Most of my gear is either really plain boxes or has truly ugly form-follows-function utilitarian looks. I don't care at all. When I had an Audio Note Kageki in my system (now on loan to a friend), I installed it ass-out because the power switch is on the back of the mono blocs and it was easier to use with the back panel facing forward. I once was at an Audio Note dealer and asked about a particular model in a rack because I did not recognize it; it was a Kageki facing the right direction.
How important is component “aesthetics” to you?
Obviously, performance, sound, etc is what matters most. However, some super fine, high performance products are just plain ugly. Aesthetcs does play an important role for me since we have placed a lot of emphasis on furnishing our home.
Anyway, my search for a preamp has led me to the conclusion that ugly is more the norm. I love the look of glowing tubes with the Primalunas, mystere, Atma-sphere, Rogers, Decware, mapletree etc. In the solid state world, the macs have those famous blue meters. Even the “fake tube” older Peachtree components looked really nice.
Just curious how “ looks” play a role when choosing components?
Anyway, my search for a preamp has led me to the conclusion that ugly is more the norm. I love the look of glowing tubes with the Primalunas, mystere, Atma-sphere, Rogers, Decware, mapletree etc. In the solid state world, the macs have those famous blue meters. Even the “fake tube” older Peachtree components looked really nice.
Just curious how “ looks” play a role when choosing components?