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How your gear looks ... does it really matter?

H2oman7.62mm

H2oman7.62mm

Super Member
I chose my vintage gear specifically for how it sounds to my ears in my room (not the specs) ... repairability and restorability are two additional factors that weighed heavily in my decision making process ... I'll whisper this fact: the way my gear looks (aesthetics) is near the bottom of my list of wants and needs.

Let's face it, nobody blurts out a WOW! when they see ADS bookshelf speakers with metal grilles installed, and my Harman / Kardon 730 twin powered receiver ain't winning no beauty contest either, at least not until the talent competition.


What about you, how high on your list of wants and needs is how the gear looks?
 
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Aesthetics are extremely important to me. They don’t trump SQ, but they are definitely a consideration. I won’t buy an ugly piece of gear, no matter how good it sounds—unless, perhaps, it was so great and I could also hide it in a closet. I believe, deep down, that if it looks bad, those wrong design choices reflect back on the design of the entire piece of equipment—and, by extension, on the whole audio company itself.

I have a McIntosh MC275 MKVI. I don’t particularly love the way it looks (I went to market to buy a black or silver box), but the 275 sold me with its sound. And a lot of people find it very attractive in a retro kind of way. I Kind of like it—or at least I don’t dislike it. It’s very much in the category of form-following-function. And I respect that.

I’m reminded of the great American sculptor Alexander Calder. When he married and they were setting up house, his wife bought a wash basin and pitcher for their live-in-maid’s room. When Calder saw it, he took it out and smashed it in his studio and then refashioned it into something beautiful that the maid could use, instead. (He also handmade all the cooking utensils and drawer pulls and hooks and even the sink drains in their house.) They’re amazing!

When his wife (he also fabricated all of her jewelry) asked why he had smashed and remade the wash basin and pitcher, he said, “Bad taste is like a cancer. If you allow it into your home it will consume you.”
 
I'm super fussy about the cosmetics of "real" audio gear that I buy. Has to be near perfect. OTOH, when I build an amp from scratch, it's likely to be in a plain aluminum box, with the inputs and outputs labeled with a black Sharpie. Dymo plastic tape in the old days!
 
My main system, the one in my signature, is black, with minimal controls, and as few lights, all blue, as possible, so as to not draw my attention when listening. Each component has its own shelf on the rack. Bottom is the amp, next up is the preamp. Center is the CD transport and DAC. Phono pre, SUT, and head amp are next, with the TT on top.

It works for me.

EDIT, OK, I think my speakers look better with the grills off, and it's cool to be able to see the tubes in the preamp....
 
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Most of my gear is in “as found” condition. Thrift store, Craigslist, marketplace, by the side of the road or actually in the garbage. I have only purchased a few online as I wanted something specific and of course those I look for best cosmetics if possible.
 
I care---But I don't buy "just just because it looks good." HOWEVER, I won't buy snaggle-tooth stuff that is obviously been beat. Not in cars, not in stereos, not it camera, not in anything. When I search an auction site - I add the words "Mint, Exc" to any search. Start with the pristine stuff and maybe go down a little from there.

Brand new contemporary stuff looks terrible these days. Very plain., boring cans with wee-itty-bitty gray lettering for controls, and way too many LEDs that never seem to go off. Everything looks like a "white work truck" only in black.

Summary - - some style is good, but clean is mandatory.
 
I do what I can to clean them up a bit. That's possibly a pride in ownership thing. I will admit that I was absolutely fascinated with appearance when I was in the Marantz gear phase.

All current gear is key locked inside of a rolling cabinet. That provides a level of fidelity that I had never imagined I would achieve. That cabinet also provides better airflow than what can be accomplished by convection. The inner beauty is that there isn't anything that can go wrong that can't address with parts on the shelf. Most of it is very easy to work on as well.

In short, my ears can't be trained to see anything. :thumbsup:
 
I bought a pair of Kenwood KL-7080s in good cosmetic condition for cheap.

I know. Kabuki. Declasse. :dunno:Unfortunately, I am not a personal injury attorney with unlimited funds.

Needed some new drivers of which I was very fortunate to find OEM drivers on eBay. Also recapped them with Solens.

I like restoring these items, rather than having them in a landfill.

Wife hates them. Says they look like something from a 1970s church.

She’s not wrong. :D
 
It’s a good question, maybe poll-worthy.

I need to be happy aesthetically as well as sonically. It’s not so difficult. Most mid/high-end offerings have solid, tasteful industrial design.

It gets tricky when you’re mixing components and manufacturers. Black, silver, or both. I keep to one or the other in my setups, as they’re not hidden behind cabinetry.

The turntable falls outside of this judgement zone for me. That’s stand-alone. Speakers too.
 
It's hard to say how much it matters, but I do enjoy looking at my stereo, so it at least matters some.

I don't still own any of my NAD stuff and everything I use today looks better to me than it did.
 
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