Downgrading

Probably a smart move for many.

Musical enjoyment may often need not necessarily suffer.

Arh and Sidssp have it right. You can invest the savings into hard assets make profits and buy higher end things for the price of the old purchasing power their money once had. I sold an 07 Mustang Gt for 18K after driving it for 3 years (bought in 06 sold in 09) paid 26K for it. Got 18K back, bought 10oz of gold @ 9k, sold it 3 years later @ 18K so I drove my Mustang almost 3 years for free. I put the other 9K into my stereo and wish I would have invested all 18K into gold instead, but now I won't have to upgrade.

I believe as you become a seasoned audiophile you can do more with less you also know what sound you're after
In my case you go with used equipment and look at building a system which components have a good synergy

Integrated amp, source, speakers. Seriously, what else do you need to enjoy your music? I'm through with all the extraneous crap that doesn't one bit of enjoyment.

I agree with Rrog's deindustrialization statement. Just today I heard some commentator, or maybe it was a political figure, talk about covering the east coast with manufacturing facilities the way it was 50 years ago. My thought was, what reality does this guy live in? I don't know where we're heading, but it sure ain't there.

All the high-end uber expensive gear did not deliver as promised. People have wised up. Most of it was just a con.