Dweller, I think that "performance at half the price" is only part of the equation in a value rating system. It's in the nature of our free enterprise system that someone is always trying to deliver a better mousetrap for a lower price. Often, they succeed in the beginning. The history of the high end is a long list of companies that offered good sounding products but ultimately failed because they underestimated expenses and couldn't grow their business past a certain threshold. There are so many "high value" audio products that are shoestring operations run by one guy and little more. You bet that business model can initially undercut the pricing of Audio Research, Conrad-Johnson and other established players. Good luck trying to get replacement parts and service ten years from now though. Maybe that doesn't matter to some consumers but it does to others.
