Which Audio Manufacturers Have the Best Industrial Design

[Ron Texas]

An industrial designer opined to me that McIntosh electronics had great industrial design with their soothing blue and green color scheme. I tend to agree although I have no opinion of how their stuff sounds and I think the autoformer technology is weird.

Nelson Pass makes a nice looking integrated amp for a cleaner look:

In the speaker category I like the popular Kef LS50, I just hate sharp edges:

One more thought is good industrial design isn't cheap, but it isn't insanely expensive.

Your nominations?

 

[Phineas Newborn Jr.]

Technics SL-1200
AR XA
Large Advents
Klipschorn
Naim faceplates

 

[noname]

For their over all products range.

Accuphase
Audio Research
Bang & Olufsen
Burmester
dCS
Esoteric
Jadis
Jeff Rowland
Nagra
Sonus Faber
Soulution
Vitus

 

[silentt29]

• McIntosh Laboratory
• Yamaha (e.g. M-5000)
• Sony
• Technics
• Bowers & Wilkins
• Esoteric
• TEAC (e.g. AP-701)
• Wharfedale
• Bang & Olufsen (e.g. BeoSound 9000)
• Focal
• Sonus Faber

 

[Balle Clorin]

Industrial?, I do not think of Hifi as industrial. Anyway I bought an Accuphase with big VU meters , I like their design and they have performance to match it,

When I think of it this LM Audio is kind of submarine industrial, and I like it…

Some McIntosch, especially older look good, but their record player CD player DAC just look awkward and weirdly unharmonic

 

[Wes]

Accuphase
Audio Research
apt

 

[andreasb]

www.devialet.com for me.

 

[Belker]

Industrial?, I do not think of Hifi as industrial. Anyway I bought an Accuphase with big VU meters , I like their design and they have performance to match it,

When I think of it this LM Audio is kind of submarine industrial, and I like it…
View attachment 140867
Some McIntosch, especially older look good, but their record player CD player DAC just look awkward and weirdly unharmonic

Industrial design means that it is mass produced on an industrial level. Not that it looks “industrial”.

 

[Katji]

Maybe my favourite.
I won't say what it is, but quite likely that someone here would know, or would reconise the housing. (The designer had a thing about negative feedback amplifiers. The diagram note says "negative output impedance amplifier realization.")
This was a prototype. The housing from a certain widely-used modem that had become obsolete and there were many of the housings available at a low price, so they got a few to use for their project. The circuit boards were also very robust.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

www.devialet.com for me.

Their speakers remind me of chickens flapping their wings.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

I would put McIntosh at or near the top of the list, although some of their design choices such as the silly green LEDs below tubes looks beyond cheezy.

Or this for something different.

 

[Rip City Dave]

Overpriced and overhyped, but Dan D'Agostino makes some elegant showpieces.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Overpriced and overhyped, but Dan D'Agostino makes some elegant showpieces.

View attachment 143199

That's the poster child for wretched excess.

 

[Katji]

D'Agostino ey. ...Competing with Pathos Kratos.

 

[Orfanik]

 

[Frgirard]

An industrial designer opined to me that McIntosh electronics had great industrial design with their soothing blue and green color scheme. I tend to agree although I have no opinion of how their stuff sounds and I think the autoformer technology is weird.

Nelson Pass makes a nice looking integrated amp for a cleaner look:

In the speaker category I like the popular Kef LS50, I just hate sharp edges:

One more thought is good industrial design isn't cheap, but it isn't insanely expensive.

Your nominations?

Great industrial design in the audiophile world

Palmer Monicon 59 Euro

 

[Ron Texas]

That's the poster child for wretched excess.

There's no excess like wretched excess.

 

[Gorgonzola]

My trio of classic audio component design are Audio Research, McIntosh, and Accuphase ...

 

[Count Arthur]

McIntosh, the Hi-Fi company that makes Fisher Price toys look sophisticated.

 

[Katji]

LOL || uh-oh.