When someone tells you it's a $40,000 amp, does it sound better?

Does my Pass XA-25 contain expensive components? It seems like it might. Would a D’Agostino’s 4 or 5 watts (which is what my speakers require to put music into my earballs) into my 99 db speakers sound better? 5 to 10 times better? Are they better watts? I actually like D’Agostino’s designs as a sort of "steam punk" esthetic, but otherwise think the prices they require from hedge fund managers are sort of silly...like a 2 million dollar watch (Richard Mille...nice, and I collect watches, but the market is down so that one will wait). Some think a Schiit Aegir is in the same class as some very expensive amps, and 2 run as monos are real cheap, relatively speaking. But I can only assume their watts aren’t doing what a $10,000+ amp does, which is satisfy expectation bias all day.

Preamps and power amps have been transparent to the source for decades. Amplifiers will exhibit sonic differences when driven into clipping - but who wants that? Beyond a basic level all you are paying for is bling.

I have had about 10 amps in the last 2 years and they all sounded different at volume levels no where close to clipping. I sold my KRELL amp yesterday and only have Benchmark AHB2 monos left. Both of those 2 amps are very different sonically. I usually connected my amps to my very revealing and quiet Benchmark LA4 preamp. So it was mostly the amp and source I was hearing.

My next amp, for a second system, is supposed to be a $40K amp, but we will see if that is a pipe dream or reality next year. The reason to spend that much is because it will be sonically similar to an amp I owned and sold but it lacked the power I needed. The $40K amp will have much more current and power than any amp I have owned before. My next speakers can make great use of that current.

I have owned cheaper very high current amps but they were nowhere as good as what I am looking to get.

A lot of that cost is also bling though that is not important to me.

It is so subjective....  Double Blind testing is the only fair way of doing an honest assessment so as to eliminate any biases.  

Fella's... its all subjective, and determined by personal taste and perception.