What is going on? No-one buys good stuff priced right.

Ha, I'd rather be a Brontosaurus than engineered mosquito. Interesting angle of view, Electroslacker.
What Sense63 and Carmenc wrote sounds sad. We'll enjoy what we have and will have but next generation..it's very uncertain to say the least.
As soon as I can I'll get the biggest baddest amps I can afford and accomodate in my place, believe you me. Let's call it both a tradition and counter-culture. And they sure will sound better than any shiny box.

" We are being phased out ". That's a little too desperate, I would say, but yes the situation is not good.
About wine analogy. Yes, you can clearly tell the difference between a so-so wine and an excellent one even if you have never tried any wine before. But any analogy has limits. Those who were 'brainwashed' with digital, and usually poor quality digital, would have hard time to appreciate fine things.

There is a lot of great equipment available for sale here on Audiogon (as opposed to Cr**g**st), and some of it is expensive, even very expensive, but no one is forced to buy anything. The summer, notwithstanding, there is a button called "Make Offer" that allows anyone to submit an offer lower than the asking price. I have noticed that some things have been sitting longer than previous years. Sometimes, it's the fault of the seller. One guy, recently told me he was too busy for a short demo, despite living close to me. I just think that, with 100%+ feedback, I deserved a demo. Needless to say, I won't be buying anything from that seller.

I have been tempted to replace my Avalons with the latest in speaker development, but the price of an even used pair of, say Raidho, Rockport, Tidal, Vandersteen, YG Acoustics, etc., have reached into the unreachable stratosphere. Even if I was able to afford an uber-speaker, I have no assurances that I will find it's performance more satisfying.  And...of course, I am left with the need to sell a more than moderately priced speaker in today's market. The days of continual upgrades may be over for me.

Yeah, well, if fewer people upgrade and fewer start building their systems..we'll have the situation we do.