Ugly as sin
and not very practical. My missus would forever be walking into it and spinning the controls. Plus, you would have to bend over to adjust it even if you were sat down on the sofa in front of it (it looks like it was designed to act as a coffee table), which I would bet would get tiresome pretty quickly.

It's crass, too. The thing looks like i was meant to sit right in the middle of a room, which to me screams "look at me, I'm the kind of stupid twat that pays eight and a half grand for hifi equipment".
( Kroney, Sat 31 Jul 2010, 6:50, 1 reply, 16 years ago)

Hmmm
Warning! Rant alert!
This is probably one of the ugliest pieces of home electronics I've ever seen, but it has valves and costs a fortune so it's gotta sound good - right?
I take issue with most of the 'Hi Fi' buffs that I've come across (not in that sense). I used to work in the acoustics arena and I've done quite a bit of work in 'room tuning'.
Most that I met had more money than sense and also had almost zero knowledge of acoustics as a science. Ask the Hi Fi buff what the Rt60 of the room is, what the resonant frequency of the room is, where they sit, what's the absorbency/reflectivity of the fittings/what they wear, how many people sit in the room, where they sit and, most importantly what is the ACTUAL frequency range of the human ear - generally they have no idea.
As to the power output of Hi Fi - why have something that will give out 500 watts+ when the output of an entire symphony orchestra is 25 watts?
Beats me!
And don't get me on to the 'vinyl is the only true medium' argument.

CP (ex member of the institute of acoustics)
(Captain Placid 24/7 ball gags, brownie mix and clown porn, Sat 31 Jul 2010, 10:10, Reply)

I have a colleague who has paid hundreds of pounds for new wires to connect his stereo to his speakers.
He swears blind that he can hear the difference.

*facepalms*
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Sat 31 Jul 2010, 10:24, Reply)

I always use decent cable in my kit, there IS a massive difference over cheap cable.
Hundreds of pounds is a bit over the top, but I bet he can hear the difference, and if he's got the money, why not?
( broadsword, Sat 31 Jul 2010, 13:08, Reply)

I quite agree with you
The minute somebody starts talking about "musicality" I want to claw my eyes out. Sure, there's going to be a difference between a decent set of seperates and a 99 quid all-in-one job from Alba, but once you get to a certain quality level, sound is entirely subjective.

My current equipment consists of a TEAC hifi amp, with a PS3 in the AUX channel, a Sky box in the Tuner channel and a pair of standmounts connected with decent, but not expensive, cable. Sounds like a pretty ghetto setup, but I promise that it sounds just as good as the last decent hifi I had. Would a set of gold plated cables help? I doubt it. I may eventually get a decent AV amp, but only because I'm getting tired of having to swap remotes all the time.
( Kroney, Sun 1 Aug 2010, 8:08, Reply)

so right
High end hifi is so much more about penis extensions than sound

And it comes down to preference. There are good electrical / electronic reasons for having good thick cable connecting amplfiers and speakers. Gold is a good conductor, but audible differences?

As for room acoustics - the effect is way more noticeable than the OFC cable!

Still, I can't heat fuckall above 12k now anyway! And my midrange is screwed too!

Hint from your uncle rabbit: use eardefenders when working in hi decibel environments and in low level one too if you are exposed to it for along time. Remember, it may not be cool to wear ear defenders, but they are way cooler than hearing aids!!
(CheatingRabbit, Sun 1 Aug 2010, 15:00, Reply)