I have two anecdotal experiences with uber-expensive systems.
One was at a dealer who had set up some Wilson Alexandria XLFs and didn't have to ask me twice whether I wanted to hear the system. Having heard some Sophias at a fraction of the cost at the same dealer I waited with nervous, even giddy, anticipation. Then the sound I heard was wholly disproportionate with what my eyes were telling me. I could best describe the sound as lean, hyperdetailed, lightweight with small images, remarkably similar to what I had heard with a Watt/Puppy system. Stunned, I kept looking around for an explanation of why I heard this type of sound but could find none; every piece was of stellar cost and reputation. When the dealer asked me what I thought I just couldn't voice my disappointment and mumbled some type of platitude on the system's performance.
I had the opposite experience at a stereo show when listening to a fantastic mbl system, the speakers being the ones with the double radiastrahler units. I have never heard a system that sounded so close to that of a real musical event, as if the band were in the room. Even some knucklehead asking for his Michael Jackson record to be played didn't deter me from deciding that if this system were rated as an A, every other system I had heard during my life was perhaps a C+ or below. The dynamics were incredibly stunning as were spaciousness and detail as well as immediacy and tonal color.
So perhaps the differences in the two systems were largely due to setup and system synergy.
