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Thoughts on high-performance speakers with a utilitarian finish?

Would you be interested the cost savings of a utilitarian finish on a high-performance speaker?

  • Yes, if the savings and performance were good enough.

    Votes: 47 63.5%
  • No, I don't want cheap-looking speakers in my home.

    Votes: 20 27.0%
  • Maybe for a basement/secondary/home theater system.

    Votes: 6 8.1%
  • Other, please explain in the thread.

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • Get a real job!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    74
  • Poll closed .

pseudoid

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Vandersteen 2c???
202210_Vandersteen2Ci.jpg

Principle of his idea is/was/may have been to spend more money on the innards rather than the looks.
Looks- and price-wise I think he succeeded; some say otherwise about 2C's performance!

UPDATE: In my haste, I posted the Vandersteen 3A series image (above).
 
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Spkrdctr

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Cloth covered or a finish on the front and a utilitarian finish on the other three sides is another option. Of course I am always waiting for that elusive never seen 75% off to buy........ok, I'm a retired tightwad. :)
 

DMill

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A utilitarian base model with premium finishing options would allow the most flexibility. I can’t hide my speakers in any of the 3 of my listening areas, so I’m a sucker for a nice looking speaker.
 
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Duke

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Is this a good look, and are grilles cheaper than finished wood? (As a rectangular prism, not whatever one calls the shape of the AR-LST.)
ar8-2.jpeg

I think a good starting point would be to limit the "design" feature to a wood finished front baffle and the rest of the enclosure a paint finish as an accent. This approach should help cut fabrication costs 30-40%.

I'm thinking Valchromat with a clear satin polyurethane varnish.

Thank you for your suggestions. In my case, in order for my enclosure cost (and therefore the selling price) to come appreciably, I need to have my plywood cut locally and then assemble & paint the cabinets myself. So changes that still require the cabinets to be built elsewhere don't address my root problem. If I go full-on utilitarian finish, then I can bring costs down considerably.

What I meant by horns where mostly those turned,carved wooden ones like in for example the Gina model ?
But maybe you can 3D print that profile in plastic ?

Some other of your speakers seems to have off the shelf horns in plastic already.

I tried 3-D printing and the results definitely qualified as "utilitarian" at best; actually we did not end up with something that was even useable. 3D printing even with chemical smoothing of the surface was something I think anyone would actually like the looks of. Imo the turned wooden horns are superior all around.

That being said, if I'm going "utilitarian finish" to keep costs reasonable, my first such speaker will use an off-the-shelf horn, probably a plastic one. While it is possible that I may one day do a utilitarian finish speaker with the round wooden horn, that's not my intention at this time.

I like the looks of the cloth-wrapped speakers from DefTech and Goldenear, and so does my wife. Neither of us is into paying lots of extra money for a fancy wood finish.

I must admit, I like the cloth idea. On trend too at the moment. But I was always a sucker for Maggies and DCM Time Windows/Frames. And the Dalquists.

That is actually a good idea!

Yes it is. If I can figure out how to make it work, I may offer the cloth-wrap as an option. Thank you @MarkS! My speakers are unusually "busy" on the back, with at least one fairly large control panel and multiple pluggable ports in addition to the imputs, so they are not inherently cloth-wrap-friendly:


13-605.jpg


A utilitarian base model with premium finishing options would allow the most flexibility. I can’t hide my speakers in any of the 3 of my listening areas, so I’m a sucker for a nice looking speaker.

This is the most likely scenario, though my marketing department will probably stick with the "premium" finish as the "standard", and then the utilitarian finish would be the cost-saving option. Same thing, just different wording.
 
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BrokenEnglishGuy

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To be honest i really like how it looks that Shiny black... the mate colors look cheaper and worse to my young eyes..
 

Mnyb

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Thank you for your suggestions. In my case, in order for my enclosure cost (and therefore the selling price) to come appreciably, I need to have my plywood cut locally and then assemble & paint the cabinets myself. So changes that still require the cabinets to be built elsewhere don't address my root problem. If I go full-on utilitarian finish, then I can bring costs down considerably.



I tried 3-D printing and the results definitely qualified as "utilitarian" at best; actually we did not end up with something that was even useable. 3D printing even with chemical smoothing of the surface was something I think anyone would actually like the looks of. Imo the turned wooden horns are superior all around.

That being said, if I'm going "utilitarian finish" to keep costs reasonable, my first such speaker will use an off-the-shelf horn, probably a plastic one. While it is possible that I may one day do a utilitarian finish speaker with the round wooden horn, that's not my intention at this time.







