"Patrick Turner" <info@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:482AE7C7.71A21400@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> There was a time in about 1975 when anodized bright and brushed
> aluminium
> was the peak of putting on the agony, and putting on the style.
> Meters had green or yellow background lighting, and blue LEDs hadn't
> been invented.
Someome building a single amp, or very small batches
has the distinct advantage in that a standard chassis
can be used, but with a little ingenuity, each one
can look distinctly different. Colour is of course a
very personal thing. I generally use anodised panels,
so black is the obvious choice. Waiting times at anodising
firms for blue, gold or red is long, and to my conservative
eye the panels look garish.
But some people still like to work in copper or stainless steel.
One of the guys with whom I share a workshop has a stainless
steel chassis made for a tube amp. He spent four days poli****ng
it. When I complemented him on his patience, he said "This is
lightning quick compared with the time I spend sanding the
body of an acoustic guitar.
>
> Anyway, in Orstraya, which is at some large distance away from full
> civilisation
> and its fickle changing trendiness, ie, it is culturally "astray",
> people wanting decent tube amps are very accepting of black.
> They still like black speakers.
I agree. A good speaker in a piano lacquer cabinet looks very
good indeed, and gives the impression of being physically smaller
than it actually is. A young lady, an interior design consultant with
whom I recently discussed the subject of audio systems in rooms,
told me that actually mid-grey would be the best colour for speaker
cabinets, and would sit well in almost any interior. She also opined
that from interior designer's point of view speaker cabinets should
be narrow (across the front) but deep, front to back. Interesting
lass!
> They even didn't mind my use of polished brass chassis which tended to
> tarnish.
>
> Real metal though.
>
> Black was brought to hi-fi gear because it was cheaper to make,
> and it covered a multitude of minor defects in a design.
>
As I have mentioned before, it is fun to talk to people about their
consmetic preferences for amplifiers. Some have good ideas, and
others are clueless, unless you can show thewm something half-ready
as a starting point.
Iain
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