Quote Originally Posted by Barry View Post
The aesthetics of domestic audio gear is different from professional audio gear precisely because it is in a different setting with different requirements of use. Professional gear will often have provision for 19" rack mounting, or will have grab handles at the front. When professional electronic gear is used the controls are deliberately set before use; the only 'glancing' that is done is with the displays: meters or waveform traces. None of this is done with a domestic audio system (unless of course if you like to watch the power meters dancing to and fro).

On all of the domestic audio gear I have used, none of it has had control knobs of the same size: the most used control, the volume control has always been larger than the rest (the only exception is with the Levinson ML10 preamp).

But in the end the styling of domestic audio should harmonise with its surroundings; most women don't want to see the corner of the living room look like a corner of a laboratory, and not everyone is fortunate to have a separate listening room.
It's not just that though. For example I had an Audiolab CD transport where eject was next to play, same size button. I was always ejecting when I wanted to play. Piss-poor ergonomics just so the front of the unit looks 'tidy'. I mean, for who? Women IME are either not bothered by hifi in the living room or don't want it there at all, whatever it looks like.

It's replacement has the eject button set away from the other controls and I've never hit the wrong one once. Basic stuff.