Do you care about the LOOK???

For a while I kept a small poster of my Air Tight ATM300 on my desk. I think Air Tight's amps combine both beautiful function and looks. They really are quite jewel-like in appearance.

The Lexus coupe performs like a rather sleepy, overweight house pet. Pretty damn good looking car but I don't think Lexus has found it's design statement yet. Or, at best, they are just starting to get there with the new models.

I am willing to sacrafice a little bit on the sound quality for the look....

My first priorities are performance and build quality. If it looks good too, that's just gravy on the audio burger.

I agree that Rolex is an amazingly powerful brand, which therefore means that their watches are overrated and overpriced.

As a barometer of this situation, it is interesting to examine a really, really good fake Rolex.

I used to make it a sport to shop for the most remarkable fake Rolex from Chinatown, New York, to Hong Kong to Thailand.

The good ones are really remarkable, not only in weight and finish, but also in their accuracy, particularly compared to the "real" Rolexes.

If you really think about this, you would realize that the $50.00 "fake" watch offers at least 51%, if not 90% + of the benefits of the real Rolex, other than the hologram of authenticity or whatever other bogus, margin justifying schemes the real watch offers.

This is both a disturbing conclusion about the value of a real Rolex (although paradoxically it retains value) as well as the hypnotic power of strong brands.

Nonetheless, I cherish my "real" Rolex stainless steel Daytona.

I do realize it has a humble Zenith movement and I am sure many lesser known brands and watches have craftsmanship and artistry that would put it to shame.

But the Bose of watches? OUCH!

Oh...and about the look of audio components, as well as watches.

I would vote a resounding Y-E-S!!!!! for audio, for cameras, kitchen appliances, furniture....for that matter just about anything.

Not to say that looks are everything, or that a beautifully designed, mediocre component is desirable. I I have never owned B&O for example, and dont expect to until they hire a new team of engineers.

But to say that looks dont matter is a chippy, naive, provincial position, IMO.

An English Caterham 7, or for that mattter, even a "pimp my ride", Fast and Furious Honda CRX can probably leave many Ferraris in the dust.

But WHO CARES. Unless you are economically challenged, I dont think anyone would say they wouldnt prefer the Ferrari.

The Ferrari is a powerful, magical brand because it combines performance with craftsmanship and beauty.

If more so called "high end" audio companies thought like Enzo Ferrari, instead of Japanese car tuners, there would be fewer people in the world who viewed us as the lunatic fringe.

Cheers

cwlondon