what is more popular silver or black face plates


It seemed back in the 80's & 90's most high end components were black. Although some components today still offer black finishes it seems silver is now more popular. What are your thoughts & color preference?

sagger

I prefer black.  I have low level lighting in my listening room and black matte virtually disappears which is what I want.  

I have no preference.  My AV system is all black faceplates but my music system has more silver than black.  I have the impression that black is standard for professional installations while silver has an aesthetic more suitable for residential systems.

Anyhow, here's an earlier thread on the subject:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/the-cyclicality-of-black-vs-silver

Black

The Rolling Stones had it right from the start!

I see silver face plates

and want to paint them black

no champagne or gold for me

it’s got to be flat black

i see my line of gear

and they’re all painted black

I returned the silverl amp

and exchanged it for black

changed my return address

so it never can come back

 

well you get the idea

 

 

 

 

I personally prefer black. I’ve noticed some companies (Parasound comes to mind) charge more for the same component in black. 

I'm a silver faced guy myself, I mostly see other systems using silver,  I'm surprised by the all black comments just posted! 

On tube, gear clearly black as it provides more contrast to the tube glow. For the rest, typically there is no choice. I may prefer silver slightly as dust is less visible on it. 

I prefer black.  When shopping for used gear, I've unfortunately seen silver to be consistently a bit cheaper used.  So I assume there is more demand for black. Jerry

I prefer black, but if I'm getting a great deal on silver faced piece, I don't care...

I purchase a fair number of used components, so I have given up being that picky.

That being said, I find myself grouping them by colour on the rack.

I have both. I don't really have a preference. I think some components look better in black and some silver.  My dac, ddc, clock, and phono stage are silver. Everything else is black.