Maril555,
There are two issues here. There are those who say, if people can afford these overpriced items it's up to them. Of course it is. But I agree with you -- for most people, many of these items are crazily overpriced with the cost reflecting only the greed factor of the manufacturer. Some of these high-priced products deliver superlative performance, granted. But others deliver hardly anything to write home about. So, we are talking about two things here -- high prices and bang for your audio buck.
I have found that the price you pay is often not reflected in sonic value. For example, I have paid the most ridiculously low prices for Bybee items on the after market. They are far and away the best bang for the audio buck in my system. I have never been let down by a single Bybee product.
On the other hand, I have had a lot of SR products in my system -- but with mixed results. I paid an outrageous price for an SR product that is guaranteed to send your system to the moon -- hoopla-ed to death on their site. What did I get for my money? I got the sound choked out of my system -- a very scary event for a product that is supposed to deliver an expanded sound stage and blacker backgrounds. In my system this SR product delivered only the black background -- with no sound at all coming from my speakers. It scared the hell out of me.
The moral of the story? If you have deep pockets you can go for anything and everything out there without having to worry about value. But if you are an audio mortal you will have to be very careful with your hard-earned dollars to get the best value for your audio buck -- especially in our "new normal" economy.
