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My "audiophile" weakness(es)...ie: how the item looks, and you?.

It's all about the sound.....right?  Well, with me mostly and most always.....however I am influenced by the cosmetics of audio gear.

The Maggie 20 are impressive, as are many Martin Logan's, and tubes....the glowing of tubes does have impact beyond the glow and heat.  Still love the "looks" of my original CJ ART preamp. 

As I look at the cosmetics/looks of audio gear I do give myself much slack...I know in sports cars, furniture, art and many other things how something looks does impact my thoughts......perhaps that explains some of the very pretty women I was with that were not actually very good people.....but they did look nice.  As a p.s. the best sports cars I ever drove were not very "pretty" as they were race cars...and the "pretty" street ones were much better looking but not nearly as fast/fun to drive as those race cars. 

Have you been influenced by how audio items look?  If you have, what are some of your favorites in the "looks" department?  Thanks for your thoughts/experiences. 







whatjd
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jjss49
6,608 posts
 
haha

all that matters is we are self aware and honest about what pleases us, then we pursue it wholeheartedly

it is a hobby, we shd do what makes us happy

a big part of this is what we admired and looked forward to in our youth... granting ourselves what we desired when we were younger poorer less accomplished in life is a great pleasure of the journey
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edcyn
1,876 posts
 
I've hated the looks of my SOTA Sapphire ever since I bought it.  It's looked cheesy and 1970's from the first day it came out.  The MMT tonearm it sported at one time in history wasn't exactly a beauty contest winner, either...but I do consider my current Alphason tonearm to be wonderfully Art Nouveau.  My Sony SACD player looks blah & anonymous. My NOLA Boxer speakers are actually handsome if perhaps a mite understated.  Every single cable is an unquestionable eyesore. I do gotta say, though, that I dig the looks of my PrimaLuna Integrated. Dead serious.  The tubes glow...or should I say glower...behind what only can be called prison bars.
geof3
1,124 posts
 
Yep, cool is a thing. But, it still has to sound good. Performance beats out looks all day long. Good looks get your attention. There are other examples of this in the world!
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sfar
1,756 posts
 
The listening experience is mostly, but not completely, about the sound. Where you are, whom you're with, what you're drinking, how comfortable you are and a lot of other things contribute. 
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