Many higher end preamps are dated and ugly, why is this?

Yogiboy I can't see any knobs how do you turn it on? 😋 

It is VASTLY more important to me that my preamplifier - amplifier - DAC - streamer - CD transport/player - speaker array - every single one of them - must LOOK good (how they SOUND pales in importance by comparison)! 

My family and friends simply MUST gasp in astonished awe and delight whenever they feast their eyes on the STUNNINGLY GLORIOUS SIGHT of my gleaming high-end audiophile gear each and every time they enter my listening - er, viewing - room.

Seems like you want to impress friends rather than have good sq. Who cares what a preamp looks like, it’s the sound that counts. IMO, what you called high end preamps are just ok in my book, and some of the preamps you stated as ugly or weird are very good sounding.

II'm rather fond of my Musical Fidelity Ms8 preamp and even the wife gave it compliments when unboxing saying it's beautiful !

Many Audiophiles are dated and ugly. Why is this?