1. Home
  2. misc-audio
  3. 195819-3130

??? Would You or Have You Paid A Premium Price For A Component Because Of It's Looks ???

Simple question...
 You have several choices for a new component your looking to buy...They all have wonderful sound and all the connections/features you need/want but 1 choice has a certain Je Ne Sais Quoi the others just don't have...Unfortunately that choice also carries a premium price that might cost you at least 15% & as much as 35% more than any of your other options..You have the extra $ so budget isn't the issue..
 Have you,or would you go ahead & spend the premium to get that extra bit of pizzazz,knowing it's performance really isn't any better than a less expensive option,or do you follow your brain & opt to save the extra $ & get the choice that performs equally well,just doesn't quite have that something something that makes for an OMG experience even when it's not doing it's job as a music maker?

freediver
akg_ca
2,479 posts
 

I would pay a PREMIUM PRICE  for clear premium audio performance capability ….and.I will pay a FAIR PRICE (a clear and unambigous distinction….) for its cosmetics factor. Intuitively, I may pay a premium price if both its upticked looks are in lockstep to its upticked audio performance thst are offered jointly.

I would never pay a Premium Price just for the cosmetics.choice factor alone. IMO, paying any premium price primarily just for the looks and somehow disregarding a material omission (anchor?) with a lacking non-premium audio performance unit, is tantamount to just putting lipstick on a pig.

jl35
4,457 posts
 

I'm willing to pay a little extra for great looks, as long as it's gear I like...would avoid "ugly" as I see my gear so much...

spoonman16510
24 posts
 

Absolutely. I have done that. If a piece of equipment isn't pleasing to the eye then I won't buy it, even if it has everything I want or need.

newton_john's avatar
newton_john
560 posts
 

Yeah. I did once with the turntable to keep my wife happy. I changed a perfectly serviceable LP12 turntable plinth to satisfy her aesthetic tastes.

It was originally the classic fluted rosewood. She wanted high gloss piano black. It looks very nice (photo in my virtual system), but I would rather have saved the money for something else.

fastfreight
1,287 posts
 

To say it another way, I really don’t consider what I deem ugly grear.

More to discover