There are out there many beautiful speakers and there are speakers which I feel are beautiful because I like their sound quality (eg ATC SCM40). However for speakers which would grace any living/listening room or even improve the room decor are usually Italian design speakers such as Rossini Florentina speakers or Sonus Faber speakers.
I just spent 7 hours at AXPONIA and, wow, there are a lot of speakers with beautiful cabinetry. One that comes to mind is a Von Schweikert floor stander in the most awesome metallic blue finish. Sounded very awesome too.
Thank you, grisleybutter, for the link to Slovenian speakers. I was not aware of any of these, although I’ve spent some time in Slovenia: in Ljubljana and Maribor, but also in Bled, where the cover photo--lake with island monastery--was taken. "The sunny side of the alps." The speakers are as beautiful as the country.
As for Tektons, even Millercarbon, whose wit I miss despite his divisive belligerence, agreed they looked like amateurish DIY. It was their sonic performance that he praised.
As for terraplane8bob (really? was "terraplane7bob" already taken?), I can’t agree. A visually beautiful speaker, like a beautiful room, is not a distraction. Beauty is rarely a distraction--except in a good way. An obsession, easily. But not a distraction. "Truth is beauty, and beauty truth" (Keats, from Plato).
The winner, IMO: JBL Paragon. A perfect synthesis of form and function.
grisleybutter: sorry, I jumped the gun. A first cursory look led me to think all the products were Slovenian.
In any case, thanks for this link. I've looked at a lot (too much!) audiophile eye candy online, but this is by far the best single source for audio porn I've ever seen.
Poud owner of Davone Solo here. But it is the same with a lot of the option that are posted here; love it, or hate it. I'm in love, also with the sound signature
As one who still owns the Celestion sl6si, I think they are beautiful in their own way. They have a pleasing proportion, and they led the way for the modern day small monitor. Truly a classic.
I have the 5s. I absolutely love them. I like the way they look, I just think they have the ultimate pure functional look with no time wasted on design details. So they are simple and beautiful in the same time, so British, so much fun to listen to!
"Proud owner of Davone Solo here. But it is the same with a lot of the option that are posted here; love it, or hate it. I'm in love, also with the sound signature"
Manogolf, yes, I heard those Alta's. They were in at least 2 different rooms. I can't remember the equipment driving them, but there was a black pair that didn't sound as good as the woodgrain pair in another room. The bass was unbelievable. I could not believe there wasn't a sub or 2 in the room. The mid and top end were stellar too. I was simply blown away as was my audiophile cousin. I'm not crazy about the shape and overall look of them but the sound was amazing. If I had the dough I'd really consider a pair. I did take a lot of photos of most of the rooms and some video. When I figure out how to attach them here from my Galaxy phone, I will.
Classic Audio Loudspeakers T 1.5 Reference. Was a game changing listening experience for me. Won me over the other speakers I was looking for to be the one. Now, they are staying forever. Massive 350 pounds.
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I like the look of these... MBL 101 X-treme
