Ugliest Component of the Year 2024!

Anything that uses LEDs to light up the tubes is ridiculous in my book. 
 

LEDs tend to increase noise to the power supply circuit.  Perhaps, that improves the sound of some gear where noise is preferable to what the amp puts out.

https://www.yankodesign.com/images/design_news/2009/10/25/asspeaker03.jpg

DeKay

DeKay,

Holy s**t, that is a real looker, although what looks like a port when the thing is closed is really going too far.  I recall people talking about putting toilet paper over the tweeter on Klipsch Heresy speakers; toilet paper stuffed in that port would really be too much to even think about.

@barts 

"So it goes."

I'll throw klipschorn and other giant boxes by them in the mix.  Don't like how they sound either which makes it worse for me.

And yea the rant on ASR was not a good moment for Tekton.  To be fair I didn't think their base model Lore was that bad measurement wise.  Go check the stereophile article on the impact monitors if you want to see the response of the seven tweeter array.  I have a +/-3 DB response from 20 hz to 20 khz with minimal room EQ from the listening position.  I also have a fully treated space and two rhythmik F12s working sub 80 hz.  Speaker designers are human too and he clearly takes pride in his products to light Amir up like that lol

When I read the copy on these speakers I double checked to see that I was not on The Onion.

https://www.yankodesign.com/2009/10/26/sounds-from-behind/

DeKay

IMHO, a lot of companies take pride in their work without threatening reviewers, and testers with litigation, like Tekton, DCS and Tom Evan’s did.

Let's not forget this weird banana thing from Vivid:  https://vividaudio.com/giya/giya-g1-spirit/

Wadax components get great reviews, cost a fortune, and look like a cheap boom box.  https://wadax.eu/reference/

Plus 1000 @otherworld74 

Until you see the back panel!!!

I have another anatomically suggestive speaker system for you to consider.  It is the Western Electric 16A horn from the 1920's.  I know someone who owns two of these beasts.  Although it has two drivers, it is a single midrange horn.  I've heard them run full range with Western Electric 555 fieldcoil drivers and also YL compression drivers.  The setups I heard did not employ any woofers.   Being a midrange horn, and given that the drivers were also meant to only operate in the midrange, it was shocking how much bass this horn delivers (goes down to somewhere around 70 hz).  A bullet tweeter crossed in at around 15 khz.  Whether it is ugly or beautiful is really hard to say.  It is like what someone said about Nat King Cole--I don't know if he is the handsomest or ugliest man.

https://we16ahorn.blogspot.com/

@larryi

Those are some horns…Personally, I wouldn’t care to own them but I believe some people pride themselves in owning something rare as this regardless of its appearance. They may sound phenomenal but for me, striking a balance between form, function, and how a piece integrates into its surroundings is an important aspect of ownership. It’s about creating harmony in the space as well as in the sound, which makes the experience even more enjoyable.

Really anything from these folks:

https://www.metaxas.com/product-page/product-page-audio-2/product-page-audio.html

The headphone amp is particularly fetching.

The person who owns these horns cares ONLY about the sound.  He puts together custom systems that are much more practical than ones with that giant horn.  That horn was meant to be used in theaters where it was hidden behind screens or curtains so looks were totally irrelevant.  The sound is a great example of how one can engineer something that works despite what would otherwise be considered a major flaw.  If you suddenly stop the music, you will hear a very long echoing decay of the music, which means that the horn is ringing like crazy.  But, it rings over a broad range of frequencies so that the decay sounds utterly natural and there is no sense of the music being muddled or tonally altered by this ringing.  Once I heard that ringing, I found it hard to accept, in my mind, that this was not a BIG problem.  But, the more I listened, the more I came to realize that it was not a problem and that this horn is fantastic.  It is very impractical, requires at least four, and up to eight very expensive midrange compression drivers for a stereo pair, but it IS something one should hear if one has the chance.  It is on display and plays in the museum dedicated to vintage gear in Seoul, South Korea.

