I can't see why you guys are having a go, in my very limited experience there is good reason to believe that casework etc. has an influence on the sound. Induced currents,rfi etc. all have an effect. Richard is not the only designer to think that un-needed material is unwanted.......didn't LFD also make amps with uncovered output wires, for the same reasons? I seem to remember that they even went so far as to remove the metal from the volume pot shaft, because they said it had a negative effect on the sound. Tom Evans seemed to prefer plastic/acrylic cases. I am not saying Richard is right and "everyone" else is wrong.......or vice versa, but there is surely more to the sound of an amp (or any other piece of equipment) than can be measured or calculated. Science doesnt have all the answers.

 The "perfect" amps with better measurements than Kylie have been around for decades... but plenty of "audiophiles" say that they sound sterile. I'd sooner buy an amp from someone that places more belief in his ears than in his oscilloscope.