Silver finish fad

[gmichael]

With more and more people buying projectors, there is a real need for all the darkness you can get. Black will make a comeback IMO. At least, I hope so. Silver looks so cheesy to me. It screems "cheep plastic here" to me.

 

[BigGuy]

A lot of the higher end companies are going silver as well, Arcam, Bryston, etc... I love the sliver face plate on my Bryston, and it's not cheap either! looks like 1/2 aluminum milled down. Depends on the unit, and the overall finish. I agree that silver can look very cheep and plastic and lower end equipment, but the units that are done right, you know it's not plastic.

Brian

 

[BMXTRIX]

Black and silver - more of both from all companies.

IMO, some of the best looking stuff is from companies that spend a good deal of time incorporating both color schemes into their entire design layout. Companies such as Rotel who offer Black AND Silver within a single unit. Those companies which produce a lot of both silver and black components will begin to get a better feel for what makes a silver component look good vs. what makes a black component look good.

Lighting up a silver component doesn't have the same effect that it does with a black component, so designers need to be aware of that and actually offset the silver with darker colors to make it look a bit more slick. Some are figuring this out, many are not.

MOST OF ALL: Silver blends much better for many home environments. The open racks of glass and stainless steel may match up better and increase WAF for many interested buyers. For some, the improvement in WAF may be enough to allow them to buy that nice A/V receiver instead of being stuck with a cheap knockoff, so any company releasing in both colors may be reaching for an audience that ultimately controls where the money will be spent.

So, moving forward we will see more of both from all manufacturers I believe and I think they will get better at delivering a sharp looking product.

Heck, Middle-Atlantic has added silver as an option for its commercial rack face plates. That says something to me.

 

[goodman]

All the components I own are black, but the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD I rent from Time Warner is silver. They are hidden behind a Salamander door, so the color doesn't matter much. But the color of my Sony PS3 will matter, because it will be on display outside the cabinet for proper ventilation. Anybody know what colors will be available?

 

[wire]

It seems every few years silver seems to rear it's ugly head. It will go away. Soon I hope.

Love the Black also .

 

[hemiram]

The only thing I have black right now is the TV, and the Yamaha RX-v659. The DVD player, cable box, and VCR are all silver. None of them were available when I bought them in black. I do have a Sony carousel CD player I might put in the last spot on my rack, so I can have continuous background music that doesn't repeat itself every hour or so. Oh no, I just realized it would be one more remote to mess with!

 

[Sheep]

I still like brushed or matte black finishes on my components. I like the hidden "stealth" look.

Granted, I'd love to see some manufacturer start looking into some of the powder coatings available. Powder coating would make for some very durable components.

Or better yet, how about having face plates that you can customize. Like the Xbox 360?

A HT room is no place for ninja antics!

SheepStar

 

[JackT]

I tend to find silver components more attractive. For instance, when I first saw a Pioneer Elite Receiver in Silver I thought it was awesome. I also like two-tone designs like Harman Kardon.

I

 

[JaceTheAce]

I too agree that the Rotel components look very nice in silver and black.

There is also Outlaw Audio and their dark gray finishes.

 

[Resident Loser]

There was a time...

...when components all had brushed aluminum faceplates with engraved markings (not painted) and real, positive contact switches whose position you could identify from a distance...nice VU meters and real wood cases, either as a matter of course or as an option...

When rackmounted gear started to infiltrate the home end of the business (mid to late 70s), black with the silkscreened white markings, LEDs, momentary contact switches all made their appearance...the better stuff, like SAE, looked professional and were built to far better standards than the current crop...Painting things black allows for shabby workmanship and lesser materials; when you have a clearcoat, anodized or brushed finish you have a higher rejection rate and it requires much more painstaking craftsmanship...this all equates to higher prices...so, much like the ubiquitous IEC connectors and the like it's simply a manufacturing economy...

jimHJJ(...you guys don't know what you missed...)