Some years back I wandered into a watch shop in Germany that looked interesting. Owning an Omega Seamaster Professional I considered myself a watch aficionado. I got schooled that day. Every watch in that store was hand made. The prices were breathtaking as much as the beauty of some of those pieces. The proprietor looked at my Omega with disdain and mentioned it being simply a mass produced watch. That store was way out of my league and I never had the need for such a watch. I realized then that at some point it is not about how much money or even performance. Even those expensive handmade watches cannot outperform a $20 quartz timepiece. It becomes about having something no one else has as well as something to simply admire like a fine crystal vase. Look and feel in a watch is everything.
If you are looking for performance per dollar in a stereo then the best path is used vintage gear with internal component updates and tweaks. I went that path for many years starting in the late 80’s. Ugly looks was a thing of pride like a rusty 63 Chevy that can beat any Corvette. It is a fun path to discovery of what works and what is not so great that can be very rewarding. By the late 90s I was wading into the expensive gear but with an eye for manufacturers using components and designs that made good sense. I have to admit that the expensive stuff can sound really, really good. Of course at some point spending more money does not gain much sonic benefit. Then it becomes about look and feel.
I have appreciation for some of my buddies’ systems in the past that looked kluged together- the industrial look, I called it but sounded amazing and for the highly finished and polished systems that could be in a museum. But when the lights are out looks mean nothing and it is all about the sound.