How Much Do Aesthetics Factor Into Your Decisions?
Right or wrong, I have always taken what a component looks like into consideration when making a purchase. I like my components to look good.
Much like when I buy clothes. Fit, comfort and construction are important, but clothing also has to make you feel good when you wear it.
How do you feel about it.
Do you want everything to have a certain synergy of appearance, or are you okay wearing brown shoes with a tuxedo? So to speak.
The latest MoFi SourcePoint 10 speaker has the top veneer installed cockeyed, 90 deg. to the horizontal veneer up the side. I have never heard the speaker and would never buy it because of that. Call me anal but esthetics does factor in a bit and I never though I would say that. There are some pretty butt ugly speakers out there but overall, if they sound good I could live with it (except the SourcePoint 10) |
Great question, no right or wrong answer here, this is purely a personal choice. In my case, the aesthetics of a HiFi system in my living room are important, I don’t want to look at an ugly collection of boxes whilst listening to music. Case in point, this is one very aesthetically appealing (to me at least) systems I have ever assembled: https://www.audiogon.com/systems/7324 And it sounds magnificent IMHO. |
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I give very little consideration to how something looks. That is why I have no trouble with the custom builder who made my amps and linestage using VERY old industrial equipment cabinets which he repurposes. I used to run a pair of Audio Note Kageki amps, which i turned around so that the back faced forward for convenience (power switch would otherwise be in the back). I really had no idea how the thing normally looked. I was once at a dealership and heard a fantastic sounding setup and asked the proprietor what amps were running the speakers. He frowned because the amps were Kageki's, which is the same model he had sold to me, and I didn't even recognize them. My priorities are: sound quality, cost, and remote controllability. |
Many of these questions are already addressed by manufacturers. In Europe and other areas there is a tendency to like aesthetics more and companies often cater to that sense. Europe has many audio engineers and design professionals in audio companies who start from the ground up to make a more visually pleasing product. Americans don’t care that much, this is probably due to the fact most are undereducated in art and design and aesthetics take a back seat to budget or at the other end "I just have to have the best!"
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One can't help but factor in the looks as we see with our eyes first. As Hannibal said, we covet what we see every day. How much weight that carries depends for me as something that lacks aesthetics, having awkward proportions, or is downright ugly gets a pass, for me. Components didn't used to have to match but the last two incarnations of my system does and I've grown accustomed to it. With speakers, I give a lot more latitude as long as they sound great. Great sound overcomes looks in that regard. All the best, |
Almost always, though I’ll gladly except form follows function & appearing average at close distance and a tad better looking further away. Besides, I’m not sitting on some SOTA System either. @tony1954, I’ll eat with dirty hands & I’ll take casual for $1000 please. |
