Architects and High End

With my stereo system I love seeing the components. Much of what we buy in this hobby has required the design work of many industrial designers and much of it is beautiful if not down right sculptural (My wife would disagree, she refers to my listening room as the bachelor pad) although the aesthetics of my coponents are secondary to the sound. I think it's a shame to hide equipment for aesthetic reasons but especially if it degrades the sound. As an example, I'm sure there are some really nice in wall speakers but generally speaking freestanding speakers are going to have a better sound. From what I've seen in this line of work, people in the hobby generally like to see the components, architect or not. People not in the hobby generally don't, architect or not.

I am also an Architect and have to concur with Arch2 - Show It!
Half of this hobby is the acquisition and assembly of all the components.
I love to gaze at my creations like a work of art in process!

What does it matter whether an architect likes it or not? Actually, most architects prefer the look of B&O. Whenever I see audio systems in any of the design books/magazine articles, as in designed by architects/interior designers, 99% of the time they are usually B&O products because they have that sleek, unobtrusive look.

Us architects are humans too! And we all have different tastes too. So one architect may like more modern contemporary designs while another may be more into colonial/country style.

Personally, aesthetics in high on my priority when it comes to buying components. I will not buy something that sound good but looks ugly (to me). I saw a lot of that at the RMAF this year. Some of these engineers really should hire industrial designers, or even work with industrial design students, on the aesthetics of their products. But again that's just personal opinion. I thought the Thiel 3.7 looks just plain ugly, but there are many that disagree with me.

And yes, I do display them at home out in the open, not hiding them behind something else.

FrankC

Sadly, I own Tom Evans, and have learned to love the stupid little black plastic boxes and stupid big black sheet metal breadboxes. I did place them behind a beautiful rack I made from 1.5" solid steel bar stock. I then clad the 6' long and 30" high by 22" depth frame with perforated aluminum panels that magnetically attach to the steel frame. I need to post new images on my system page. So, I am somewhere in between...