Most aesthetically pleasing amplifiers

[Chesapeake HT]

 

[Gorgonzola]

Gotta love those VU's... unnecessarily pricey though. Would be great to see how it performs on the AP.


JSmith

I'm always going to love the Accuphase look: simple & classic. I love the meters and, especially, the champagne color.

For better or worse Chinese clone makers are putting together some very pretty knock-offs of the Accuphase design -- outside and, as they claim , on the inside.

 

[mhardy6647]

What do you expect for something that's got a streamer in it? You'd be hard pushed to find one that doesn't have an app and/or web interface.

That's fine... it just means that the knobs are irrelevant.
And the display is... well... just goofy.
I suppose that goofy is an aesthetic.

 

[somebodyelse]

View attachment 545422

All the functionality you need with little wasted on the appearance - perfect if it's not going to be on display.
It looks almost as basic as the Croft Micro back in the '80s with its painted aluminium box and knobs, some of the cheapest RS stocked at the time. It was £150.

You could up the spend to £250 and get it in a slightly more HiFi-looking case, again from RS along with more expensive knobs. It looked similar to this Super Micro A but with 5 toggles in a line.

Dealers eventually managed to persuade him to use better looking cases.

 

[101geo]

2 of mine in their temporary home.

 

[Puddingbuks]

 

[Bleib]

 

[Jimshoe]

Kenwood Supreme 600

View attachment 197805

Interesting restoration of one of these here

The guy does terrific work, check out his other videos if you like loving resto of old equipment.

 

[Sal1950]

I'm always going to love the Accuphase look: simple & classic. I love the meters and, especially, the champagne color.

Amen, the design is beyond reproach. Personally I'd like to see one in black, but that's me.

Was thinking of shipping one of my spare units to Amir for testing.

OMG Can you imagine the service nightmare of that thing?
I think for today its a module plug&play to repair, but a few years down the line when for whatever reason, those modules become unavailable, then what.
Just sent it to your local landfill? It''s only $2.2 million US

I must admit that I loved the industrial design of the earlier VTL Mb125‘s - these were not great amps, but it was a pleasure to have a pair in the room.

Very handsome 125s !
Don't know what you didn't like about the early David designed VTL's? Back in their day they were about the best measuring tube amps available.
I preferred the open architecture look of my older Compact MB's, if I'm going to run tubes, I want to see them, specially at night.

 

[Poman123]

 

[Sal1950]

2 of mine in their temporary home.

Beautiful ole Nelson Pass designed amps!
If you don't mind me asking a couple questions, how long have you owned them?
How reliable have they been, had any problems needing repairs during your ownership?
Just very curious.
TIA Sal

 

[Michou]

Beautiful ole Nelson Pass designed amps!
If you don't mind me asking a couple questions, how long have you owned them?
How reliable have they been, had any problems needing repairs during your ownership?
Just very curious.
TIA Sal

Just a small correction. Nelson Pass wasn't responsible for the styling of the early Threshold amps. His focus was the circuit design and the STASIS topology. The industrial design and chassis layout were largely the work of his co-founder, René Besne.

Threshold was established in December 1974 by Nelson Pass and René Besne. Joe Sammut joined shortly afterward, becoming the company's third principal partner. Interestingly, both Sammut and Pass had previously been shareholders in Electrostatic Sound (ESS). While Pass concentrated on the engineering and Besne on the industrial design and visual identity, Sammut was instrumental in building and running the business side of Threshold throughout its golden years in the 1970s and 1980s.

Those brushed aluminum faceplates, the distinctive front handles, and the overall look of the classic Threshold amps were very much Besne's contribution. Pass created the circuits, Besne shaped the appearance, and Sammut helped turn it into a successful company. All three played an important role in making Threshold one of the defining high-end audio brands of its era.

Pass left Threshold in 1991. He then co-founded Forte Audio with Bo Christensen and later worked with talented Swedish engineer Mike Bladelius on the Threshold T-series amplifiers. Bladelius subsequently founded Bladelius Design Group and also collaborated with Primare, becoming one of the better-known Scandinavian designers in high-end audio.

 

[Gio-G]

I remember when I bought these in 1999 the audio salesman said, "just so you know, these are not fancy, there's a power button and a green light."

My system has been as simple as a power button and a green light since that day!

Maybe they don't win the most pleasing award but they still seem "in style" IMO all these years later.

 

[Palmer]

I have to add Rotel, despite the fins on the front not really utilized- the overall look is pretty nice. Just like this RB-1070 I just picked up, plus - rather inexpensive for what it offers. Good design.

 

[MattHooper]

What?

Just a personal reaction, of course.
That type of look sort of hits all my “yuck” buttons. First, I don’t like black components generally. Second, I really have an allergy to the pro gear look, so the faceplates with the rack flanges look ugly to me. (Not to mention all the knicks on my skin I’ve received handled such amplifiers in my time… that goes for anything with heat fins, too). Finally… I find the look too busy in terms of controls and panel markings.
Wouldn’t make it across my doorstep.

But I understand the look appeals to other people.

 

[BookshelfBob]

Just a personal reaction, of course.
That type of look sort of hits all my “yuck” buttons. First, I don’t like black components generally. Second, I really have an allergy to the pro gear look, so the faceplates with the rack flanges look ugly to me. (Not to mention all the knicks on my skin I’ve received handled such amplifiers in my time… that goes for anything with heat fins, too). Finally… I find the look too busy in terms of controls and panel markings.
Wouldn’t make it across my doorstep.

But I understand the look appeals to other people.

If you can't take the rack flange off it doesn't count as pro gear.

 

[Petrushka]

Best aesthetic/price ratio was the Advent 300.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Just a small correction. Nelson Pass wasn't responsible for the styling of the early Threshold amps. His focus was the circuit design and the STASIS topology.

Which was actually based on a design by QUAD, definitely not original.

Nelson Pass On The Patents Of Pass | Stereophile.com

If high-end audio were to carve its own Mt. Rushmore, whose faces would appear there—besides that of Stereophile founder J. Gordon Holt, of course? It's likely that no two audiophiles would ever come up with identical lists of subjects, but I wouldn't be surprised if they could agree on at least...

www.stereophile.com

1978—US Patent 4107619: Constant-voltage/constant-current high-fidelity amplifier: The patent application actually shows the circuit of the [Threshold] Stasis 1 as the example circuit. This is a kissing cousin to the Quad 405, injecting current into the output for error correction, but with way more current. We had a massive power supply and a huge bank of power devices that we used to support a smaller output-voltage source.

 

[DanielT]

We are familiar with the craze for retro and vintage hi-fi looks—here’s an example:

But speaking of looks, is the 1970s brown (sometimes mixed with orange) aesthetic —in terms of furniture, bookshelves, rugs and so on—also making a comeback?
Such as these... in most cases 1970s originals:

(The rugs, however, are likely new with a retro look.)

 

[pinger]

Black boxes dont appeal to me. The Luxman amp with the VU meters yeah thats cool. Black boxes? Really?