An audiophile dilemma


A friend of mine just bought the JBL PRX635 stage speakers and they sound just great!
These are not the typical high end speakers that are in demand among audiophiles and they cost far less than their high end siblings.
Sometimes I wonder if all the money is well spent, because for far less $$ someone can become an owner of a pair of these JBL's and be happy for the rest of his life.
Are those high end (and very expensive) speakers really better than the JBL's?

Chris
dazzdax
Let me give you some additional information: I'm an owner of Soundlab A-1 PX speakers. Prior to the Soundlab I had Dunlavy SC-V's.
So I'm quite familiar with "high end sound".
I know you can't compare apples to pears but I have heard with my own ears how the JBL PA speakers sounded. They sounded unlike the typical PA speakers. Yes, they are capable of sounding loud and dynamic but they also have a natural sounding treble and midrange (although the bass is a bit murky in my ears, but this could be related to room acoustics).
I would like to say that even PA speakers can sound excellent today even when audiophile criteria are being used.
I feel that the gap between this kind of speakers and the real "high end" ones is closing. What do you think?

Chris
09-14-12: Rok2id

'Once you stack them side by side with great stuff though, you can hear the deficiencies.'

Only if you can see the equipment, will you be able to 'hear' the imagined differences / deficiencies. Put everything out of sight and NO ONE can tell or hear a difference. Not wanting to revisit this 'sensitive' subject, except that there might be new people here who do not know the history of blind testing. I am primarily speaking of electronics.

You have to be joking. I don't have to see what amp is hooked up to know what it sounds like. Out of sight, out of mind... LOL.

A lot of blind testing was done with a strange system, and in a strange environment. That "Carver Challenge" years back, would have had totally different results if it was done in their home, and using their own system, in my opinion.
09-14-12: Rok2id

'Once you stack them side by side with great stuff though, you can hear the deficiencies.'

Only if you can see the equipment, will you be able to 'hear' the imagined differences / deficiencies. Put everything out of sight and NO ONE can tell or hear a difference. Not wanting to revisit this 'sensitive' subject, except that there might be new people here who do not know the history of blind testing. I am primarily speaking of electronics.

You have to be joking. I don't have to see what amp is hooked up to know what it sounds like. Out of sight, out of mind... LOL.

A lot of blind testing was done with a strange system, and in a strange environment. That "Carver Challenge" years back, would have had totally different results if it was done in their home, and using their own system, in my opinion.
'YEah Rok2id, we are actually all just pretending to be able to hear any differences'

AHA!! just as I have always suspected!

And don't trash YORX, I plan to upgrade to a YORX system one day, once the kids are outta college.
A lot of blind testing was done with a strange system, and in a strange environment

So? Are you saying you need familiar surroundings to be able to tell the difference between a $129 dollar receiver and a $20,000 'high-end' amp?