How much does esthetics and/or looks come into play on a purchase

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This one from @Torq is truly, truly awful:

Quest for Inexpensive Balanced DACs

A nice sounding balanced unit that doesn’t get much press is the “Ross Martin Audio” PCM1794A DAC. It’s a bit agricultural in it’s appearance, but is a nice listen: [RM-1794A-(Front)] [RM-1794A-(Back)] There are better-sounding (to me) single-ended DACs for the same or less money (it was <$220 when I reviewed it), but if you need a balanced DAC it’s a relatively inexpensive option. Another, slightly more expensive ($350), more feature-rich model is the Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus. Agai…