What is the coolest looking or best designed HI-Fi you've seen.

[Jasonovich]

I think the music being played is just overdubbed and not from the actual loudspeakers / system featured !

I would love to hear that system in person...

Oh that's a shame. Yes, worth having a listen in person.

I was listening to my new Dali Oberon 3, not quite in the same league as Magico M9s , and I was getting some good stuff through the Atoll IN100se (another Christmas treat!).

Peter Tyson is selling them on the eBay portal for £399 (ex-display with warranties. Brand new £499) and there's a further 30% discount if you use the eBay special voucher, I think I got them for £330ish. If you don't want to spend a million on the Magicos there's a few left still if anyone is interested?

 

[Jasonovich]

You been living under a rock Jason? Neat get a regular mention on here.

I do a lot of selective reading, I ignore a lot of the stuff on WHF. I don't know how I missed the Neat, though. The format on WHF is a bit rubbish, it's trying too hard to do too many things.
If WHF removed all the silly guff like TVs, wireless mobile headsets and focus on just HiFi, chances are, it won't get missed , no not true, I'll probably still miss it!

 

[Dom]

You been living under a rock Jason? Neat get a regular mention on here.

Yes he does live under a rock, but jay is a special kind of guy.

 

[Jasonovich]

Yes he does live under a rock, but jay is a special kind of guy.

 

[daytona600]

Heed Towers

 

[daveh75]

Sorry guys but nothing that I have seen so far makes me want to go Ooooooh that's nice.

Most of it is just outright hideous, frankly.

 

[12th Monkey]

Most of it is just outright hideous, frankly.

Very much eye of the beholder. Love these though:

 

[podknocker]

I love the Focal Sopra 2 in orange. A world away from the Tannoy and Fyne attempts to relive the 1960s.

 

[12th Monkey]

The grilles ruin the look, though:

 

[podknocker]

I'm undecided about the grilles, although I doubt I'll ever get the choice. They really are the Lamborghinis of the speaker world. I've not seen anything so purposeful and aesthetically pleasing. Then take a look at these:

Fyne Audio Vintage Classic X review

A thoroughly modern performance housed in an olde-worlde wrapper

www.whathifi.com

Get your pipe and Harris tweed smoking jacket ready.

 

[Stuart83]

The grilles ruin the look, though:

View attachment 5758

Agreed.

Grills usually ruin the look of most speakers but personally I put function before form.
We've all seen the pushed in tweeters and speaker centers that taking grills off inevitably causes.
It could b the one time your grandkids come over or the time you told yourself wouldn't happen and it tips over for whatever reason.
I pushed the titanium tweeter in on my father's tannoy m15s when I was about 6, not intentionally but because I was fascinated by the sound coming from it and needed to feel it 🫢.
(My father had the obvious reaction after finding out weeks later)😯

For instance I've always liked the sound from most mission speakers particularly the 763i and mx3 which I have a pair of both but have always been displeased by the look of the plastic surrounding on mx3 grills.
They aren't ment to removed but can be rather forcefully.
They give way to some lovely looking drivers I'd rather look at but know the many pitfalls of removing them.

 

[podknocker]

My QA3030i won't win any design awards, but I prefer to keep the grilles on, even though I have no kids to damage the tweeters. I saw several tweeters pushed in many years ago, by a curious child. He and his parents were asked nicely to leave the store. I've always kept these things on and I think having the drive units exposed makes them look a bit unfinished and untidy.

 

[Stuart83]

My QA3030i won't win any design awards, but I prefer to keep the grilles on, even though I have no kids to damage the tweeters. I saw several tweeters pushed in many years ago, by a curious child. He and his parents were asked nicely to leave the store. I've always kept these things on and I think having the drive units exposed makes them look a bit unfinished and untidy.

Nice bookshelf speaker.
Heard a pair once as part of a surround sound setup.
My main hifi has 3050i speakers which share a similar look all be it ×2 drivers.
I actually quite like the look of the speakers with the silver surround, decoupled tweeters and smooth rounded edges.

