Why pay so much for super high end?

Seriously Doug Schroeder, this is where you want to start an anti-Darwinism discussion? You really want to hitch your wagon to this thread, and this particular individual’s post, for that purpose? I’ve talked to you before - I strongly suspect that you're better than that.

Skilled engineers with a penchant for audio spend lots of time and money doing research and development to deliver a product that few among us can approach with a DIY method.  Of the available gear we choose the ones which work for our ears and our budget.  We pay more this way (whether mid or hifi) but we get more as well.

What I don't understand is why people like the OP don't start a speaker company and make a fortune putting all the frauds out of business.

bcgator, thanks for bringing up the topic. I appreciate your thoughts. You are correct; I normally would not respond to such a thread. I have found that it is often a waste of time to challenge someone who is so delcarative. My rude post was due to a different motivation, and I anticipated a response which would allow me to state why I made such a flatly derisive comment. So, thank you for challenging me and giving me the opportunity to explain...

You're right, normally I would not bother to join in a thread like this. I also normally would attempt not to make such a dismissive, offensive remark. I prefer to discuss and enjoin in friendly debates rather than belittle. I'm glad that you felt it was out of character for me, because it WAS out of character, intentionally so. I thought it a good opportunity to demonstrate how rude it is to without justification condemn someone else's worldview while engaged in a discussion of audio. We have a regular occurrence here where individuals feel they need to slam religion and faith when discussing audio. Some regularly offend and marginalize people of faith. It often takes the form of using a thread on the topic of skepticism of an audio product and turning it toward skepticism and dismissal of faith/religion. 

After decades of study on the topic I have concluded that Darwinism is poor science, but I am well aware of the fact that my post had no pertinence to the discussion and that it was likely offensive to many. In the same way inflammatory comments deriding religion/faith in other threads usually have no pertinence to audio, and offends many. I believe it is brought into the discussion for purposes of marginalizing others and belittling their worldview. 

Often when I see pitifully poor logic the thought, "Just like Darwinian theory," enters my mind. So, my post was not bereft of any connection to the OP.  I saw it as an opportunity to let people feel how it is when someone rudely dispenses with another's worldview without pertinence to the topic at hand. If people were offended, maybe they will stop to consider in the future how inconsiderate it is to take a blindside swipe at others just because you can.  

The word ’highend’ is not based on parameters(as it should be). This means it it more based on price.

Does it garantee you a higher quality? No, it does not.

When people have no idea about how music sounds in real, you have no idea how you can create it.

When you are not able to understand what the properties are of each part in your set you don’t know why the sound and stage is what you hear.

Take a look at audio shows, distributers and shops. Most sets sounds poor, incomplete and are based on nothing. When you would have know the properties you would never have made the combination we are listening at.

In 2015 we visited the Munic Highend show. Over 90% were 2 dimensional demos. This means that the stage depth is between 0 and 1 metre maximum. This has nothing to do with highend audio.

No depth and maximum 1 metre is in real a hifi stereo parameter. But people use the word ’highend’ so they think will will believe it is highend.

The music they used was very poor in Munic. I asked many people what they were playing. Most didn’t know. So I asked; why would you play music you don’t know?

Audio and highend these days is more about surviving and money. And what it creates is that customers get less for their money.

Take a look at reviews and most do not give you a view of the ’real’ quality. Reviews have a big influence on what people buy. These days you can buy reviews.

You can ask yourself: What do you want to hear? The truth or the thing you would like to hear......

Music is all about emotion. The emotion is inside the music. You need to understand how the emotion works of us humans. Take a look again at audio shows, shops, distributers and manufacturers and you see that most demos do have diversity at all.

Diversity in sound is the main part to create and feel emotion. In the last big audio show we visited, all sets had almost no diversity. Here you see is that people have no idea how to create it.

There are always people who have the money to spend a lot of money on audio. Wheter they are rich or are prepared to pay it. But you can ask the question if they get value for the money they spend?

Each ’highend’ product what only can create a 2 dimensional stage will never be able to satisfy a person for a longer period of time. This is based on our emotion.

When there is almost no depth the distance between you and the music is bigger. It feels more from a distance. I have spoken to many people in the last 2 years who spend a lot of money on audio and were not happy.

They had one thing in common; They all owned a 2 dimensional system.

For many people who work in audio or have knowledge and insight in audio know how important stage depth and width is. It sets instruments and voices free in space. And brings you closer to the music.

A 3 dimensional stage has a huge impact on how we humans experience music. Beside this diversity in sound is needed to create a higher level of emotion during listening to an audio system.

Highend with a 2 dimensional stage does not make sense at all. It does not give you a view of how music is being projected in real. The same when there is no diversity. Richness in sound does not garantee you emotion in music. When the whole frequency has rather the same kind of sound, there is still no diversity.

Because diversity creates the most emotional feeling during listening.

I think ’highend’ needs to be judged on ’real’ parameters. This is the only way to give people an honest idea if it is highend or not.

Highend should be based on a quality. In real it is more based on the price. Money does not garantee you a higher quality.