Any color, so long as it's black!

[TBone]

Nice SIM, however I still like the older black Moon look ...

An old favorite of mine (Eclipse) ...

 

[JackD201]

I like black. It makes components look smaller and doesn't reflect much light. I also find that it makes components look more purposeful.

I am however not opposed to some "bling". I'm not fond of Champagne and Gold finishes in general because these don't go well with the interior design themes of my home, no other reason.

 

[asiufy]

Which leads me in another direction. Just think of the money Herve' could have saved his his buyers if he didn't try to make it pretty. I bet 1/3rd the price if the 458 is in parts that have no effect on the sound!

Perhaps, specially since I know how many of those expensive bits he ends up discarding, because they're not "good enough".
I know for a fact that the gabinets weren't done for esthetic purposes only. Hervé believes they affect the sound, positively in his case. The 458 has some isolation within the gabinet.


alexandre

 

[DonH50]

I prefer black in my new media room, don't want the equipment to stand out. I need to get black sox for my Maggies but am lazy and figured they were due for a rebuild or upgrade soon (still going after ~30 years, though in storage for about ten of those). I miss the black and gold of my old SP3a1, however, and agree with that the nice golden Marantz gear (new or old) looks very nice. I always thought silver color (and I have had much of it) drew too much attention to itself.

 

[andromedaaudio]

If my next speaker will be a aluminium one , it ll have the same finish as the boulderamps , its a timeless and luxurious finish .
Another option would be a black anodized housing , with orange/red anodised bass pipes and back filterplate , or a golden or blue bass pipe , i dont know why wilson or others have never done that at least not that i know of , maybe people dont like it

 

[AudioExplorations]

I used to go for black only (back when I had a McIntosh amp), then I went to silver (when I switched to Burmester), found it overall to look more elegant than the black. I have now moved to a DartZ 108 and find it matches very well with my other silver components. FWIW I find the DartZ to look amazing in every way, color, finish, orange lights, etc.

 

[andromedaaudio]

I like the dartdesign also , the outside/internal lay out of amps/speakers tell a lot about the designers intentions in my opinion , people buy a wilson partly for the fit and finish like any luxury product .
The designer of the darts definetively wanted to make something different than the usual stuff

 

[Peter Breuninger]

I think the MBL white look is very interesting. I think I like the darTZeel a lot, I say "I think" because when I see a Gold/Red darTZeel my mind does a double take (is this real?) and then my eyes say... yessssss. Perhaps I think too much.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i've owned lots of very expensive audio gear, much of it quite beautiful looking. i've seen lots of eye candy gear at shows. and i'm not in love with the gold anodized color Herve uses....although i do like it 'some'. obviously that gold color is a bit controversial, and i can tell you that i've personally spoken to Herve about it. it's something distinctive that Herve prefers. almost as if he feels like his products need to be great to carry that color. and the fit and finish on all his products is without exception wonderful. Swiss. and the insides are finished as well as the outsides.

i've never been around any gear that projects the magical beauty of the NHB-458's. or attracks people to want to touch it. whatever one thinks of the color, the amps are drop dead gorgeous, and their fit and finish is sublime. and the highlight of my day is when i hit the standby button and my finger runs over the finish. i know that sounds a bit over the top, but i'm not kidding.

that they sound the way they do is ok too.

btw, i've seen pictures of black/silver 458's and i strongly prefer the gold/red.

 

[jazdoc]

i've never been around any gear that projects the magical beauty of the NHB-458's. or attracts people to want to touch it. whatever one thinks of the color,

I continue to be concerned about what's going on in that room when you are alone with the equipment!

 

[daytona600]

if you are spending a few thousand bucks on good sounding equipment , why buy a ugly one
a good looking one passed by the girlfriend

my rethm gaaham 16wpc 2box 6c33c OTL single end amp . ( speakers & rack all color matched as well )

 

[daytona600]

..

 

[DaveyF]

daytona, those are very nice looking BUT still basically silver. Although, I really do like the wood accents. One other point, is that it seems that speaker manufacturer's are more willing to experiment with color than anyone else. Some of Wilson's finishes are a good example of this ( and now perhaps Magico also). Pity that electronics manufacturer's aren't seemingly so bold.

 

[JackD201]

One of the brands I carry, Valvet is available in Red, Gold, Green or Blue anodized aside from Silver, Black and Chrome. The red looks fastest. They all sound the same. LOL.