Many higher end preamps are dated and ugly, why is this?
Conrad Johnson, BAT, VTL are all very good preamplifiers, they are dated and just ugly. Audio research is a prettier amplifier but it's not very well regarded due to it sounding more like a solid state, ie. Not really a tube preamp despite all those internal lightbulbs.
Cheaper preamps can be more pretty. Schitt makes a pretty preamp for about $1000. People like pretty.
D'Agostino by many is viewed as very attractive but kind of weird.
Couldn't agree more wrt VTL and ARC. What were they thinking? The VTL 7.5 should be on my radar, but there is no way I'm buying something that looks like a bad 80's vcr, sharp edges and all. The Siegfried power amps look like 90's pc's. What a wasted opportunity. Much like Wilson speakers...urgh. The US companies are the worst offenders aesthetically. But a peek in many US living rooms shows a similar indifference to design and ergonomics. Brutalism rules, apparently |
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/canary4/903.html
Check that one out all high performance design in four chassis true dual mono |
