To borrow the credit card slogan, it’s everywhere you want to be. It makes the 705 S2 speakers here in front of me, the wonderful audio system in my brother’s Volvo XC90 (love that interior!), Zeppelins for your kitchen, headphones for your head, speakers for your boat it even brings new music to your home through its Society of Sound. The thing disappears into its purpose.īowers & Wilkins (as of a few years back, no longer officially B&W, so I’ll try to avoid that) is a diversified audio company. With a well-designed audio component, you listen through it, not to it.
Great designs are ones where all the elements disappear into a functionality that is artistic and inspirational. Great design, however, is reserved for objects that transcend mere attributes. We can describe how they make us feel in use.
It might surprise many readers of The Absolute Sound to know that what gets the juices of many audio industry veterans flowing is not simply the “reference” gear priced beyond the reach of most everyone, but instead the equipment at all price points that demonstrates its designer’s superior talents.Įxceptionally designed things are frequently easier to recognize than to quantify as such.
Whether it’s a fantastic $3 ballpoint pen, or the multibillion-dollar Shanghai Tower, great design is not tied to a price tag.
