Revelation

That is so absurd its doesnt even dignify a response.

I don't see anything absurd about it at all. Strikes me as a perceptive and arguably correct observation, nothing more and nothing less. Frankly, I think that your response to Tvad's comment does a disservice to your intriguing initial post.

Regards,
-- Al

If you have been conditioned to how your modest system sounds on a particular track/LP then you may indeed be disappointed by a meagbuck system that does it correctly. Many people have excessive muddy but impressive bass and pleasant but recessed midrange -over time and continued exposure this becomes "normal" and "correct" to their ears/brain. PLay a track correctly and they have been so conditioned as to feel that it is wrong or inferior.

Generally speaking though, do the mega buck systems sound better? Of course. But they can sound crappy too if not properly mated and set up.
Dealers don't always properly set up there systems prior to auditions. A few years ago I had an experience similar to the OP's when I was looking for a speaker upgrade. Went to a local dealer with my own music to demo speakers and can guarantee my speakers sounded than the speakers I was auditioning, even though the dealer's speakers cost 3 times as much as mine. In fact the dealer went so far as to complain about one of the cuts I was using. He said it had a very heavy, one-note bass line which did not sound right. On his system he was correct. On my system the bass line had a more natural sound and was not overpowering the mix.
The dealer had a crappy set up that day. He is no longer in business.
A "better" sounding system can be a matter of taste. In my quest for the best speakers for my room I have had speakers costing 5 times the price of my current speakers. The expensive speakers will usually impress me at the beginning but eventually wear on me. Although I will probably continue buying speakers to experiment with, I have stopped searching for speakers more to my taste.

Seems to me that Shardorne has correctly described the brain/reality correlation as the crux of Autodexr's "revelation". It goes to state of mind while comparing what you have sweated to build and poured your love into while listening in your own space versus listening to what you probably can't have in a space that you cannot control.

Add to this:

System synergy for those that take the time to improve sound through component matching (expensive or not). Dealers build systems from the lines they sell which may or may not be ideal.

Room acoustics which again at a dealer may or may not be ideal.

Intoxicants.

we're forgetting the dictum "if it sounds good, it is good". evaluation of stereo systems is subjective. so, if someone says system a is better than system b, it is to that person. since there are no absolutes no system is better than another. rather one system is preferred to another.

using the example of a modest lower priced stereo system compared to a higher priced stereo system auditioned at a dealer, there will be differences of opinion as to which is better. until someone sets up objective criteria one can never say that stereo system a is better than stereo system b. one can state facts that one stereo system seems to be more resolving or more extended , or has certain attributes that another does not have, stating that such a stereo system is superior to another is arbitrary.

the word "better" is so personal, when each one of us has an idiosyncratic preference(s) regarding stereo system performance, that it may be irrelevant. if you like the sound of a stereo system, nothing else matters.

remember the addage, place 10 audiophiles in a room and you will get 11 opinions. the majority opinion is neither right or wrong, true or false.