BEAUTIFICATION
Or, Why We’re Afraid of Pretty Things

⌈ BEAUTIFICATION: «making something beautiful and tasteful». Wielki słownik języka polskiego, → WSJP.pl. ⌋

I COULDN'T HAVE DEDICATED THIS EDITORIAL to anything else. This issue features amplifiers representing such different approaches to design, and such divergent understandings of what design is in audio and what purpose it serves, that it’s hard to believe they all belong to the same narrow and specialized group of audiophile devices.

‖ NAD C 3030 amplifier is an example of sensible, well-thought-out design with roots in Braun products • Photo: NAD press materials

If audio played the same role as it did throughout the second half of the 20th century, that is, if it were a product similar to household appliances, present in nearly every home and occupying a prominent place, then - I agree - within such a broad spectrum of products, audiences, and trends, there is room both for devices that are, so to speak, “top-notch”, that is, aesthetically pleasing and designed to enhance a space, as well as for junk straight from hell, with cables sticking out and a case covered in unidentified paint. All of them would find their audience and a context in which they would be right at home.

Or maybe I’m wrong after all? Maybe it was actually the case that audio equipment designed for audiophiles always resembled lab equipment, meant to be tucked away in a closet? In that case, those few truly designer creations, like Braun’s, for example, would appeal to those who aren’t necessarily looking for the best sound, but who would still like to have a taste of it, packaged in a way that fits their carefully curated spaces, right?

‖ The Resurgence AR6A Kraken Evolution audio amplifier is an example of a nostalgic return to the days of “true audio”

I’m asking these questions because, in the same issue of „High Fidelity”, three amplifiers with completely different designs, each reflecting three entirely distinct approaches to audio, appeared almost side by side: the Audio Resurgence AR6A Kraken Evolution, the Electric Audio TAE 150 DV, and the Vinnierossi Brama Integrated Amplifier. The first is straight out of the 1980s, even though it was built in the 1990s, and appeals to the technical side of the audiophile scene, while the other two cater to the contemporary desire for an aesthetically pleasing product, albeit in different ways.

So what’s the deal, what do we really need, and what gets us excited?

To attempt to answer this question, I will refer to an image I have mentioned before, taken from Thomas Mann’s novel Buddenbrooks. Published in 1901, this Nobel Prize-winning novel describes the decline of a wealthy merchant family from Lübeck. What interests us is the fact that in the Buddenbrooks’ stately townhouse on Mengstraße in Lübeck, the works of art and interior decor serve a symbolic function - and a particularly important one at that. They reflect the family’s financial power and, in later stages, its gradual decline and the escape of successive generations into the world of pure aesthetics.

One of the novel’s most important scenes is the death of Thomas Buddenbrook, which signifies the end of the entire family. Next to the head of the family lies a Christ sculpture (Christ Blessing): a marble figure depicting the risen Jesus with outstretched arms. In the book, it appears as a symbolic copy of the original located in Copenhagen Cathedral. It is not there by chance. The original was created by Bertel Thorvaldsen, one of the leading figures of Classicism. It is a symbolic farewell to the earthly realm, so to speak, but also an attempt to become part of the world of the aristocracy, of the great families who lived among art.

‖ The cover of the March 1982 issue of “Hi-Fi News & Record Review,” featuring Mission’s then-iconic series

If anyone would like to see one of the Danish artist’s sculptures in Poland, they can do so, for example, in Warsaw and Kraków (but also in Oleśnica!). In Kraków, at Wawel, in the Potocki Chapel, next to two busts, there is a very similar sculpture of Christ Blessing, to the left of the chapel’s entrance (truly magnificent). And when, after entering the Cathedral, you turn not to the right but to the left, in the Holy Trinity Chapel, you’ll find a monument to Włodzimierz Potocki. It depicts a fallen soldier leaning on the Genius of Death. And in Warsaw? Well: the monuments to Prince Józef Poniatowski and Nicolaus Copernicus (both postwar replicas).

I’m writing about this because the changes in audio that I’m seeing, which involve a drive toward the aestheticization of devices, have a lot in common with this need to be someone better. “Pretty” usually means just that - “better” - or at least that’s how most of us imagine it. In the sense that if something is bland or unsettling, it’s rejected. That’s why the designers behind the visual concept for Electric Audio and Vinnierossi made sure that everything “clicked” in their designs. In the case of the former, it was only about the front panel (which is significant); the rest is classically “brutalist,” while in the latter, it was about the entire form.

However, these approaches serve different purposes and were created with slightly different audiences in mind. The amplifier from the German manufacturer is the closest to the classic audio “tool”, that is, the “black box” designed simply to sound good. Its front panel is nicely designed, but it’s also painfully functional. This is a variation on an industrial device. There is, however, a certain twist to it. Instead of a calibrated volume knob, there is a backlit scale that tells us the volume level. It’s neither precise nor practical. But it looks good.

‖ In 1992, Primare unveiled its stunning “200” series, which has never been matched • Photo: Primare press materials

Paradoxically, it is the amplifier from the U.S. that is closer to its audiophile roots, as it features 300B tubes. Even so, just looking at its exterior, it is a perfect example of a superbly designed product. The Montreal-based design studio responsible for it did a great job. The manufacturer clearly aimed to reach a different audience, one that might not even need this type of product. So, two different approaches to audio aesthetics, but the same idea: to change the way we think about this class of equipment.

