Ugliest component ever created

[LumiAudioNut]

I just came across these abominations from Stereophile’s recent coverage of the 2026 Montreal Audiofest.

Montreal Audiofest 2026 Room Visit: ArtistCloner, Saturn Audio, Baetis Audio, Tough Nut Audio | Stereophile.com

stereophile.com

These are: ArtistCloner Mekanika Prestige loudspeakers ($42,600/pair).

 

[elberoth]

That’s a very solid pick.

 

[egellings]

Looks both over and under engineered to me.

 

[Keith_W]

I just came across these abominations

If someone had DIY'ed those and I found them in their homes, I would try to be polite and say they ... um ... look different.

But $42600 and for sale as a commercial offering? I would laugh my head off. It looks like something screwed together with spare bits from a hardware shop!

 

[Leporello]

I’m a total sucker for interior design, even exactly of this period, but I would pay for not having a Rietveld chair. I hate that monster. There is no excuse.

View attachment 444756

Visited the Schröder house last summer. Lovely place.

 

[somebodyelse]

Visited the Schröder house last summer. Lovely place.

To look at maybe. I'm less convinced it would be lovely to live in. The Red and Blue Chair isn't one you'd want to sit in for long (based on the copy someone made at school.)

 

[whereisbrian]

Visited the Schröder house last summer. Lovely place.
View attachment 521048

Everything is square, I prefer soft fabrics, comfortable sofas and armchairs, rugs, Indian furniture and oriental decorations.

 

[BlueTunes]

These are nothing more than just functional furniture and ornaments.
The form has overridden the function.

 

[Mart68]

It's awful.

 

[BeeKay]

The form has overridden the function

Perfect industrial design reduces clutter to find the maximum of aesthetics and function. Rietveld (at least this awful chair) on the other hand is a disgrace. In Germany we’d say „verkopft“.

 

[wadude]

"Calm down guys, they're one of us..."
View attachment 444758

Haunting.

 

[AdrianusG]

If someone had DIY'ed those and I found them in their homes, I would try to be polite and say they ... um ... look different.

But $42600 and for sale as a commercial offering? I would laugh my head off. It looks like something screwed together with spare bits from a hardware shop!

And,

They probably are! Yuck