I’m using a Bel Canto Black Ex, which sounds amazing (Class D that verges on Class A sound) and is visually stylish for a black slab of aluminum … Beyond that, I’m fixated on Vinnie Rossi’s L2i … another price point higher but pretty much as high as most of us would want or be able to go. @cpp I also once owned a TacT digital amp, when they were still fairly new on the scene (and is similar in look to Lyngdorf) and loved its minimal style.
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I can tell you they play a huge role not only in my purchasing decisions but also our customer’s purchasing decisions.
It’s why you’re never going to see me own any Stax headphones or Abyss. I can’t justify spending that much on something that my wife would tell me to hid in the closet when we have guests over. The SR-007 and 009 get a pass but the rest, couldn’t do it.
There were a lot of people who dismissed the Focal Stellia right away just based on the early promo photo of it being brown. Same with the Radiance with its Bentley logo.
I also have a feeling that half the reason people look at tube amps is for the the glow aesthetic.
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It has to sound good and feel comfortable. But I’m really into how a headphone and amp/dac looks as well. Even the setup where I listen has to look good. It just increases the enjoyment factor for me.
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I love old style Stax just for the retro futuristic look. Abyss is just awkward.
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I was always surprised at the bold color Campfire Audio chose for its Andromeda. I’d have thought that emerald green would have been too subjective for potentially fussy customers - lovely though it is to me - and that it would have been safer to opt for black or silver, especially for what was once the company’s flagship. I wonder if in this case the sound quality convinced people to like the color? (I realize there have been a bunch of ltd editions in different colors).
I suppose it shouldn’t matter but I found the color of the original Solaris off-putting. Too blingy and too likely to draw unwanted attention. It’s one thing to get held up on the subway for your kicks but it’s something else to risk losing your flagship IEMs as well 
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Never thought about that situation, but in a subway I could see that occurring.
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Things might be slightly different in America but pre-COVID-19 I’d take the bus / skytrain to work everyday with various headphones and IEMs (Stellia, Elegia, Solaris, Odin, Andro etc…) I got the odd look every now and then but I’d estimate 98% of people don’t even know headphones can cost more than $300. Unless it’s Beats or Airpods, most don’t care. At least in North America.
I think a large part of Campfire’s success is because of the colour choices they chose. It’s now directly associated with their brand. They came in at a time when really your choices were Black or Clear for IEMs from companies like Shure and Westone. The choices aren’t as unique now as the market has an over-saturation of IEMs but at the time they really stood out. It’s also great marketing because once people start taking pictures of them, they stand out and are directly associated with CFA.
Personally, I’m a little more outgoing with my style choices as @andrew can attest to so I like when companies make style choices outside of black, white and silver. It’s one of the reasons I have the Rebelamp on my desk right now. That green just looks so nice.
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I know when I purchased my JH Audio 16’s back in 2010 ( custom molded to my ears) they were clear and now you can get them in all types of colors with designs. Attractive style choices along with performance do appear to drive the market these days.
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You’re entirely right, and it’s easy to forget how the colours were ground-breaking.
Campfire’s distinctive and immediately-recognizable brand identity also owes much to the appealing industrial design of so many of its IEM housings; those angular shells, with the screws displayed prominently, really do stand out on the IO, Orion, etc. (I’ve heard that some find them uncomfortable).
I realize many are indifferent to the unboxing experience, but the origami-like packaging of its IEMs makes for a novel, fun experience. (I won’t dwell on the lurid Hawaiian shirt pattern on the 2020 releases, though).
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To me it’s a deal breaker rather than a deal maker.
I won’t add something to the list based on how it looks but I will take it off.
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I’m moving towards a dual setup for headphone listening. One for critical listening and one for daily use while working. The one for critical listening is a comfy chair and higher end equipment on a side table where sound is king and comfort and design not as much. The daily setup sits on my desk so it needs to take up less space while esthetics, ergonomics, and especially comfort are more important than sound.
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It plays a decent role if I’m paying alot of money. But being a lady into audio colours my opinion obviously.
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@Converge96 I agree Rose, if we are spending lots of money on a product why can’t we also have it look awesome too? I don’t think it should be an either or conversation. I think if the manufacturers can appeal to all of our senses, look, feel and sound then those are the manufacturers that will likely get a bigger share of our wallets in the long run. This is human nature. Sure the sound is the most important thing, but if it can feel good on our heads and in our hands, if it looks good when we are using it or on our desks and it sounds incredible that is the trifecta manufactures should be striving for.
Edited for spelling before I drank my 
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Oh spot on. Its like buying an expensive car or a nice chair, if the car cost a lot but has quality and/or resell issues or a nice chair that looks great but feels like you’re setting on a milk crate well the manufacture failed on my end.
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There’s a flip side to that.
I read an interview long ago with one of the high-end speaker amp makers and they said they could lower prices by 30% if the gear didn’t have to look like high-end gear.
Next time you spend $3,000 think about that $1,000 savings if it came in a plain metal box.
It might be worth it for some folks but still pretty pricey metal and machining.
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For sure, makes sense, different strokes for different folks
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Agree 100% with @MRHifiReviews and @Converge96.
I normally make a short list of whatever it is I’m looking for, based on sound quality, functionality and price. If it’s something that I’m going to be staring at all day on my desk, then all other things being equal (or at least close to equal), I’m likely to get the prettiest one on that list, e.g. ZMF headphones. Or I’ll pay a premium to get the prettier version of the already good-sounding equipment, e.g. the wooden enclosure for the Pendant amp was one of the best “audio” purchases I’ve made because it just looks so amazing and I look at it every day, even when I’m not listening to music.
That’s a great point. If my short list consisted of a great looking tube amp for $3000 and an ugly looking tube amp for $2000 (if there is such a thing) that had the same sound quality, it would be a tough choice. But similar to my comment about the Pendant wooden enclosure, if $1000 didn’t mean that much to me, I might regard it as an affordable premium to get better looks. But since $1000 does mean a lot to me, if the ugly amp was clearly better sounding, I’d hope that I’d choose the better sounding product. Fortunately, audio manufacturers feel the peer pressure to make good looking gear, so I’m not in that predicament (plus I don’t have the $3000 for an amp). 
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You’ve got me wondering about whether there’s really any genuinely ugly headphone gear (outside of blingy consumer stuff such as skullcandy and the like). Some of the boring black boxes like the Grace Design Standard DAC or the O2 amp on Drop aren’t exactly oil paintings, I grant you, but I’m having a hard time thinking of anything truly, actively hideous.
I know beauty is subjective, in the eye of the beholder, and all that (“only a mother could find him handsome…” etc.), but surely even the Stax SR 404 has its admirers somewhere
And then there’s this beauty:
(Ok, maybe I have found an objectively ugly headphone after all).
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When a company calls a headphone the “Float” you can be pretty sure it’s a 10-pounder.
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