Not sure I would turn the lights off with those amplifiers in the house.

Lubachi, that’s it!   Looks like some kind of flower that would grow in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  Run for your lives!   Ahhhhhh!  

Manley’s headphone amp is at the top of my list for least attractive aesthetic.

It gives off expensive casket vibes:

https://www.hifinews.com/content/manley-absolute-headphone-amp

While no particular component comes to mind, anything with a polished mirror finish that reflects the image of a 75-year-old, well-worn audiophile back at you (in my case) has to be near the top.

I’d say its a toss up between that laughable Tekton speaker pictured above and the supreme joke of Tralfamador...actually I think the real prize should go to complete system composed of Mac separates with Tektons as the main left and right with Tralfamadors as the surrounds with a phantom center. Anyone support that notion? And now for the real question: Who among you could walk into a room filled with a system like I just described without laughing out loud?

The ugliest thing about the McIntosh is that it lacks MDMI.  Something that is reportedly fixed with their forthcoming pre-amp!  Who cares what the form factor is if there's no function

It is amazing to me that people got paid real money to come up with these designs.  On top of that, the designs most likely had to be approved by multiple people at these organizations.  The wadax is the least offensive to me.  Tectonic and McIntosh are close but Tekton gets the edge because I could put the Mc in a cabinet to hide.

I find a lot of hi-fi component design to be lacking in design. I think some of that is driven by the fact that most manufacturers are aiming for somewhat "standard" component dimensions for given typologies but there is a lack of creativity in even the front panel of most components. There is something to be said about the timeless beauty of some of Dieter Rams' audio designs for Braun or B&O's early Beo turntables and speakers. I have yet to see a tub pre/integrated/amp that tries to step out of the proverbial box that when I look at it, I get a little design lust. The same can be said for many of the solid-state stuff out there.

Speakers are another thing altogether. Few manufacturers make anything other than boxes with some grille tweaks and veneer choices. I'm not asking that every speaker be a one-off thing, but I also think some thought about aesthetics should trickle down from flagship models into lower models. I think that's why I like PS Audio's current speaker line up. There is a consistency of aesthetic follow through all the way down the line. Sonus Faber is another that make beautiful speakers.

 But...I also don't want components trending in the opposite direction where every design is aping Apple bevels and rose gold tone choices either. 

I think aesthetics is important as much as sound quality. Especially if you have the Wife-Acceptance-Factor to consider. 

I suppose it's a blessing in our industry that those component designers with a bad eye for aesthetics may be brilliant in their ability to make sonically amazing gear.  On the flip side I've experienced components that look amazing but sound like crap.  At the end of the day, I'll take the former condition.  Now if you can get both aesthetics and performance that's a bonus!

It’s a throwback look to compliment some of their older tube equipment. I think it’s ugly too, but it may appeal to some. I do like the look of a lot of their other equipment.

OOF. Even a dog would leave the room.

https://goldmund.com/goldmund-apologue-loudspeaker-pinel-cyril-kongo/

The Linn LP12-50 Turntable for 60K is truly outrageous. 

Tekton, tweeter arrays trigger minor arachnophobia creep out, but bargain sonics mostly

OOF. Even a dog would leave the room.

https://goldmund.com/goldmund-apologue-loudspeaker-pinel-cyril-kongo/

Honestly, they look a lot more fun than Wilson's lugubrious upright coffins.

Yeesh! I'd rather look at the ass speakers...

My overall picks go to Tekton follow by McIntosh and  third Hegel Amplifier😂😉😉😂

ugliest component is anything that is NOT McIntosh

Just my opinion. No harm intended. 

Hegel reminds me of the texture of a 2005 Chevrolet dashboard. Their amplifiers are their worst component because they are so plain. 

HIFIRose RA-180 Integrated amplifier. The one with all the gears, knobs, and levers. It just visually tries way too hard. 

@zerofox  +++++100000000

Anything in black.