This doesn’t mean, however, that this is what perfectionist audio will look like, at least not entirely. It is, of course, the case that devices in the lower and mid-price ranges as well, allow me to mention KEF’s LS50 speakers and Arcam’s Radia series electronics, will slowly gravitate toward what is beautiful, what is sleek, and what is eye-pleasing. And it is these devices that will, little by little, begin to set the trends for a large part of the market. Manufacturers like Apple, and now others as well, have gotten us used to this. We now expect the same from audio equipment.

Not always and not everywhere, though. Attempts to make audio products more aesthetically pleasing haven’t been met with much enthusiasm in the past. Yes, audiophiles turned up their noses at Bang & Olufsen products. Yes, the Mission 776 and 777 preamplifier and power amplifier wowed audiences with their sculpted front panels. However, none of this made it into the mainstream. People preferred to buy NAD and Krell amplifiers. Even Primare’s excellent 200 series, which drew direct inspiration from Alchemist’s Kraken amplifier, had no successors, not only among other manufacturers, but even within Primare itself.

So we’re talking about something resembling indecision, a back-and-forth between the imagined (because that’s probably the point) “pretty” and “reliable.” This is probably how we should understand audiophiles’ tendency to choose equipment with a look straight out of a DIY manual. Once established it has remained with us to this day. That is why the return of the aforementioned Kraken integrated amplifier was received with such enthusiasm last year. Perhaps no longer in hammered gray lacquer, but still with that distinctive shape of the front panel and heat sinks. Which means that, in this regard as well, not everyone’s preferences have shifted toward “pretty.”

‖ The Electric Audio amplifier is an example of a modern, rational approach to design, but with a certain twist

Let’s return to the Boddenbrooks and Thorvaldsen. For many people, the art surrounding them is essential to life, a life that is better than it would be without it. It is inextricably linked to power, as well as to money. From this perspective, art is both a symbolic marker of the owner’s status and a tool that sustains that power. The Christ was meant to attest to the deceased’s status; it was also meant to serve as a sort of ticket to high society.

It’s similar in the world of audio, even though we don’t see it that way. For to create a high-end audio product, one that sounds great and is also attractive, aesthetically pleasing, well-designed (feel free to choose your own definition of good design), and in some cases even ergonomic, you have to spend a lot of money. Or you have to find a good designer who is also an audiophile, as we can see with Circle Labs’ amplifiers. But even Circle Labs stops at the front panel, just like Electric Audio, because it’s a small company and targets “hardcore” audiophiles.

And they (we) are wary of anything “pretty.” For them (us), Kondo is pretty, Leben is pretty, NAD products are pleasing to the eye, and Boulder amplifiers are impressive. But the new Cyrus or the high-end gear from Constellation Audio make them (us) uneasy. The fact is that we don’t trust aestheticization. I’ve said it, and let’s leave it at that - we’re downright afraid of it. Sorry for the “we,” but I feel the same way. It’s as if it were written in our DNA, on one of our gene pairs, that what’s pretty “can’t sound good.” Which, I think, has quite rational grounds, even if it’s just a stereotype.

‖ Vinnierossi Brama amplifier looks great and every detail has been carefully thought out

This concern, incidentally, is not limited to us alone, but is part of a much broader phenomenon. Let’s look, for example, at architecture and cite any text that addresses this topic, such as this one: Ornament alone is not enough to save contemporary architecture. The Architectural Revolt and the Trap of Aestheticization from the “Architektura – murator” magazine (more → HERE). You don’t even need to read it to figure out what it’s about.

Do you remember the definition of “beautification” that I cited at the beginning? The key word in it is “making.” Not “striving,” not “attempting”, which would suggest honesty in this regard, but something closer to deception. “Making” is reminiscent of “conjuring” and a trick. Through aestheticization, one can also make something unsavory more palatable. Beautification even has a dark side.

When people speak of the “beautification of evil,” they most often cite the Marquis de Sade, Baudelaire, Bataille, and Genet, who sought to tame that evil in this way. We already know that this failed, and that evil thereby gained a legitimacy that many other artists draw upon today. I’m not saying that a nice audio product is evil incarnate. Quite the contrary, I’m saying that it is necessary for the products with which we spend so much time to have good proportions, to be “friendly,” to “speak” to us, and for those appeals to resonate within us.

But I’m also saying that repackaging something in a nice box won’t change the essence of that “something.” It would be a deception. And I think that’s what we’re afraid of when we see well-designed audio equipment. Although we consider ourselves individualists guided by our own reason and values, we’re no different from the rest of society. And that is not very rational and easily manipulated. We’re like that too, even though we think otherwise - it’s just that different “buttons” are being pushed in our case. That’s why, when we see products like Viennierossi amplifiers or speakers like those from Treble Clef Audio, we become suspicious.

‖ Treble Clef Audio TCA-M loudspeakers • photo press release from Treble Clef Audio

And, as it seems, something has indeed changed in the industry, and in us as well. All the companies mentioned in this article are strictly audiophile. In other words - focused on sound quality. And yet, their products are attractive. They’re aesthetically pleasing. They’re “well-thought-out.” It’s not just that a select series stands out in their lineup - the entire lineup is designed this way. Even the packaging is, finally, sturdy and attractive. And their websites aren’t half bad, either. That’s wonderful; I really like it.

But let’s be clear: this will never be the dominant force in the audio world. After all, the foundation of the audiophile industry is made up of people and manufacturers with roots in DIY. They are “the salt of the earth,” to quote the title of a song by Proletariat. Perhaps, however, after this “underground” period, their time will come to spread their wings and flourish. And if so, it would be better if the direction were set by the companies mentioned in this article - without mere beautification, but with aesthetics embedded in the very “core.” After all, good design means well-being and a positive public image - in other words, pure goodness :) ‖ WP

WOJCIECH PACUŁA
chief editor