Aesthetics are important and overlooked in Audio. It's one thing if its in a closet, but most amplifier companies seem to think that a brushed metal box is just fine. Anyways as long as it sounds good right? If you think it sounds great, who cares what the specs say.
So, thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. I did get the Carina on promo price and was torn between a few different options, including the NAD C399, Rotel RA1592, and Arcam SA30.
I am running Martin Logan ESL-X so know that this may not apply to all speakers as electrostats have unique behaviors...