Munich High End show 2018

[Barry]

I llke Martin's point of view. We could do with more "inverse snobbery" in Hi-Fi, I'm in favour of that. That's why I avoid buying silver or 'champagne' coloured equipment, black or grey is the way to go, matt finish even better. Makers like Line Magnetic lead the way. Good Hi-Fi should not look out of place in a boiler room!! So there!!!

Those look like something Flash Gordon would be familiar with.

[Pharos]

I pretty well agree with Marco's stance on taste and function.

To me Quad had a pretty good balance on style and quality, and I think a solidly built piece, with good engineering, and the money ordinated into the right places is fine if done with subtlety and subdued styling.

[Barry]

I like "laboratory" looking audio gear, so would love to try one of these in hammer-finish grey:

[Marco]

hi marco, I'm well thank you and hope to post more here....always enjoy this forum...now I'm off to listen to some musique

Excellent, Jonathan. I always enjoy reading your posts, especially the witty ones you're renowned for, lol!

Marco.

[Marco]

I like "laboratory" looking audio gear, so would love to try one of these in hammer-finish grey:

Me too - and the EMT, in that respect, is perfect. It's also 'born' for the right reasons: to act as a highly effective (superbly engineered) tool, for use by audio enthusiasts and professionals, not some blinged-up pretentious trinket, to appeal to hi-fi jewellery fetishists.

Marco.

[Marco]

I pretty well agree with Marco's stance on taste and function.

To me Quad had a pretty good balance on style and quality, and I think a solidly built piece, with good engineering, and the money ordinated into the right places is fine if done with subtlety and subdued styling.

Yup, Quad is another good example of what I'm referring to, particularly the vintage stuff.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying we should all be filling our systems with boring 'drab looking' boxes, as I do enjoy some of the more tasteful examples of 'quirky engineering', just not when it results in (as Macca has mentioned) an outcome of 'look at me, Mr Loadsamoney, and my flash system'.

Quite simply, there are tasteful, clever, ways of spending money on hi-fi, just as there are on houses and how one furnishes and decorates them... Just look at the homes of your average 'footballer's wife', for examples of how NOT to do it!

And the same applies with hi-fi equipment... So if you don't want your system having that tasteless, rather unsophisticated and pretentious 'footballer's wife' look, then BANISH THE BLING!

Marco.

[Pharos]

This is really an old phenomenon, the classic middle class looking down on the up and coming nouveau-riche, the latter exhibiting bad taste in the opinion of the former.

We have had a take-over of the bling because people's sensibilities and sensitivities have been violated by aggressive marketing and forceful advertising designed to make us feel inadequate if we do not have the latest and supposedly best things. We are instructed to buy things or do things.

In this environment it is hardly surprising that subtlety and subdued quality get missed, this also applying to everyday communication.

[Lee Henley]

DSCF1150 by henleymajor, on Flickr

Back to the vintage industrial look, this time the WE speaker, believe it or not but this speaker made for me the best sound of the show. The guy who did the talk, Joe Roberts from Silbatone reckoned that these speakers were from around 1947 and were very rare and had a street price of $220,000 !!

[Lee Henley]

DSCF1119 by henleymajor, on Flickr

The western electric speakers in use at the show this year, they had a switch box which enabled them to play the track through each set of speakers so that you could hear the difference in the sound. The ones on the far left were used for recording studio's as a monitor, they also used them in the celings of department stores by all accounts. I didnt like them that much

[Marco]

This is really an old phenomenon, the classic middle class looking down on the up and coming nouveau-riche, the latter exhibiting bad taste in the opinion of the former.

What makes you think I'm middle class?

We have had a take-over of the bling because people's sensibilities and sensitivities have been violated by aggressive marketing and forceful advertising designed to make us feel inadequate if we do not have the latest and supposedly best things. We are instructed to buy things or do things.

In this environment it is hardly surprising that subtlety and subdued quality get missed, this also applying to everyday communication.

I completely agree, Dennis, *but* you don't have to be a victim of it. You can choose to be a free-thinker (like me) by divorcing yourself as far as possible from that type of commercial nonsense/materialistic brainwashing, and instead be your own man.

Therefore, I have no such feelings of inadequacy, as I'm in charge of who I am and what I do, which in terms of hi-fi (since, after all, this is a hi-fi forum), is reflected in the type of equipment I use, none of which is mainstream (has ever been commercially advertised) or copied by me from someone else.

Marco [forever a free-thinker].