[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

 

Is it a crime to look for one that is pleasing in both regards?

Yes.  If you want something that looks pretty with your face get some frickin earmuffs. 

 

[Saintly]

Quote:

I hope not.
 
I saw no mention of sound though, just the way they looked, so I posed my snarky question in good humor. I myself find the "only sound matters" mantra needlessly ascetic, and I appreciate the thought that goes into designing the appearance of audio equipment. Compromises are inevitable though. If a headphone sounds exceptionally good, I personally find it a bit unfortunate to exclude it on the grounds of not looking a certain way.

I completely agree with this.  I've read too many cynical posts here lately and misinterpreted yours. My apologies.


Quote:

Yes.  If you want something that looks pretty with your face get some frickin earmuffs. 

I personally find earmuffs pretty hideous. I let my ears freeze during the winter.
 
 

 

[christophrowley]

I'm with Saintly on all accounts. If I'm spending a lot on anything I expect a well rounded product. It isn't enough to maximise one attribute and ignore the others. 

 

[GiacomoHoldini]

I'm with Saintly on all accounts. If I'm spending a lot on anything I expect a well rounded product. It isn't enough to maximise one attribute and ignore the others. 

Except this came up because another member has particular tastes that rule out a number of good brands and designs. One may or may not like wood, but I don't think one can say that Denon ignored aesthetics when designing the AH-D7000 - quite the opposite, really. And while everyone is entitled to his opinion, if a person's aesthetic preferences are going to cause him to rule out such a wide range of good cans, including Audeze, Grado, higher-end Denons, and a HifiMan...well, maybe it's just me, but I think he might want to re-examine his priorities.

 

[Blisse]

I'm with Saintly on all accounts. If I'm spending a lot on anything I expect a well rounded product. It isn't enough to maximise one attribute and ignore the others. 

Except this came up because another member has particular tastes that rule out a number of good brands and designs. One may or may not like wood, but I don't think one can say that Denon ignored aesthetics when designing the AH-D7000 - quite the opposite, really. And while everyone is entitled to his opinion, if a person's aesthetic preferences are going to cause him to rule out such a wide range of good cans, including Audeze, Grado, higher-end Denons, and a HifiMan...well, maybe it's just me, but I think he might want to re-examine his priorities.

I swear this hobby is for our enjoyment. If something about the headphone isn't enjoyable to me, look- or comfort- or sound-wise, why would I consider it? Would you buy something that looked ridiculous in your eyes, but performed well? Then you're more tolerant of looks than me.

When I buy headphones, I want to make sure it's the complete package. Something that is visually appealing, matches my music preferences, costs reasonable, feels comfortable, and I enjoy owning (in no particular order). If the headphones don't do all of that, why do I have to consider it? My priorities are different from yours, and my preferences are different from yours.

There are many options still available. Not as many as I would have if I enjoyed the looks we're discussing, but it's growing with stuff like the HD700s, and I'm in no hurry. Still, when a headphone company launches a new product, I check everything, and if my first impressions are good (from reviews AND pictures), I'm excited. If anything binds audiophiles together, it's the excitement we get from listening to music. If something (like the appearance) of the device detract from that experience, I hope no one forces themselves to suffer with it.

 

[christophrowley]

Quote:

Except this came up because another member has particular tastes that rule out a number of good brands and designs. One may or may not like wood, but I don't think one can say that Denon ignored aesthetics when designing the AH-D7000 - quite the opposite, really. And while everyone is entitled to his opinion, if a person's aesthetic preferences are going to cause him to rule out such a wide range of good cans, including Audeze, Grado, higher-end Denons, and a HifiMan...well, maybe it's just me, but I think he might want to re-examine his priorities.

 
By "ignoring all others" I was more referring to the people who say sound quality is the be all and end all with headphones. Apologies for the ambiguity. I wouldn't say companies like Audez'e and Hifiman don't pay any attention to aesthetics. They could certainly look a lot worse, but I doubt they laboured over the design to the same extent as Sennheiser. To me the appeal (want factor) of a product is massively affected by the creator's passion for it. If the design is meh, then I wonder why, if they did love the project, did they not work on it until it was finished, rather than calling it a day when the sound quality was there. I'm a firm believer function and form are not mutually exclusive. 
 
(Disclaimer: I realise Sennheiser pays attention to design because that's what sells, but that's to be expected from a corporate giant. The same rules don't apply to comparatively tiny companies like Schiit, Audez'e or Hifiman.)

 

[wink]

 
Quote:

 If a headphone sounds exceptionally good, I personally find it a bit unfortunate to exclude it on the grounds of not looking a certain way.

