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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
eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
Onhwy61....True...I myself don't wear any watch at all except when I go out of town on a trip. (But when I do it's a Timex). Don't get me wrong: it's perfectly OK by me if people want to wear a beautiful braclet rather than a timepiece. So too in audio some people want to exhibit beautiful audio equipment on racks which suggest a museum display, while others hide their utilitarian butt kicking circuitry in the cellar.

All I am trying to do is to understand how some high end audio equipment can find buyers at the prices asked. The price structure for artwork is quite different from electronic gizmos, and I believe gives this explanation.

In the automobile business there was a time when high end buyers would purchase a bare chassis and then hire any of many body specialists to craft a body to his particular styling taste. Perhaps this will happen with audio. You buy the circuits, and hire an artist to create an enclosure for them.
gregm
3,021 posts
 
You buy the circuits, and hire an artist to create an enclosure for them.
We'd get some beautiful components that way! Far beyond my means -- but I could always ogle at the pictures:)

Actually some people do get spkrs designed to order -- but the few I've seen have nothing spectacular about their cabinetry
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
manufacturers have a nickname for the most expensive products....MARGINALIA....the most expensive digital front ends are all first cousins to that walkman in a blisterpack.
trelja
3,215 posts
 
Onhwy61, the list of ugly gear that produces some of the finest sound obtainable is long indeed. Looks and sound have nothing to do with each other.

I agree that a well engineered piece in a plain jane wrapper hits closer to home to me than the converse. Sadly, as has been pointed out, this hobby has become about status and spending more than the next guy in far too many cases. Faceplates as thick as a floor safe, blue LEDs, book matched veneers, and perfectly executed lacquer finishes provide as much pleasure and price of ownership as one that provides stellar sound. Sometimes, even more.

And, for the record, my wife wears a Rolex, and my daughter a Timex. The Timex seems to keep perfect time. The Rolex has been sent back twice in 5 years because it does so poorly at keeping time.
onemug
784 posts
 
Trelja, I don't agree that this hobby has "become about status and spending....". I think there was always a % that bought based on what status it appeared to give them. In my youth I remember seeing/hearing systems comprised of JBL Hartsfield,Paragon, or Olympus speakers with a full rack of McIntosh or Marantz components. You could buy a house for what some people paid for their systems. Same today. The balance may shift a little from decade to decade but will always be with us.
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