Why is black so popular for components?

Right on, chorus. We know black is cheap. We know black is "cool." Hofuckinghum. What black is NOT is visibly functional or relatably human. I don't envy Darth Vader's kit. Those who do are simply made of different stuff than we. 

If everything is the same color, it’s harder for my wife to figure out when I’ve added a new piece.

Black has to do with control, and we audiophiles want to control the sound so that it matches our personal taste.

I recall a few decades ago that the cheap electronics (e.g., Grand Prix, Emerson, Panasonic) came in various color combinations, some of which were attractive.  I wondered at the time why the truly hifi gear was so boring to look at.  To have colors and quality would have seemed to be the best of both worlds.  Right?

But, as others noted, boring is the point.  That is how you know the gear is for SERIOUS listeners, because it’s appearance is bland and doesn’t distract.  A lot of amps are boring up front — power button on a black wall, like my Parasound A21..  Yes, there are the McIntosh blue meters as well as on a few other quality pieces, but the overall look is to be black and boring.  If you want flashy, get a plastic box with knobs that fall off.

I do like the look of some of the pricey, showier equipment though.  I just wish it were within my budget.

Black components matter!

Q) Why is black so popular for components?      A) Opinions matter!                                     You really believe there aren’t marketing professionals, observing the consumer base and analyzing preference data?        https://blog.umetrics.com/preference-mapping-with-opls-data-analytics   and: https://www.industrialpackaging.com/blog/package-design-color-for-the-consumer

Is black actually the most popular? All the gear I looked at for purchase was available in silver only, or silver/black choice, none in black only...

If you can sonically make your speakers disappear...its the ultimate for listening at night.

It goes great with McIntosh blue meters ;-)

I was impressed in the 70's when I bought my Crown international home audio equipment. It came with Nickel plating on the whole metal case and a block diagram schematic in the top lid.  Shines as good as new still today.  The problem was the black anodized paint was crummy and rubbed off.  But the Nickel plating was cool and lasting.  

Mostly driven by fashion, I think.

Back in the 1960/70s silver was big, and then preferences switched to black. I have mostly black with a few CJ pieces that I'd call champagne but almost no silver left in my systems

I do like the brushed metal look too. I got these isolation feet for my pioneer table, https://www.mnpctech.com/collections/turntable-lsolation-feet

Years ago I had some B&K components (preamp and power amp) that had gold face plates, really looked far better and more expensive then the usual black .

Once I seen a guy selling a preamp on US Audio Mart who had the face plate coated with a layer of real gold and he wasn't asking much more for it then market value of the preamp. 

It's really a historical phenomenon.  Everything way back used to be silver. A fellow from Richmond Hill, Ontario Canada...Michael Dayton Wright produced all of his electronics in black and it started the wave of conversion. 
He produced some incredible speakers as well.  Brilliant guy.  He invented Stability 22...first marketed by Sumiko as "Tweak."  It continues to be the finest contact enhancement for not only hi-fi but the auto & aerospace industry as well. 

Correction: "Stabilant 22"

One thing I like about silver, it is much easier to read the black lettering that designates each control. Black is terrible for this.

simple, beautiful & elegant. i WILL NOT buy equipment any other color.

Black, silver, gold, brown or gray - certain audio manufacturers have their approved color and when they try a different color, it just looks wrong, while other manufacturers can get away with it.

- cj in black is a violation, because their gold or champagne color is what we are used to
- ARC in black is also not recommended because silver Audio Research products just look better
- Threshold looks better in silver than black as does Crown.

Let us not turn this into any kind of race thing, because that’s just insane, but it just now occurred to me that when certain manufacturers makes their products in silver, IMHO, they don’t look as good in black, as per the above examples.

But when a manufacturer makes their products in black, then makes a smaller number in silver or white, they tend to look better and more interesting in a color besides black.

