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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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petermj's avatar
petermj
34 posts
 
Some tractors are beautiful where others are just plain looking.  What matters most is the work they can do.  Just like some speakers look like art and function excellent there are just plain speakers that sound magical.  Can see my equipment anyways, I like to listen in the dark, or close my eyes.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,179 posts
 
Different strokes for different folks. 
prof
3,471 posts
 

I’m confused by the OP.


Who is choosing looks over sound in their speakers?


This is an audiophile site; if anything, it’s a place where people are more dedicated to sound than looks.


That said...it’s not like sound and beauty are mutually exclusive. There are so many speakers out there it’s not hard to find a speaker whose sound AND looks you like.


Personally I LOVE the look of beautiful audio gear, especially a high quality looking pair of speakers. So aesthetics matter very much to me.   And has been pointed out before, speakers often go in rooms where they will be on constant view.  They are a piece of furniture in that respect, so it makes sense any number of us would care what a speaker looks like.


But this hasn’t forced me to end up with speakers that look bad. I’ve been able to find great combinations of aesthetics and performance.


And it doesn’t matter how good the sound is from our speakers, most of us end up tweaking our system to get the best. It’s what we do. We are audiophiles. :)




stargazer3's avatar
stargazer3
135 posts
 
I have recently in my late life, discovered a dream HiFi System which actually 'wowed' me and is not too 'unrealistic' in the price.  Fortunately the speakers look good and solid, and I think would attract the 'wife' approval in the siitting room.  The same brand have their new integrated amp, its all in that silver metal look, actually looks nice, neat and very purposeful.  Because of the brands reputation (the client list looks quite impressive with famous names) for that tantalising sound, no nonsense solid engineering and build I have every faith in the components.  The only consideration is finding that extra money but will still cost less than a new average car.....
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