Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Brown /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Because I don't understand anyone who would take what a headphone looks like over how comfortable it is, and how it sounds.
Even though I agree that sound and comfort are wise priorities for headphone purchase and enjoyment, that does not exclude aesthetics from the realm of acceptable discussion.
I don't think this thread necessarily does anything to steer purchase or listening habits toward the prioritization of aesthetic over sound or comfort. I, for one, happen to like the sound of the grados that I have heard, and I own an sr-60i. Depending on the pads I've found that they can be comfortable for me as well. But headphones aren't invisible, so it is perfectly natural that people form associations with their appearance.
I don't think that people are saying that they are making aesthetics a more important factor in their purchasing and listening habits than sound or comfort. We were simply commenting on the appearance, which as I stated is an inevitability of design, and an inextricable component of the abstract idea of a headphone (which is what actually gets discussed on head-fi).
Even if people
were saying that looks are more important, you don't have to understand it, but I think Nick01 was expecting you to contribute something on topic because of the title of the thread and the state of the discussion.
Notice that the poll does not feature an option that would report to us, "I do not care how headphones look as long as they sound good and are comfortable." Therefore, if you are indifferent about the appearance of the grado sr-60 or any other headphone, it makes less sense for you to say that here than it does to say nothing at all, as it seems that you do not find the issue of the sr60's appearance relevant. You could display your disdain for discussion and/or fetishization of a headphone's appearance by abstaining from participation in the thread.
For example, if I didn't care about planar magnetic technology it wouldn't make any sense for me to drop into the orthodynamic roundup thread mid-discussion and post "I don't care about orthodynamic headphones, I only care about dynamic headphones!" and then tell them, "I don't understand why you would choose an ortho over a dynamic driver!" because that would be silly. Sure I would have a right to contribute a dissenting opinion in that situation, but there is a difference between dissent and non-sequitur. What you posted doesn't actually have anything to do with "SR60's looks".
If you would like to debate the validity of considering or discussing a headphone's appearance, then perhaps it would be more productive and more beneficial to the people already engrossed in a discussion here about the appearance of the sr-60, to create a separate topic in the headphone forum about whether looks are relevant enough to other people to warrant discussion. Although, it seems that interest is sufficient for this thread to exist, from which we can conclude that some people do care. Again, this doesn't mean that you have to care too.
Perhaps you meant that you don't understand why people are interested in the appearance of a headphone but you would like to? If that is the case then please clarify and I trust that some of head-fi's members would be able to elucidate the concerns that inform their desire to discuss, and their regard for, a headphone's appearance.
Either way, it seems like it would better facilitate the discussion in progress, the one about the appearance of the sr-60, to create a new thread about the topic that you want to discuss, one which I admit I do not grasp completely but clearly digresses from the subject of "SR60's looks".