For ex: B&K - the majority were made in black, very few in silver, but the silver ones look really cool. Adcom in white, Tandberg in silver, Nakamichi in silver. But early Haflers looked better in brown than in black. NAD has always been gun metal gray, anything else would be uncivilized. I’m sure there are many more examples, but I can’t think of any at this time.
It’s kind of the same thing with sports teams and team jerseys. As an Eagles fan, I always liked when the Cowboys came out in their dark uniforms because I don’t think they play as good in their dark blue jerseys.

In summation, I think color is just what we get used to from manufacturer to manufacturer.

lou -- I'd swear my long gone, very early NAD gear (1970's?) was brown.

Yes, my NAD amplifier and both NAD tape decks were all a shade of brown, with small variations. Not enough for incongruity but certainly noticeable.

NAD have stuck with brown, albeit a much darker near black shade nowadays.

Arcam on the other ditched the distinct brown shading of their gear in the 90s (curvy NAD?) and went for a more modern clean look with their Diva range and especially FMJ ranges.

Gone were the slight gentle curves and in came sharp straight lines. Both were available in dark brown and silver with the Full Metal Jacket Range managing to look very upmarket. As they should have with their more upmarket price.

Yet strangely enough Arcam seem to have changed the design once more and now their products once more look a little those of NAD, with a near black / brown finish.

You can only assume that these various changes have been carefully considered. NAD’s have been quite conservative but Arcam’s haven’t.

At a guess I’d say that the Diva and especially the FMJ range were adding unsupportable manufacturing costs so hence the revision to a basic functional look.

I bet Arcam now wish they’d copied NAD a little more.

Seems like tube equipment has more color choices than solid state.

Yes, you guys are correct and I am colorblind. The NAD’s were brown. I have a later model an NAD 4300 tuner which turned gun metal gray I think and not as nice as the older brown.

Funny how colors and cosmetics can be such a big thing!

Anyone remember when Perreaux changed their cosmetics from the ever classy white components to the stainless steel fat looking ass. I always thought the 80’s Perreaux was one of the greatest looking components out there.

I don't see how  black would be any cheaper to mfg.  Clear, black, or any color of dye for that matter cost the exact same.  Also if you are doing a large amount with a plating house there is definitely a discount. 

I prefer silver.  Most of my system is silver.  Rack, speaker stands, amp, dac...  

I like MBL’s color options.  Gloss Black or Gloss White with either silver or gold lettering.  Seems to open up many different good looking options.  I’d probably want 3 or 4 mbl systems just to cover all my bases.

And yes, Black Components Matter!

I like the marantz champagne finish, although seemingly only avail in the UK. They rather fancy the silver front fascias on the other side of the pond for some reason or other. In my set up, I like to mix and match, some black, some silver, along with wood side panels when available. Black speakers, not my cup of tea. I like walnut or rosewood finishes, preferably real wood veneers. 

Black

disappears in low lighting, black doesn't visually draw your brain left or right unconsciously effecting perceived 'center' related to imaging. Matte surfaces reduce reflections, some equipment includes ability to dim panel lights,

I always buy monitors/tvs with black frames, so that programs with black bars are not 'within a silver frame', which avoids the awful practice of 'stretch' distorting images, oval basketballs, basketball players looking like football linemen, beautiful women looking fat.

Black is very popular because you can change stuff and wife will not notice as much.

That’s a great point!

Black is the second most popular color in automobiles. Second only to white by a very thin margin. White  23.9%, followed by black, at 23.2%. Next is gray and silver at 15.5% and 14.5%. 

My T+A HV gear is champagne a beautiful color - but all my other gear is black. Other manufacturers silver can be in very different tones and difficult to match. For the most part black components from various manufacturers seem to work visually.     

josephp -- I say let the components all be different colors. It show that your ears are in charge.  Not your eyes!

BCM

Black Components Matter

My Herron VTPH-2A phono preamp is silver.   Also comes in titanium gray.  

Matt black best for heat dissipation.

Personally I like champagne with wood side cheeks and cherry speakers and rack.

