Could they sell a high-end amp without the fancy

You do need a minum quality casing, or the sound will be impaired. Take Conrad Johnson for example. I used a premier 17 Pre for a few years and very good it was too. However the thin, resonant top plate did'nt do it any favours at all and needed some weight on it, to improve the sound.

I do take the point though, cases milled from solid obsidian with diamond inlay, would be overkill.

The names you mentioned in the OP are higher end brands . Would you want a high end car with an exterior that only Mr Bean could love ?

To be honest I've done my share of weighting the tops and adding insulating liners to the interior's etc etc to components to dampen there flimsy containers , but I'd just as soon have structural integrity up front and pay for it .

Do you know the tale from "The Emperor's New Clothes"?

High End Pricing is based on that.

Agree with French_fries above. At Axpona the Hegel 200 drove Sony top of the line speakers beautifully at all volumes with all of the music demo'd. A drum solo that led into a live "Take Five" set was especially well done. First time the group of us that went to the show heard both and we came away very impressed.

The reviews have been very kind to Hegel. Spending a couple grand on fancier cases would not necessarily make the electronics better...just better eye candy..

On the other hand there is an old advertising/marketing saying regarding cosmetics, "catch the customer's eye and you'll catch their pocketbook".

Taters,
I generally agree with your position that function should be more important than form. As an example of this, I just bought a rather plain and unimpressive looking class D amp that has very impressive performance (Class D Audio SDS4440SC amp). But, while I am thrilled with it's sonics, I still wish it looked better.

On the other hand, I also agree with Stevecham that a product should be not only be well engineered, but well styled as well. Many try to minimize it, but pride of ownership is an important factor to most of us, especially in things like cars and audio equipment. We see and use these both on a daily basis and are reminded of any shortcomings in looks and performance on a daily basis, too.

Personally, if I was considering buying 2 amps and they were about the same price/warranty and their sound was equally good, I would not hesitate to buy the better looking amp. Of course, amp manufacturers probably have been aware of this human tendency for a long time.

Thanks,
Tim