Horns get a bad rap...

[Ajani]

I certainly understand the marketing pressures - you have to sell a looker - and then with the looks in mind dreamed up by the marketing department - the engineer is then asked to make good sound out of the preconceived looker. That's what happened when the engineers at B&W asked Audio Note for help to make better loudspeakers - several of their engineers wanted to make the change but when forced to change their look dramatically - the answer is - "that look doesn't sell" and so sound takes the back seat. As was pointed out to me on AA - B&W pays all the studios to use their speakers.

1) there are always going to be limitations in designing products. If the product is massive and ugly then it will be very hard to sell - I see nothing wrong with customers expecting speakers to both sound and look good.
2) if you're going to make those kind of scandalous accusations against b&w then you really need to back them up with proof. Until then they just aren't credible.

[RGA]

1) there are always going to be limitations in designing products. If the product is massive and ugly then it will be very hard to sell - I see nothing wrong with customers expecting speakers to both sound and look good.
2) if you're going to make those kind of scandalous accusations against b&w then you really need to back them up with proof. Until then they just aren't credible.

1) I have no problem with people sacrificing some sound quality for appearance. I am not married - if I were I would probably have to make those "compromises" as well. However, I would not delude myself into thinking I wasn't making a compromise.

2) My accusation was hear-say - thanks for calling me on it - I assumed who I was talking to on AA was an engineer in the know and I have now gone back to call him on it. I was a little quick to believe him due to my own bias on my opinion of the sound of B&W and the sound of recordings coming out of Abbey Road. You can read my new reply to him - Problem with your statements... - RGA - Speaker Asylum