My old Quad is dark grey but at least looks pretty when it lights up and has red and ivory switches. Like you said silver was big in the 70’s but at least it was brushed aluminium and often wood sides. Then it all went black before the dreaded silver everywhere but crummy painted plastic (ironically black underneath).

Car colours are so boring the mo- first the dreaded silver craze (coz it’s safe, easier to sell and ’easy to keep looking clean’) now white, black (ironically hard to keep clean) and the dreaded silver or even worse grey. Interiors the same story- first proper wood/ metal, silver painted plastic and now black with the dreaded touchscreen of annoyance and fingermarks probably because it’s cheaper to make than buttons.

Furniture at one point was all beech and silver then overnight went to light oak. Same with kitchens- seems to be ivory everywhere.

Is it fashion or a lack of imagination? We seem to live in a very monochrome world at the moment. People think the 70’s was brown (OK we had a gorgeous metallic brown Chrysler Avenger and I had a brown velour tracksuit top with cream stripes down the sleeves) but I’m sure there was far more colour then apart from the rash of denim everywhere.

At least Nord keyboards are a cheerful bright red. I also have a metallic blue soprano sax with gold lacquer keys that's 'flash as a rat with a gold tooth'

On this topic. My living room is all wood, on the lighter shades of cherry. Black is anathema in that room. Even my speakers/subwoofer set are in light cherry. 
For the last few years I've been trying to add another sub into the system, but I can't. Why? Because just about every damned sub made is black (at my price point). I've been wanting a 12" that matches the lowest spec of 22 db as my sub in my systems. With 400 to 600 watts. Guess what you better come up with $2000 or more if you want one. 


SVS has one that would match the specs I'm looking for (2000 Pro), black, black, and more black.  Jesus man, speaker companies used to at least offer the fake wood patterns vinyl paper speakers and subs. Some were so good looking that you would think they were real wood veneers, all under $1000. This is the main reason why I haven't bought a speaker in over 12 years. No choice of color, unless you have $ 2000 or more.

robert_1,

"My living room is all wood, on the lighter shades of cherry"


Yes, that light and bright natural look.

Growing up I can remember just how 'busy' curtains, carpets and wallpaper used to look back in the 70s. Tons and tons of hallucinigenic flowery patterns everywhere.

Hardly anything coordinated.

I guess life is faster now and our environment doesn't have to be.

The word decor was omitted. My living room is not all wood. The decor is what's wood: chairs, dining table, entertainment center, speakers, etc. And yes...that's the wife acceptance criteria: speakers must match the overall decour in the room, and I agree with her. Luckily for us we both have the same taste.

I generally dislike black components because it obscures the details of the faceplates.

Still give me painted black over painted silver any day for sound gear but if you're going to coat/ paint anything the world's your lobster (apologies to Del Boy) and why would you paint something the same colour it was anyway? 

Easier to mask manufacturing defects.  I wanted wood color 803's but could not pass up a deal on black ones.  My 40 year old stand mount B&W's are much better looking, with beautiful wood.

Black speakers and components are unobtrusive for sure and that's  great if that is what you're going for.  I know the feeling and have spent many hours staring at a flat black AR Ref 6 with the blue/green display.  That said, I recently purchased Dartzeel components which are gold and red and Evolution Acoustics speakers that are a beautiful red with black fronts.  Most of you know the sound quality from these components is spectacular but what I would like to add here is the use of bold colors really add to the appearance of my room.  I wasn't sure at first if I would like that but now I would not have it any other way.  In a word they are a joy to look at as well as listen to.         

black plastic is cheaper to produce, and for metal paint is cheaper and more practical than white ..

It's easier, for me, to see past a black component or speaker and concentrate on the music. Can't speak for others of why black polls so popularly with Americans but it does. Funny how we create mountains out of mole hills.

All the best,
Nonoise

1. Black goes with anything. 2.  In marketing psychology black stands for control. 3. less glare from the black. 

I never chose the color of the components. Ears don't see color))