Any favorites for cosmetics/design/how a product looks?


This is simply a wonderment of what other "items, things" you like the looks of beyond audio products? In audio I have always liked the C.J ART pre-amp and my tastes in autos/arcitecture are somewhat biased to Art Deco, etc.  Just curious as to what other "things" attract you from a cosmetic viewpoint.  Old Packards, the Crysler Building, early Gruen watches and more....

jusam
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Wow the posting police are out tonight.

@jusam I like post modern architecture, furniture and Scandinavian furniture designs.

I also like Italian motorcycles like the old Laverdas and Moto Guzzi Daytona.  

Art wise I love Escher and Dali.

Good thread to revive no matter what @riley804 thinks. BTW riley he did not start that thread looks like you arrested the wrong guy. 

 

For the Audiophile with a taste for good design(looks)....a question.

What are your favorite audio components and speakers based on the way they look (looked).  Yes, I know that sound is what counts and that is my major influence, but I do enjoy well designed/good looking products.   I no longer do, but did have a collection of art deco radios, both table models and consoles.....and that was all about design rather than their audiophile qualities.  Thanks 
 

whatjd


@krelldog

 

real nice .

 

so other members can make their comments that are rude and nothing is said....but i simply pointed out that this OP has posted a similar post but under a different moniker name and i get cussed at ?              real mature Krelldog

 

 

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@riley804 how do you know it is the same person? Maybe the post is plagiarized, no?

at-least I did not cuss you out officer.

Jusam..great topic. I have mostly Pass Labs gear that sounds/looks amazing.  I also have a VPI Prime Signature Rosewood turntable...which is beautiful also. The comparison to sports cars would be....Yes in a performance car I want both also..looks and performance. I don't need a fast car that's ugly as hell.

Hmm. Just for looks.

I like meters. I have two Carver M-500t amps, two Pass X600 amps, etc, And a Magnum Dynalab Etude.

I like lights. I never had a 70s or 80s vintage Japanese receiver, but they had great lights. -- Kenwood, Pioneer, Sansui, etc. (Called them "Tokyo at night.") I even lusted after the Heathkit AR15.

Extra exotic doodads, like the oscilloscope on the Marantz 10B. (Never had one tho)

I actually like the dark glass faceplates on McIntosh electronics. Only ever had an MR78.

I like really complex-looking gnarly form-follows-function tonearms, like the Triplanar. (Never had one)

lol

To my eyes, the looks of hi-fi/stereo componentry has been undistinguished since day one. For me, the only components that come close to being interesting-looking are tonearms.

70s era Marantz receivers.

I posted this before. Hope I don't get assassinated.

Michell Engineering GyroDec TT

Gale GS401A loudspeakers 

McIntosh power and pre amps

See the system here: https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7324

Sounds and looks fantastic IMHO.

I like form follows function. Empire 598 turntable, Range Rover Sport, Rolex Oyster stainless, Gibson 335 guitar. Simple elegance.

@secretguy - the Empire coffee table speakers were also beautiful, but I can’t recall anyone ever saying they’ve even seen one. Whoever was design those old Empire products had real insight into how products should look  IMO.  

 

 


I always liked the looks of my simple ‘70’s system.
Empire, Sansui. Not shown, Nakamichi, ESS.

JD:

Happy to see you here.

If you are considering going back into the workforce "The Airliner" is currently looking for a kitchen manager.

 

DeKay

My black, piano gloss Usher CP-6311 floor standers with the cherry wood side panels are very handsome; the simple, elegant design of my Clearaudio Concept Wood turntable with it’s baltic birch, constrained layer plinth and Satisfy Carbon Fiber tonearm is also a looker; and my fully restored Marantz 2285b receiver with brushed aluminum faceplate, cool Davison Spencerian font, sexy blue-on-black LED backlighting meters/tuner dial display, and beautiful walnut case is quite easy on the eyes.

DeKay, my only experience with the Airliner has been as a customer...but going back Donnely's and others come to mind...and the original Georges Gourmet with the Golden Que in the back. 

 

 

I don't recall the original Airliner serving food, but maybe.

Think a housemate's mother may have taken us to George's.

I didn't have the money to eat out then and though I didn't drink much either I would go to Gabe and Walkers and play table soccer for drinks if I had the urge.

I sometimes have daydreams of moving back to Iowa City, but the reality is that I can no longer handle the Winter weather (the main reason I moved to CA in 1977).

 

DeKay

Just found out (Google) why Bonnie Raitt was playing (unannounced) @ the Airliner on Friday March 29, 1974 with no cover charge.

She was a backup musician for Muddy Waters who played Hancher Auditorium the following evening (Saturday).

I didn't see MW, but I did see BR.

 

DeKay

 

Once when I was on vacation "up North", I was in a bar/restaurant/club and this guy started to do a "stand up" routine.....it turned out to be Steve Martin.

@bslon 

ahhhhh, now that system sounds good just looking at it! Although I was a Marantz receiver guy myself, nothing wrong with the Sansui. 

@deadhead1000 Back then my friends all had Marantz receivers and mostly JBL speakers. I was an outlier with the Sansui and ESS’s. I miss the displays of those receivers, intricate and cool! They got a lot of us, like me and you, hooked on audio.

@bslon 

I also had a Nak, died a few years back though. What cartridge do you use on the Empire?  A friend had the Empire way back when and used a Shure V15 III, I myself had to settle for a Pioneer PL-530, the Empire was way too expensive for me back then, and a Shure M95E. 

Funny how I remember my first….all the best to you. 

@deadhead1000 

I haven’t thought about this for so long I’m kind of astounded I remember! I also had a Shure V15 III along with an Empire 2002 (bought with the TT) and a couple of Stanton 681EEE’s which I thought sounded the best. Haha, what a blast from the past! Thanks for the conversation, I really enjoyed reliving these memories!

I like odd sized gear, Brit shoe box sized integrated amps & separates, triangular cassette decks like the one from Yamaha & Nakamichi or top loading ones like the early Tandberg cassette decks, The 200 series of Meridian gear, boxy CD players like Proceed PCD2.  Fi X & Y and most tube amps with their tubes exposed.  Also the tall cassette decks like the early Akai or computer keyboard Aiwa ADF series.

 

Additionally, a stack of Perreaux, Tandberg, or Revox gear is eye catching as well as is a stack of ads Atelier.