Do you care about the LOOK???

Yes,

Very much so. The Proceed PRE is in my opinion one of the ,ost appealing designs--, same for the whole line. The old Sherwood tube tuners wth their long dials and green lighting. The Dynaco FM-3, very simple and timeless. The MC-275. Yes, I am very much hooked on good industrial design. Same with cars, the dashboard and controls are where i sit for hours a week. If they don't cut it, the car doesn't get bought.

For me, style has alot to do with the room you have to work with. Right now, my system is set up in an active living space in my house. This arrangement dictates my component make up and speaker size, and yes, style. If I had a dedicated listening room, then I would probably look at some ugly mono blocks and bigger speakers.

With one exception, I put performance above appearance. All my equipment is black or dark grey, so I won't buy a component with a silver faceplate.

Martin Logan - Sound as good as they look.
I have both black and cherry rails for my Ascents. When I want an awesome looking piece of mechanical sculpture, the black rails go on, when something more mellow is called for, the cherry rails work well.

Sure. Is someone seriously going to tell me that my Atma-Sphere MA-1 MK2.3 Silvers are not the most beautiful thing they've ever seen? I’m an industrial designer in automotive and I find them gorgeous in a retro kinda way. They glow so nicely on my living room floor next to the speakers and they're far less in need of maintenance than the wood burning fireplace to keep that glow going. Not to mention the sounds they create are more interesting. My girl thinks that tube amps are prettier than SS amps. What more can I say! Must be that diamond ring, birthday cake, Christmas tree twinkling subliminal thing that women are born with... Yet she's right, of course. The Atma’s do continue to surprise us regularly with the varied gift of great music. Happy listening!