How important are the Speaker Cabinets?

very important since people generally are influenced(even in audio)by what they see. the merits of exotic materials arguably are more about setting a product apart from the pack and (at the end of day)find an audience with people who just dig 'the look'. nothing wrong with that, but you'll certainly pay for 'the look'.

Jaybo

Interesting so do you believe people are choosing speakers based upon how they look and are willing to pay for that look even if their is a comparable speakers that cost less but doesn't look as good?

"I guess I was under the impression that the drivers were the most costly and contributes mostly to how speakers sound. Given that revelation couldn't you use cheaper drivers with a great cabinet to get close to the same sound as better drivers?"

Maybe. In practice, most designs have to compromise somewhere in order to provide an affordable yet quality product.

But in the end its how all the component parts of a "speaker system" contribute together to deliver the sound people want that matters.

Lets not forget that they are "speaker systems" after all, comprised of various parts, often but not always including cabinet. Some may have no cabinet at all as pointed out.

Its like making soup. There is margin for error (nothing is perfect) but get any one ingredient in the soup wrong by enough and the taste will suffer.

But also remember the speaker system alone is still not enough to guarantee good sound. There's how well the speaker works located in your listening venue/room and how well the amp is able to drive the speakers. Only once all that is set up well are you in a good position to judge how good your sources (CD, phono, etc.) really are. After that, your entire system is tuned in which is what it takes t get the best sound out of what you can afford.

Jaybo

Interesting so do you believe people are choosing speakers based upon how they look and are willing to pay for that look even if their is a comparable speakers that cost less but doesn't look as good?

Absolutely. How many audiophiles do you see using ugly pro black ash speakers? How many audiophiles do you see using aesthetic looking speakers with fine veneers?

On average, it is more about aesthetics than everything else combined. This is self evident the moment you step into a high-end consumer store versus a pro sudio store.

I'd agree that speaker cabinets are important both for the way they sound AND the way they look to most buyers, including audiophiles.

Again, back to the Magico Mini example, I doubt people in NYC cramped quarters who can afford them (a key target demographic) would shell out $30000 if they did not look as well as sound good.