Pre-amps are engineering products built to do a job. For most that job is not to look beautiful. As most here have said, the important job is to process signals accurately and without unwanted artifacts.
ARC epitomises that, having sold amps for more than 60 years that all look pretty much the same externally. I have no issue with that. It cements brand image. The visual aesthetics are entirely functional, but excellently executed in terms of materials and build quality. In fact I like it.
What we really don't need is bling for the sake of bling. Amplifiers are not art objects. D'Agostino falls for that, although he didn't when he ran Krell. And he's certainly not the worst.
But let us be thankful the bling hasn't gone as far as it has in turntables, where nearly all high-end units are grossly over-designed, over-weight and over-priced. For goodness sake, all they have to do is spin a record.
