In order for a question of this nature to have any meaning, reference points will have to be established; at least one well known reference point is the "Stereophile rating". I have subscribed to "Stereophile" for years, and I consider their rating system to be valid; for example a component that's rated "Class A" will sound pretty good, that I guarantee.
I try to buy the cheapest component that's rated Class A; I believe components that cost more are entering the land of diminishing returns.
In order to confirm this, I would need to buy more expensive components; until that happens, I can only guess whether or not this is valid.