Yes it is. If I can figure out how to make it work, I may offer the cloth-wrap as an option. Thank you @MarkS! My speakers are unusually "busy" on the back, with at least one fairly large control panel and multiple pluggable ports in addition to the imputs, so they are not inherently cloth-wrap-friendly:


View attachment 240122



This is the most likely scenario, though my marketing department will probably stick with the "premium" finish as the "standard", and then the utilitarian finish would be the cost-saving option. Same thing, just different wording.
That backside , which speaker in the line up is this ?
 

restorer-john

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Oh man DCM Time Windows. You always bring up memories in your posts.

I shouldn't have sold my DCM Timewindow 1as. Not because they were the best speakers, but because they were so different and sometimes were just magical.
 

pseudoid

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tw 2022

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If your loudspeakers spend a considerable amount of their functional life behind a screen in a home theatre system, by all means make them as utilitarian as you like.

But, if your speakers are in lounge-room or dedicated listening room, especially one where wives, partners or guests might be surveying an audiophile's gear, cabinet finish and quality is paramount.

High-end equals perfection to audiophiles and a basic cabinet finish is not compatible with that, in my opinion.
That's completely subjective, and i agree that : if that's part of your equation, more power to you.. I'd rather have good sound and below avg looks **available** to people who would go that route, like me...and there aren't many affordable options ... As they say , different horses for different courses:) and all that fodder....
 

phoenixdogfan

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I'm at the point in my life where I don't want a speaker with a vinyl wood grain finish. Basically, I'm no longer a kid and I want things in my home which help me create a little bit more of a "put together" look. Same reason I no longer hang tie-dyed sheets on my wall.
 

tw 2022

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I would be all over it - my speakers go behind a screen. Keep the depth less than 16" though please and the design should allow for the speakers to be more or less touching the front wall.
I'd love the cheap looking true audiophile type performance as well.. If it saves money..
 
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tw 2022

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I'm at the point in my life where I don't want a speaker with a vinyl wood grain finish. Basically, I'm no longer a kid and I want things in my home which help me create a little bit more of a "put together" look. Same reason I no longer hang tie-dyed sheets on my wall.
Nothing wrong with that, but as a cat owner(6).. Give me something that's hard to ruin cosmetically.. Or something that doesn't matter if it gets puked on..
 

pseudoid

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I'd rather have good sound and below avg looks...
Some prefer BOTH!
...my home which help me create a little bit more of a "put together" look. Same reason I no longer hang tie-dyed sheets on my wall...
Right on! Some of us get even more OCD: We try to hide the speakers inside the walls/ceilings and make our TV hidden from view!:cool:
A/V Feng-shui??;)
 

jhaider

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Speaking for myself, the visible bed speakers in our immersive family room system are all utilitarian/pro models, because the speakers are there for function first. (Subwoofers are much finer in finish, and concealed so they don’t look like speakers. They were also designed for our old house that didn’t have a separate family room.) I also happen to really love the sound quality of the front trio, and the nothing like the sides/rears is offered in a fine finish. The furniture was likewise chosen for functionality rather than formality. However, the stereo system has finely finished speakers up to the level of the more iconic furniture in that room.

If my case is reasonably typical, IMO that means your utility finish speakers should be able to do double duty as immersive system mains (form factor that allows use as LCR, maybe separate jumpered inputs for the rear firing drivers to allow use as Atmos bouncers?).

However, unlike others in this thread I loathe speakers wrapped in grille cloth. It’s up there with “black ash” vinyl in my never-again category. You’ll basically turn off anyone with cats, young kids, or probably dogs. Or anyone who hires cleaners, or anyone who has family members with poor elbow control.
 

mhardy6647

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Why don't you rebuild them? Like me, too many projects, not enough time.
There are so many things ahead of them in the queue.
But for the $10 they cost, I could not resist them (and I am glad to have them).
 

Gringoaudio1

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I like the looks of the cloth-wrapped speakers from DefTech and Goldenear, and so does my wife. Neither of us is into paying lots of extra money for a fancy wood finish.

Bonus: no grille frame to diffract the sound!
My cats do too. Mirage also used this highly style-less approach to speaker design and they have unfortunately become amazing cat scratching posts.
 

MKreroo

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Is this a good look, and are grilles cheaper than finished wood? (As a rectangular prism, not whatever one calls the shape of the AR-LST.)
ar8-2.jpeg
Can definitely disguise those as this
japanese-paper-lamps-photo-9.jpg
 
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