I will try to answer your questions without going of on another rant.

1.) "Let me ask you this; when you listen to a piece of gear; do you feel that you think it sounds better if it is shiny and expensive looking? "

>Not as of recent years, but I have in the past. I have learned in recent that music is more of a psychological experience, and is more enjoyable to me listening with my eyes closed.
Music can sooth my usually disturbed emotion, but looking at the piece of equipment is usually unmoving.

2.) "How about the times you have heard something you thought sounded good and the unit was not even in sight? Did that change your opinion when you finally saw the unit; and it looked like crap? "

>Not normally, my thoughts of physical appearance does not factor into my perception of sound quality.

I have heard exceptionaly good sounding amplifiers built on cigar boxes.

You can't judge a book by its cover.

My overall perseption of quality does take into concideration of the physical build quality and sound qulity of the peice of equipment as a whole.

But, price is usually one of my main gauges for what my overall opinion is of the piece of retail audio equipment in question.

If the equipment sounds good, there is a fairly substantial physical build quality, type and brand of parts, as well as construction techniques used. And there is a fair price attached to this equipment, I usually deem it as a qulity piece.

I have always frowned on a piece of equipment that is of fair construction that has an astrinomical price attached to it no matter how good it sounds, like Lamm for instance.
I feel these prices are more related to the elitism and Ego tactics
used to get many insecure soles departed from their money.

I can barely remember meeting young women before I was married 25 years ago. Women who were beautiful to the eye, but were selfish and arrogant when they opened their mouths, it always seemed to be about them.

This is one of the main tools of the marketing industry, one that I do not like, Meism.
I view most marketing to be just eye candy, but it is what is underneath that counts.
Marketing is usually transparent and has no real substance.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Norris Wilson