Hence, the Taket H2+

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

To me the appeal (want factor) of a product is massively affected by the creator's passion for it. If the design is meh, then I wonder why, if they did love the project, did they not work on it until it was finished,

Because they are trying to make headphones, not earmuffs? 

 

[Phos]

Quote:

 
By "ignoring all others" I was more referring to the people who say sound quality is the be all and end all with headphones. Apologies for the ambiguity. I wouldn't say companies like Audez'e and Hifiman don't pay any attention to aesthetics. They could certainly look a lot worse, but I doubt they laboured over the design to the same extent as Sennheiser. To me the appeal (want factor) of a product is massively affected by the creator's passion for it. If the design is meh, then I wonder why, if they did love the project, did they not work on it until it was finished, rather than calling it a day when the sound quality was there. I'm a firm believer function and form are not mutually exclusive. 
 
(Disclaimer: I realise Sennheiser pays attention to design because that's what sells, but that's to be expected from a corporate giant. The same rules don't apply to comparatively tiny companies like Schiit, Audez'e or Hifiman.)

Have you looked at Schiit's amps?  Curved brushed aluminum chassis that wouldn't look out-of-place in an apple store all around on that front.  As for Audez'e and HiFiMan, a big ortho is always going to look like a big ortho.  Personally I love the big ortho look, but maybe I'm an outlier because I like the way the 404 signature looks, it almost looks like some kind of laboratory instrument.  Well, I like the cups but not the band.  

 

[logwed]

Quote:

Have you looked at Schiit's amps?  Curved brushed aluminum chassis that wouldn't look out-of-place in an apple store all around on that front.  As for Audez'e and HiFiMan, a big ortho is always going to look like a big ortho.  Personally I love the big ortho look, but maybe I'm an outlier because I like the way the 404 signature looks, it almost looks like some kind of laboratory instrument.  Well, I like the cups but not the band.  

The 404 wouldn't be so heinously ugly if it weren't that horrid brown color, the LE looks fairly nice IMO.
 

 

[GiacomoHoldini]

I swear this hobby is for our enjoyment. [snip] If the headphones don't do all of that, why do I have to consider it? My priorities are different from yours, and my preferences are different from yours.

Your reaction looks as though you took my comment as a personal criticism or attack. It wasn't. I wasn't saying you had to do anything. I honestly don't care what you do, as it doesn't affect me. I was suggesting that if you're going to rule out a wide range of high-quality headphones purely on appearance grounds, you yourself would possibly be missing out, and you might want to re-examine your priorities to see just how important that one criterion is.

Let's look at it a different way. You say you don't like wood, and as such won't even consider an Audeze headphone, solely on the basis that they have a wood finish. Now, let's say hypothetically that they have the spot-on sound signature you like, better than any other headphone on the market in a price range you can afford; and let's say they are comfortable enough, and affordable enough, so that you would have no trouble buying them if it weren't for the wood. Would you still not get them, just for that reason alone? Would you opt for another headphone that sounded "good enough," but wasn't as good as the Audeze, just because you like its looks better? If so, of course that's your choice, and your money - you can do what you want. But I also think you would be depriving yourself of the very thing that defines what audiophiles are all about - the best listening experience possible. You said, "If anything binds audiophiles together, it's the excitement we get from listening to music." I notice you didn't say it was the excitement of looking at the music.

 

[Blisse]

And the looks of the headphones you suggest detract from my experience. That is the point I am making. Having headphones like that on me destroys the experience, as much as listening to terrible headphones, or wearing uncomfortable headphones. It's not enough to be perfectly good in everything and come way short in any one place.

The Audeze wouldn't be "the best experience" because the fact that they're wood already ruins the experience. When you listen to music, a bunch of factors, like comfort, and environment, and look, come into play, as much as amplifiers, and sources and, maybe cables. Everything comes together, even if you're just "listening."

That's how I look at my music experience.

You clearly prefer the best sound, but I prefer the best package. That's probably where we differ.

Btw, yeah, it felt like it was a slight attack on me. No hard feelings though. Sorry if I sound/read rude.

 

[idletime1213]

That's understandable and perfectly reasonable. It's also perfectly understandable that in a forum where people spend a thousand bucks for a 2% better musical experience with a certain cable, that people might find it bewildering to find someone who gives such a high priority to appearance that it's possible to ignore any sonic advantages a certain product might give.
 
So I can kinda understand where people are coming from.

 

[Maxvla]

If anything binds audiophiles together, it's the excitement we get from listening to music.

Actually it's more the acquiring of gear and discussion of it, the music is almost always secondary, even if only by a small margin.

 

[logwed]

Quote:

Actually it's more the acquiring of gear and discussion of it, the music is almost always secondary, even if only by a small margin.

I'm bummed that you feel this way