicated room. One reason I switched to ipod and speaker dock was because so many compromises were being made with regards to where the speakers would fit in to the living room.

 

[Anonymous]

I think as long as the speakers don't fall in one of the two extremes (stunning or very ugly) I go by sound quality -or at least that's what I have myself believe 🙂

Good looking speakers also tend to bias your judgement of sound quality as you start having a natural tendency to them, but not enough to compensate if they sound rubbish.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Ah, but you can have style AND substance, which is why I use these beauties at home:

Oh, and one of these

 

[Anonymous]

Very important!

The only reason I was allowed to upgrade both my AV and HiFi speakers was due to their size and age.

In the lounge I had 4 Ruark epilogies and a Dialoge speaker in various trims but mostly "80s" black. My Hifi Speakers were a lovely set of Ruark Prologues again in black.

My wife didnt like either so I bought the MA Radius setup for the lounge (very descrete) and the Quads for the HiFi room (beautiful finish).

Personally, I think almost all High end speakers look great.

 

[AEJim]

Sales-wise the "wife acceptance factor"ÿhas become more and important over the years - even in the 90's hi-fi was still very much a niche realm and mainly purchased by single men! (generalising a tad there! 😉)

With the advent of "home-cinema" and flat-panel TV's (without their own audio in many early cases), Hi-Fi/AV has become much more commonplace in the average home and as such has had to evolve to be "prettier" for acceptance amongst premium furniture.

With high-end speakersÿyou can spend more on quality materials and so can make them look more impressive, more easily, than with budget models - where you have to rely far more on good styling and clever use of detailing.

Actually if you spend your money you can sometimes have too much control, as our South West Sales Manager has proved with her choice of custom finish on our AE1's - money can't buy taste!

ÿ

ÿ

 

[d_a_n1979]

Agreeing with Clare re the sub; the PV1 goes very well with out B&W XT surround sound speaker package. The fact that my other half loves the slimline speakers, theyre metallic finish and the sub is great

She didnt like my M/A RS6's and Arcam system in the living room but loves her Cyrus and B&W CM7 system in her room as it gels with the furniture!

Looks are alot to do with the buying of equipment as they are integral parts of the furniture; i think thats why many manufacturers have the various finishes now inc. the AE Classics with the Pink finish above; IMO, they look cool!

 

[Anonymous]

AEJim:
Sales-wise the "wife acceptance factor"ÿhas become more and important over the years - even in the 90's hi-fi was still very much a niche realm and mainly purchased by single men! (generalising a tad there! 😉)

With the advent of "home-cinema" and flat-panel TV's (without their own audio in many early cases), Hi-Fi/AV has become much more commonplace in the average home and as such has had to evolve to be "prettier" for acceptance amongst premium furniture.

With high-end speakersÿyou can spend more on quality materials and so can make them look more impressive, more easily, than with budget models - where you have to rely far more on good styling and clever use of detailing.

Actually if you spend your money you can sometimes have too much control, as our South West Sales Manager has proved with her choice of custom finish on our AE1's - money can't buy taste!

ÿ

ÿ

My wife would love these 🙂

 

[Anonymous]

I am sure your Speakers are top draw Clare. Is the football at the bottom of your post for practising "keepy uppy" while you are listening to them?

 

[jaxwired]

I personally don't like giant speakers anyway regardless of the sound. I just don't want huge speakers. That's one reason I really like the new Spendor A5. It's tiny for a floorstander.

For me it does not matter anyway since I cannot put my hi fi in the living room. It would be unprotected all day from the 2 rug rats. The speakers would be chipped and scratched (like all my other once nice furniture) with depressed tweeters after one day with these hellions. Plus, my wife has zero interest in hi fi so my hi fi is relegated to a spare bedroom with other unimportant junk (my wife's opinion).

I just dream of the day that I can listen without constanty yelling "no, NO!, don't touch, that's daddy's toy, not yours. NO!!!" LOL!

 

[jubair]

I have to say one of the main reasons I bought the spendor a5's recently was the compact size and beautiful timeless design. They have a minimalist look, the build quality is great and they look like real items of furniture. I didn't even comsider standmounts as they just don't look elegant to me

Unfortunately there isn't a lot of choice when it comes to good quality compact floorstanders...i could only find the pmc gb1i, totem staff and hawk, dali mentor 5 and maybe neat motive 2. I'm surprised manufacturers don't try and make more small floorstanders. I don't have a dedicated listening room and have to use my lounge which is reasonably sized at 3.5m x 8m. I wouldn't want anything much bigger than the spendors, even the MA rs6 i previously had felt too big.

 

[jaxwired]

jubair:

I have to say one of the main reasons I bought the spendor a5's recently was the compact size and beautiful timeless design.

