New LFD Zero LE mkIV

The LFD LE III was big disappointment for me. I'm not interested in the next gen at all. The mkIV "looks" worse than the LE III!

Their design is simply unmoving and the on/off switch on the LFD LE III was a joke (I mean come on a cheap plastic switch!). Yes, for a solid state integrated amp it sounded good but aesthetically very unappealing to me. I hope they put some distance between the RCA connectors in the back on the IV and lower the price. A lot.

The cosmetic design isn’t to everyone’s tastes. This matters not one iota to him. his entire motivation is the sound. Aesthetics are in the main an irrelevance to him.

Are you quoting him or making an assumption that this is Mr. Bews stance? If this is true, it's a pretty arrogant stance. It's evident aesthetics are not important to LFD "except" in their top of the line models - and even here it's still too "simple" to be beautiful (lacking elegant details).

As for me it's "very important" and every bit as important as the sound. Having both makes for an exceptional piece. Who wants to display ugly gear?

The LFD LE III front plate and case look DIY. At the MSRP of above 3K I expect a better fit and finish.

given that so few of his 1000s of units rarely appear on eBay or Audiogon, one might conclude that the end-users are pretty much in line that form follows function.

Another meaningless stat. A search of aGon Virtual Systems finds 3 systems. 2 of which are dealers. So out of all recorded aGon virtual systems only one owner list one. To put it in context.

Jtsin67 - give your new unit at least several hundred hours to settle in. The sound will change/open up. With your ProAc's it should sound pretty darn good! Is there an acknowledged "break-in" period for the new LFD.

Bigaitch - Most certainly agree - folks have choices. Buying gear is just as subjective as music loving is. I chose to buy the predecessor of the mkIV. Had it in my system for a time and chose to move to something else. I base my opinions on that experience. Not the mere fact of never owning and only on looks - my bad if that wasn't clearly communicated.

I purchased based on an audition and it's exciting ability to reproduce sound so elegantly compared to what I'd heard up until that point; full well knowing I didn't care for the looks. Getting it home, living and poking around with it revealed qualities I took issue with - not sound related - but important to me nonetheless.

Wrt "LFD units rarely show up on eBay & aGon" - and from that conclude "users are happy with the units" - I was merely recognizing that of all the listed systems on aGon only one lists ownership. That's a small pool to aggregate from. Of course aGon members are not the only audiophiles in the world. I feel statements like that don't mean what's implied. Is it a "stat" in the mathematical sense. Not exactly. But you get the idea as indicated by your "variance" comment.

And lastly, my opinion "is" more important the LFD's 'cause a) I'm paying for it
b) I have to live with it.

If the developer's don't care about looks that's most certainly their business. Just one I'm not good with turns out. It's neither right or wrong. Call it self-discovery.