Do you care about the LOOK???

I agree with Albertporter, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, it does matter how the stuff looks, especially in the case of a system in the living room, as opposed to a system in a dedicated HT room. I tend to like solid, well-built but functional looking gear without a lot of "bells and whistles," and I think some manufacturers go too far trying to present a "statement" look. Sort of like the PT Cruiser, the novelty can wear off over time.

I read someone's discription of "Wilson Sophia" as being similar in looks to a trash can. After a couple of months I have grown attached to the looks---based on how much they please. Women kinda do that thing,too.

I think the question here is what does the beholder think.

My take on it is if I am going to spend thousands of dollars on a stereo, I want it to look good as well as sound good. Why sell myself short?? I have eyes as well as ears.

I can say I definitely care about looks. For instance, I myself don't care for the way Naim products look so I have never gone out of my way to listen to them. I might be selling myself short on some good sounding stuff but I've found enough that is both visually appealing and musically appealing to be happy.

I do tend to go with things that don't look as if the whole budget was blown on the Knobs and casework........ then again I don't like the Niam catagory cause they're plastic. I guess I'm in the middle on well built looks that mean business.

cmo

no, only performance matters- the fact that I have considered the Mauve coloured Wyetech Topaz amp for our living room says something :-) Wife doesn't care- "it's ALL ugly" (and I'm paraphrasing) Having said all this, when you have a new baby in the house, limiting factors such as safety can not be avoided...