pehaps the question should be- how much does the appearance
of a piece of gear affect the buyer's desire to lay out
the money. plus, i'm not running out to buy a new rack system
every time i see components that are too large or complicated
to set up on what i have-i.e.- two m.greene justaracks (adjustable 2in. thick shelves, cheap-finish black mdf).
i'm just not buying a three-piece preamp no matter how good it is. speakers- they HAVE to look good, end of story. hats off to my friend with quads with the grills ripped off, crossovers laying out on the floor, linty wires everywhere, a thorens with a broken motor/outboard motor assembly of his own design, no cd's, only vinyl, etc. yes, his system sounds good. so does mine, only i paid 5x as much- good for the economy, right?....