This also brings up the classic "Chicken and Egg" question.

Did the industrial designers develop a piece of art, present it to the engineers and say: "Here, make it play music"? Or, did the engineers develop their idea of the "ultimate B&O speaker", hand the design off the the industrial designers and say: "Okay, do your thing. Just don’t mess up the sound"?
I’m thinking the latter. The appearance of the speaker is most likely driven by the acoustical objectives of the speaker.  It "looks like it looks" from a functional perspective -- the packaging dictates its "unusual" appearance.

More like the “Chicken and the entire nest egg” question…

@sfgak good one 😀

@sfgak  +1      

I do remember reading the Stereophile review years ago. A bit ugly for me but I was impressed at the positive listening and findings.

@jon_5912 wrote:

luxury = marketing to idiots.  It's selling the sizzle with no steak.  It's been around a long time.  

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays

I'm assuming you haven't listened to these speakers. The BeoLab 90's are engineering marvels ahead of their time, and at the couple of occasions I've heard them they delivered a rather immensely scaled, stabile, resolved and effortless full-range presentation. I find they're an impressive feat sonically and technologically, and say what you will about the aesthetics part - it's certainly distinct and consciously chosen. 

Mentioning the BeoLab 90's in conjunction with high-end audiophilia it probably riles up some of the audiophile inclined that they're DSP-controlled active speakers with >8kW total amp (ICE-)power per channel and are able to adapt to the acoustic environment (incl. a range different of sounding presets via its DSP), while looking the way (/costing what) they do and coming from B&O no less. I find it ironic almost that a manufacturer so invested in the design of its products is as well at the very forefront technologically - radically, even - realizing the sonic aspects. Perhaps the general segment of the high-end speaker industry may pay a little more attention here..