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Is it Audio, or is it Art?

A casual survey of the latest batch of high end electronics and speakers leads me to an interesting observation. The trend is towards exotic physical shapes which go far beyond any legitimate technical necessity. Taking power amplifiers as an example, electronic “guts” worth about $2000 can be near SOTA. You could put the circuitry in a plain metal box and it would sound the same. But no…we see beautifully sculptured enclosures, and price tags in the multi-kilobuck range. In the case of loudspeakers the number of 6 inch drivers, exhibited without a grill, seems to be a selling point, like the number of cup holders in autos a few years back.

I used to get mad about the prices charged for high end power amps, but not now since I have tumbled to the fact that these items are works of art as much as they are practical sound systems. Are they not proudly displayed on open racks? When you think of, for example, a pair of Chord monoblocks for $75,000, as electronic gear it is completely absurd, but when viewed as a piece of artwork (sculpture) 75 grand is unexceptional. And it plays music too!
eldartford
gregm
3,395 posts
 
a pair of Chord monoblocks for $75,000, as electronic gear it is completely absurd, but when viewed as a piece of artwork (sculpture) 75 grand is unexceptional
Must be an established and exceptional artist to sell that high, dont you think?

Overall it looks more like industrial design to me than sculpture -- but all the same, aesthetics do play a big role and many components are very attractive. Picture the giga$ tube amps or TTs for example...
aball
2,016 posts
 
Musical reproduction is an art form so why not the gear too? Isn't that the very reason we pay so much money for this stuff? Isn't the difference between Yamaha and Burmester essentially art? I think it is clear that we appreciate our music as visual and aural art together.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,139 posts
 
Good looks don't always translate to good sound, but if it wasn't designed to look good, then it probably wasn't designed to sound good either.
eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
Gregm...Agree that the example I used, Chord, does look like something out of a steam engine factory, but that "goes with" high end turntables. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

My point is that the artistic aspect of high end equipment is separate and distinct from its sound reproduction function, and art is what commands the high prices. Have you priced any artwork lately.
sdatch
204 posts
 
I think this is a very valid point. There are SOME instances where form follows function, ans there is a visual statement, but this is usually in the domain of big speakers. I was discussing the similarities of the a lot of the high end audio stuff with high end watches (horology?) with a co-worker. It seems that both pursuits share an obsession with complication, in that you are pursuing novel ways of re-soving a problem that has already been solved, in one case time keeping, in the other passing an audio signal as free of measurable distortions as possible. My co-worker pointed out one big difference - the watch often increases in value over time, whereas as high end gear is just consumer electronics at the end of the day, and is usually significantly depreciated the moment you unbox it.
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