Suffice to say I keep the magnetic grills on.

 

[Jasonovich]

I love the Focal Sopra 2 in orange. A world away from the Tannoy and Fyne attempts to relive the 1960s.

View attachment 5757

Why am I thinking of that old Tango ad Nice, though.

 

[Jasonovich]

Agreed.

Grills usually ruin the look of most speakers but personally I put function before form.
We've all seen the pushed in tweeters and speaker centers that taking grills off inevitably causes.
It could b the one time your grandkids come over or the time you told yourself wouldn't happen and it tips over for whatever reason.
I pushed the titanium tweeter in on my father's tannoy m15s when I was about 6, not intentionally but because I was fascinated by the sound coming from it and needed to feel it 🫢.
(My father had the obvious reaction after finding out weeks later)😯

For instance I've always liked the sound from most mission speakers particularly the 763i and mx3 which I have a pair of both but have always been displeased by the look of the plastic surrounding on mx3 grills.
They aren't ment to removed but can be rather forcefully.
They give way to some lovely looking drivers I'd rather look at but know the many pitfalls of removing them.

Some grills actually serve a purpose, particularly speakers with forward sounding treble, the grill helps to dampen the brightness.

 

[Gray]

Some grills actually serve a purpose

They do.
My grill is essential for mackerel on toast 😉

As for grilles - I doubt anyone could blindly tell whether those on my PMC 20.21 were on or off.
(And only blind tests are truly valid).

 

[Revolutions]

Very much eye of the beholder. Love these though:

View attachment 5756

Those are not for me at all.

But I did hear the more traditionally styled Focal Vestia N2 yesterday. They look great and sounded fantastic in the shop. Really surprised by the retail price when I looked them up, I thought they would be double that price.

It’s amazing how seeing something nice that sounds good in a high-end shop, and my brain instantly assumes they’re £10k speakers.

 

[podknocker]

They do.
My grill is essential for mackerel on toast 😉

As for grilles - I doubt anyone could blindly tell whether those on my PMC 20.21 were on or off.
(And only blind tests are truly valid).

Indeed.

I don't think a loudspeaker company would make their tweeter too bright and then require a grille to subdue the treble. I doubt these things do actually reduce the treble anyway. More probable is they make a balanced speaker and then make something to protect the tweeter and bass unit.

The Focal Sopra 2 doesn't have a covering for the tweeter, but instead uses a metal mesh. I don't they would use an expensive beryllium tweeter and then ruin its function with a metal mesh, if they thought it would have a negative impact.

BTW I love mackerel on toast. I get some decent brown bread, toast it and then mash up some mackerel fillets in tomato sauce, with a bit of black pepper, then back under the heat. Marvellous!

 

[Jasonovich]

They do.
My grill is essential for mackerel on toast 😉

As for grilles - I doubt anyone could blindly tell whether those on my PMC 20.21 were on or off.
(And only blind tests are truly valid).

🤣 Grilles

 

[Revolutions]

🤣 Grilles

Bear Grills?

 

[Juzzie Wuzzie]

I ran a set of Neat Iotas in white at the end of a Naim 5i amp and then the Uniti Lite. Great speaker and wished (now) that I hadn't sold them. Am now looking for a second hand pair of the Neat Iota Alphas which have gone up in second hand terms!

 

[Jasonovich]

Bear Grills?

Oh boy oh boy, someone is getting a grilling.
Honest it was a Freudian slip 🤣🤣🤣

 

[Jasonovich]

I ran a set of Neat Iotas in white at the end of a Naim 5i amp and then the Uniti Lite. Great speaker and wished (now) that I hadn't sold them. Am now looking for a second hand pair of the Neat Iota Alphas which have gone up in second hand terms!

It's really nice you actually listen to them. They sure look good. 👍

 

[Jasonovich]

Oh boy oh boy, someone is getting a grilling.
Honest it was a Freudian slip 🤣🤣🤣

Amazon?
Well, no surprise it's American!

 

[podknocker]

LOL

Grille (architecture) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Grilling - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Massively off topic and expect a thread lock soon!