People spend money on what makes them feel good. Period. Cars, wine, watches, houses, Hermes bags etc. Judging others negatively for something you don't find value or believe in says something about yourself. This holds true for more than material goods.
Making an even decent speaker is well beyond the realm of the average man or woman. Believing this feat is possible gives humans too much credit and is delusional. It also makes light of and shows ignorance to the tremendous research and development that is required to produce a product that engages and makes one covet a special piece. That is why all speaker do not sound the same. As far as I am concerned, if the gear is used well and often, providing many thousands of hours of sonic bliss, the prices can be considered a bargain (I can't believe I am saying this). After all, the market is always right. The levels of performance, beauty, rarity , and yes cost required to give the purchased product an acceptable level of "feel good" and incremental performance increase sought varies depending on the means and psychology of the purchaser.
Making an even decent speaker is well beyond the realm of the average man or woman. Believing this feat is possible gives humans too much credit and is delusional. It also makes light of and shows ignorance to the tremendous research and development that is required to produce a product that engages and makes one covet a special piece. That is why all speaker do not sound the same. As far as I am concerned, if the gear is used well and often, providing many thousands of hours of sonic bliss, the prices can be considered a bargain (I can't believe I am saying this). After all, the market is always right. The levels of performance, beauty, rarity , and yes cost required to give the purchased product an acceptable level of "feel good" and incremental performance increase sought varies depending on the means and psychology of the purchaser.