i would not spend money on any audio gear that look like cheap toy (even though they sound very good).
I am not adverse to improvements in anything.
But let my husband explain, I can go to a NM sale rack and pull the one shirt out (on sale 198.00) with 100 (on sale 19.00) hanging all around it. And I do this every time; in other words my tastes run like heat seeking missles to expensive looks.
I really liked the face of my old PL receiver. Matte brushed alum. - Quiet, sophisticated, businesslike, very very substantial construction/ button action and was worried about the physical impression the 950/770 combo would have on me.
I would not scale it a 10 on looks alone but, No problem, right now its in a temporary black rack with black everything else around it, looks fine, feels fine, sounds GREAT, (even before optimizing the tweaking).
JMO but I am very sensitive to
ugly.