I’m not sure which I like best the black speakers that look like they have a white mushrooms growing on the side or the speakers that grew a massive tulip erection.

great designs for the blind. 

Any Zesto Audio phono preamplifier. The ugly reflective steel curved design looks like it was intended to be an ash tray from the 1960's. Way ugly.

I agree with most of the posts here---but mine is the Hifi Rose RA 180 integrated. It's wayyyyy too busy looking with the cogwheel looking buttons. It's too much for me. 

Even if I could afford them because they sounded incredible, I could not look at any of the Wadax components and realized they look like a large GMC front grill. We really need more females to enter the design side of the house. 
 

See what I mean regarding GMC grill

https://st.automobilemag.com/uploads/sites/11/2019/01/2020-GMC-Sierra-2500HD-Denali-005.jpg

I like the designer but I just can't stand the look of these:

With the Bose purchase we may be looking at most attractive of the product line as it develops into the future.

Can't find a picture that fully shows how ugly this krell design is.   Obnoxious blue light that you cannot turn off and giant block letters that make it look like it should cost $2000 at most.   Just horrible.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisag1d6-krell-duo-300-xd-solid-state

Yup, very retro, but notice the smaller width.  A lot of users

will appreciate these dimension.  17 19 wide take up shelf 

space.  At this width many users will be able to put two

units side by side on same slelf.

Anybody know what the latest on Krell is?

@thecarpathian In spirit with the topic at hand, last I checked Krell was trending in the wrong direction in regards to aesthetics.

Last Krell products I have considered owning are from over 10 years ago. Aesthetics are a factor for me personally.

I’ve always liked Krell when I hear it. Clean and detailed and not fatiguing . Hope they can hang in there. I do think they need to get with the times both in form and function.

Indeed. Apologies for the off topic question. Going to start a thread and ask.

There is a lot of needlessly expensive and certainly needlessly tinsel looking equipment out there. Guaranteed the majority of it is made cheaper with the price way up, they have to do something hoping to bells and whistles into peoples Wallets. Not picking on Mc alone but that’s a classic example of stuff that’s starting to look like junk. Bose will make it better…fat chance. If I had to own Mc as with others new or used, I’d put it in a fan cooled cupboard I designed and close the door !!  Goes hand in hand with the Gimmicky looking cords. Then there’s the Tekton look… designed to give you that divorce. 

This is an ugly version of Mac gear. I agree with you. A Kalista CD Player and Shanling CD Player are the opposite as classy modern. Jadis, Goldmund, older Woo Audio, etc. are all examples of attractive CD Players.

For another less attractive but better than the Mac is Wadax Studio CD Player and their Reference DAC is more like a science fiction monster than a audiophile jewelry above as stated previously, giant boombox.

I agree that the Yanko Design is in both poor taste and ridiculous just to be a media sales choice. I disagree concerning the Vivid speakers as my wife and I feel they are attractive but not up to Von Schweikert sound quality.

@kbmr Goldmund Apologue speakers are UGLY, worse than unattractive Mac.

@tunehead My friend has a Von Langa Berlin but this model is ruined by the white horns on a black monolith tower. Just plain black would at least be unobtrusive.

@tony1954 Well, this Tekton 1812 isn't pretty/obnoxious actually.  Reminds me of some similar Mac speakers of old.

Ugly or beautiful, I don't care. I just checked the price of the Mc CD player, $5,000.

I am using Musical Fidelity CD player ($750 used, 21 yr old). Sounds still wonderful. Maybe with help of nice speakers, Vienna Mahler.

Below are my opinion, just my opinion.

Performance: Mc $5,000  99/100       Musical F. $750   95/100

3% difference is barely dicernable in terms of real listening environment.

However, in terms of visuality or possession satisfaction:

Mc $5,000   99.9/100          Musical F. $750   20-30/100

So, I can save some money. So, I could/can donate to Oregon Humane Society, where many dogs and cats are wait for help ($$$).