Matching Gear matter to you?

I’m sure I’m in the minority here, but when I see matching gear, I feel the person is uncreative and basically uninteresting. To me that is the opposite of what this hobby is about. Which is experimentation. But of course that’s just me and all you uninteresting people out there may disagree.😂

I have a SS amp and tube Pre Amp from the same mfg.   The synergy is the unmistakable.    Like to say XYZ is always compatible with itself.

@ihasaguy that what I was aiming for. What’s swaying me to this other manufacturer is that my friend said it has excellent synergy with our amp (we have the same amp).

i won’t be able to audition so it’s a leap of faith. 

And for what it’s worth this will be my first tube component (regardless of which way I decided to go). This will replace a Schiit SYS in the signal chain so I’m even more scared/excited about making a mistake.

It’s a hobby. Supposed to be fun. We can have different priorities within a hobby. We spend good money on these toys. No reason it should not be visually pleasing. If looking at same-branded components is going to give you pleasure—and not irritate your ocd, then that may be worth a few hundred dollars to you. My system is all patchwork, but all my components are black which helps visually unify the pieces. 

I am frugal by nature, so getting the best value and sq per dollar is important to me. Though right now I do have my eye on a second hand set of orange floor standers! 50% off, but still 8k. Gulp.