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Whats the deal?

Why do people, myself included, place so much emphasis on build quality and appearance over sound?  It’s so strange that I’ll do just about anything to make my system sound better apart from using tone controls or buying / enjoying speakers that don’t use high quality drivers, cabs and crossovers.  It’s like I have an audiophile checklist of dos and don’ts

A good example would be the fact that I have bought and listened to many different models of Paradigm speakers and the only ones that I loved were the Signature 2 V.2.  I have loved the way  many other Paradigm speakers that I owned looked or were built but when it comes to sound they were all too bright.  Sure they image well and have good dynamics but I see so many posts about paradigm that have a similar tones (no pun intended).

Why oh why do we spend all kinds of $ trying to make speakers that we don’t like sound like speakers that we do like.
Wouldn’t it just be easier to buy new speakers as opposed to new amp, source, wires, room acoustic treatments trying to put band aids on speakers that we don’t like?

Kind of reminds me of marriages where the Wife is a total jerk yet the Husband will stay with her forever because she’s beautiful.  
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n80
2,116 posts
 
gasbose and glupson....I’m a sucker, I think most tractors are beautiful. I have a Kubota L4400 4wd. It is not a shiny anymore as in the picture below but I still think it is a fine looking machine:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/guide/upload/review_photos/302/photo1/_DSC0475.jpg

As far as ugly speakers that perform well......I don’t mean to step on any toes but there are some ugly speakers out there. Almost everything Wilson makes is hideous to me. Particularly the Alexandria model. The top end Vandersteens seem pretty ugly to me. I’m sure their well heeled owners don’t think they are ugly and I’m assuming they sound good enough (for that kind of money) that they don’t care about how they look.

I had a pair of B&W towers that I thought were ugly (I don’t like the tweeter wart on top) and they did not sound to good either....but they had been abused.
glupson
7,842 posts
 
n80,

I am a city kid and my only tractor experience was really those two Matchboxes. I loved them. If you only knew how much of my carpet did that red one plow. Your tractor does look like some real thing. I can see why you like it. Too bad it came out after I stopped buying Matchboxes. I would have probably had feelings for it, too.
blindjim
3,092 posts
 

I’d like to know who here picks pretty over performance, at any point in amassing an audio system?.


speakers, far more than electronics must have both performance and esthetic appeal.


I found out quite by accident locating the electronics outside the listening area a very good idea. when or if possible. in such cases the esthetics of the electronics is a moot issue.


as for build quality generally speaking, and how much ‘bling’ it seems to inherently possess, Americans are notorious for buying with their eyes. food. cars. clothes. spouses.shoes. jewelry. phones. if its not attractive, asking a lot of money for it will not work out well.


when a thing has an enormous price tag, like an amp, DAC, rack, TT, etc., looking very nice, polished and shiny will go a long way to its cost being accepted. add in it weighs a ton and well now, this must be worth a lot of money, right?


Weight alone is not going to justify its cost with an experienced enthusiast. for these, it is ‘all about performance’. weight, build, technology in play, which add  up to aid a thing’s  justification, but it is performance we chase more than bling.


at the onset, or once we attain gear which has  presumably lofty levels of presentation, we face the obstacle of extracting synergy from the accumulated mix.

it is that ‘synergy’ and obviously, budgetary constraints whichreemain as our ever present  obstacles on the high end highway.


I guess pretty has its place when the lights are on, but who listens with the lights on anyhow?


inna
7,296 posts
 
I choose none of the above. Great sounding speakers will not be too ugly, at least to me.
erik_squires
16,041 posts
 
Whats the prettiest, most expensive, highest pedigree speaker that sounds like garbage?  Someone chime in here.

My two pet peeves are Golden Ear and Dali. First has a really ragged, second has very elevated, top end.


After that, Magico. Much much better sounding than the previous two, but to my ears never get the tonal balance right, especially with female voices and pianos.


PS I only posted this so a lot of people would go nuts and reply.



You are welcome,


E
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