Jubair,

How do you like the spendors? Can you give us a mini review? I'd be grateful. Thanks.

 

[jubair]

i'm still awaiting delivery. I ordered them in wenge and they are our of wenge cabinets at the moment so delivery has been delayed. Should get them at the end of the month hopefully. I'll post a review once I've experienced them at home.

 

[Anonymous]

I had a side by side audition of the A5 & A6 speakers this afternoon and took along my amp and cables. They are the best speakers I've auditioned by a long long long way. Build and finish are superb. The A5's have an incredible sound for their very compact size, great controlled bass and an amazing soundstage but the same songs through the A6 simply jaw dropping. It was nice to hear them for myself after reading all the reviews and every review I've read is spot on after hearing them for myself. Even the salesman was staggered when he listened in as up until then he preferred the A5's. So the wife's now putting me on the game to help me pay for them

Only found out today that the Hi-fi shop I went to demo the speakers is closing down

butwithout prompting they gave me an incredible deal on the A6's

Roll on Monday when I pick them up.

 

[jubair]

Yeah the salesman I spoke to when buying the A5 said he preferred the A6 but they were too big for my liking and I don't think my amp is powerful enough to get the best out of them. Another thing I like about spendors is the fact that you can't biwire them so don't have to make that decision. I also like the fact that they produce only a few different models, hopefully means they put more effort into manufacturing each model.

 

[clearer_audio]

If your system is in your main living area then no doubt aesthetics are very important . I currently have Wilson Benesch Arcs. Beautiful design and superlative performance.

 

[jaxwired]

jubair:Yeah the salesman I spoke to when buying the A5 said he preferred the A6 but they were too big for my liking and I don't think my amp is powerful enough to get the best out of them. Another thing I like about spendors is the fact that you can't biwire them so don't have to make that decision. I also like the fact that they produce only a few different models, hopefully means they put more effort into manufacturing each model.

I totally agree. That's is something that attracted me as well. Of course the great reviews is what initially caught my attention, but after massive research on spendor, one thing I really like is that they have a very small line of speakers. You do not feel that you are buying the low end product from a hi-end company. Most other brands have more separation between their entry products and their flagship products. Build quality and parts can be vastly different. With spendor, they all look extremely similar from entry level to flagship. In fact, the A5, is remarkably similar to the new ST without the flashy wood inlay.

 

[jaxwired]

Spacehopper:

I had a side by side audition of the A5 & A6 speakers this afternoon and took along my amp and cables. They are the best speakers I've auditioned by a long long long way. Build and finish are superb. The A5's have an incredible sound for their very compact size, great controlled bass and an amazing soundstage but the same songs through the A6 simply jaw dropping. It was nice to hear them for myself after reading all the reviews and every review I've read is spot on after hearing them for myself. Even the salesman was staggered when he listened in as up until then he preferred the A5's. So the wife's now putting me on the game to help me pay for them

Only found out today that the Hi-fi shop I went to demo the speakers is closing down

butwithout prompting they gave me an incredible deal on the A6's

Roll on Monday when I pick them up.

What electronics are you going to use with the A6?

 

[DeimosNZ]

I use Duevels The sound isnt for everyone but they looks quite nice.

http://www.my-hiend.com/leoyeh/2006/CRW_8687t.jpg

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Jaxwired,

My system is a Roksan Caspian M-1 series Integrated amp, Arcam DV135, Rega Planar 3 and Chord Carnival & Chord Chameleon and my new Spendors A6's.

 

[Anonymous]

Tarquinh:
In how they look, that is.

My speakers are in the lounge, which means they have to function as a piece of furniture as well as their intended purpose, or so my partner tells me.

She has a point - remember how the CRT TVs, especially those widescreen behemoths, used to dominate lounge rooms, and the lengths people went to to hide them in cabinets? Loudspeakers can be large items, and there's nothing like a pair of overblown stand or floor mounts to ruin your carefully-chosen decor.

Can't help thinking of my now-retired Epos speakers, which were consigned to corners where they couldn't be seen, no matter what the impact on the sound was, as compared to the Sonus Faber Minimas I now have, which are allowed out of the corners and to be 8 inches from the wall. The only problem is that it's my duty to dust and polish them.

So, when you're choosing speakers, do you consider how they'll look in you room? If so, would you not buy better sounding speakers if they were ugly, and choose instead those with slighly inferior sound but stunning looks?

I'm in the same boat. My hi-fi is also in the lounge so looks do come into the equation. Luckily my wife has got used to floorstanders and I have a reasonably big living room so they don't over power the room. The Spendors I've went for look the beautiful, I think (the eye of the beholder and all that), but I know they won't be to everyone's taste as they're not what you would consider a flashy looking speaker but I like the classic look of them so I'm very very happy. If only I could get black Sky + box !!