I wouldn't characterize them as UGLY ... I think stoopid-looking is the more appropriate term for the loudspeakers from B&W and Swan that have the tweeters mounted outside the enclosure. I couldn't live with such an atrocity, for it would remind me on a daily basis of just how bizarre and "off-the-wall" some audiophiles actually are when they think that mounting a tweeter outside will somehow have some magical effect on the overall sound (it won't).

For receivers, I don't classify any of them as actually ugly. If the question was asked in reverse ... what receivers are the most handsome, I'd answer that by saying - any of them that aren't BLACK! Give me gold - give me silver - give me titanium - give me ANY color other than black ... PLEASE! I'm somewhat encouraged that the pendulum seems to be starting to swing back away from black - but it can't happen too soon to suit me. I'm a bit perturbed at Yamaha for eliminating the importation of anything other than black into the U.S. In Japan, gold finish is the dominant color ... here, they claim that gold finish simply doesn't sell. This makes no sense to me at all. A black finish shows every speck of dust - every fingerprint - they're virtually impossible to keep looking pristine - yet that's what "sells" ... go figure!