Market Research

[jkeny]

FIP is Fluorescent Indicator Panel, the sort of display you might see on a CD player indicating track number and time etc. I looked up Wikipedia and they hadn't heard of it either.

Right, thanks

Hugo is portable in that it's a headphone amp as well so off you go on your longhaul flight with your laptop/headphones, but personally I wouldn't be bothered. I think portability is more important to youngsters and they aren't much interested in music quality so you're targetting the old goat market. Polished wood, heavy weight, gold connectors ,relatively large size and maybe a brass logo.

KM

Yes, Ken, that's what I'm trying to understand - this market segment's mindset - you seem to have nailed it :)
Maybe a classical retro look would appeal? But how classical & how retro?

[nige2000]

Simple Classic timeless elegance

No 90 deg corners, unbox like, shiny and weighty
did I mention shiny

[sima66]

Thanks, Nige
I'm of the same opinion as you - I prefer form to follow function but I also appreciate good design.
However good design requires creativity & money.
The design genius, Jonathan Ive is a large part of Apple's success as a fashion device & to some extent has raised the bar for other product manufacturers because the man in the high street uses his iphone styling & finish as the common measure for product design.

I have made no real effort in the Ciunas or previous boxes towards considering fashion design aspects - form simply followed function - I don't really consider the fashion audio business although I do look at the likes of the Devialet & appreciate it's design. I'm aware that the looks can put people off but hoped that once heard, the sound would overcome this (once the looks were bearably neutral). I know it's size allowed me to get away with this, to some extent, as it was small enough to be hidden behind other equipment so it's aesthetics didn't matter so much. In a way this might be considered a WAV factor i.e it is small enough to be hidden :)

So now I'm looking at maybe coming out of the closet with a nod towards addressing some of these aspects & thinking about an enclosure facelift or redesign of the package.

Any thoughts?

I had your MK3 and replaced with Sonicweld Diverter.
It was nothings wrong with the looks of MK3, but SonicWeld it's a really piece of art. The thing is that both are in the same place and not visible in my system!
Again, even if they were visible and I have to chose, I will choose the best sounding one.

I would go with al aluminium box. I like more the sound of metal. The wooden box will soften the highs (different wood - different "flavour"). It might be a good or bad thing for somebody, but it will be more system dependent.
I definitely recommend to listen to the sound of the different boxes before making any decisions! I will treat the box like "fine tuning".

[jkeny]

Simple Classic timeless elegance

Yea but can you put a picture to this definition?

No 90 deg corners, unbox like, shiny and weighty
did I mention shiny

So are you talking brushed steel, chrome or shiny gorilla glass ala mobile phones?

Oh, btw, I saw your poll thread - pity I didn't check this out before opening my gob :) I don't think I can now include a poll on this thread Maybe I'll start a poll thread?

[jkeny]

I had your MK3 and replaced with Sonicweld Diverter.
It was nothings wrong with the looks of MK3, but SonicWeld it's a really piece of art. The thing is that both are in the same place and not visible in my system!
Again, even if they were visible and I have to chose, I will choose the best sounding one.

Yep, that's my thinking too!

I would go with al aluminium box. I like more the sound of metal. The wooden box will soften the highs (different wood - different "flavour"). It might be a good or bad thing for somebody, but it will be more system dependent.
I definitely recommend to listen to the sound of the different boxes before making any decisions! I will treat the box like "fine tuning".

Thanks for chipping in. I'm not thinking of a full wooden box, just maybe wood panels.
I doubt I would be going the route of the sonicweld either - a full aluminium block machined into a product but I can see the attraction of such.

[jkeny]

Apologies if I just post random images that strike me as unusual but I came across these:

[nige2000]

Simple Classic timeless elegance

Yea but can you put a picture to this definition?

No 90 deg corners, unbox like, shiny and weighty
did I mention shiny

So are you talking brushed steel, chrome or shiny gorilla glass ala mobile phones?

Oh, btw, I saw your poll thread - pity I didn't check this out before opening my gob :) I don't think I can now include a poll on this thread Maybe I'll start a poll thread?

Will have a quick look later for designs

A simpler case to the sonic weld would be sufficient with a simple logo nothing else visible at the front

Dunno if a poll is gonna help much
Cause what people say and do are two different things

the outcome will say sq then price
the market could likely say different

I'd imagine 90 percent of the market isn't guys like Adam or me or you that would pretty much sacrifice other aspects for sound quality

They likely just buy it plug it in if it sounds good and looks good their happy
Not go mad a-b testing like us clowns

Not that I suggest lowering sq of course

[Ken Moreland]

Here's a few I like ;

[PeterK]

Some thoughts, use of Irish wood is a really nice idea and pics of enclosures with wood facias above are good.

Re: logo Ear is good, green lettering is good but script used is bad,bad, bad. Change it for something more classy!!

[Modest]

it's not actual DAC ,but the case is kick ass looking :)