MEANT TO POST THIS HERE IN HT, NOT GA. SORRY.

Sorry to say this, folks, but looks do matter. If they didn't, we'd all be driving Volvos and settling for chicks who look like Monica Lewinsky .

This may be stupid, but aesthetics are a part of my HT spending decision, not a big part, but a part nontheless. If I come across a receiver or speakers that perform well, are reasonably priced but are ugly (IMO, of course), I will not buy them. Am I alone in this?

That being said, here are my choices for the ugliest receiver and speaker brand:

Receiver: Yamaha - they make some of the best performing and best priced receivers on the market but I HATE those amber displays. Also, this is the 21st century, why does Yamaha insist on keeping twist knobs for treble and bass on some of their receivers.

The runners up would be NAD and Harman-Kardon.

Speakers: Athena is my choice here. Again, excellent performing but just not aesthetically pleasing.

The runners up would be Infinity and Boston Acoustics.