Hey RICH Audiophiles

I have seen home after expensive home without a set-up consisting
of separate audio components. They spoil the decor and their home theatre room has in-wall speakers. Perhaps orchestra conductors with liberal recording contracts buy top-of-the-line audio... 
They (billionaires) DO HAVE wristwatches that cost $600,000 dollars. A McLaren or
Lamborghini could set you back $2 Million or more. Yeah, they're nice, but completely useless (0-60 in 3.5 seconds). They're so fast that you just let the computer operate the transmission. I learned to drive a stick so I could "drive" my Honda/Toyota. It felt wonderful to be in control.
They park their yachts at Monaco and drink $2000/glasses of wine. As for music for entertainment-
Mozart or Gaga? Music is an art form, not a fashion statement. I think.
As long as your toilet seat is made of gold what difference does it make anymore? 
OTOH, I feel "most" high end audio should not cost prices that seem ludicrous. 
A manufacturer of (for ex.) a speaker should admit a certain product is more of a "prototype" then a commercial offering, unless you "really"
have to have it. Not to have a reviewer brag about how great it is in a specially designed room with dozens of other components making them work the way they do. I remember seeing a demo of the (beautiful) B&W Reference"Snails" with 4 Krell mono-amps/speaker, custom Krell crossovers, custom wire, custom preamps, etc. The sound was very clean and grain-free, but not the same "wow" response I got the1st time I heard the B&W 801 Matrix speakers ($5000/pair) at a dealer. And those "Snails" are not (I guess) "so amazing" anymore. So 0-60 in 3.5 seconds
should be a guide to this hobby as well. 
(BTW Rich People- 8K OLED TV sets are coming out. OH, sorry, you already know... 

the affordable low end has never sounded better....

get a rega a denon Or ortofon a nice sprout or nad or Rogue, a bluesound streamer and a pair of Maggies or Vandersteen, buy some concert tickets and a case of wine at Costco and a used Boxster...

James Dean did not live ( or die ) as well.

rich is always relative

signing out...

I think a system costing hundreds of thousands of dollars can still sound great. Also, I'd rather mention how relatively inexpensive my fabulous sounding system is as that makes me seem real smart. Win win.

To be rich is to enjoy and appreciate what you have.  I live way below my means and seek out activities and items that are of value to me.  One of my cars is a Mazdaspeed MX-5 which is basically a Miata on factory steroids.  It's not nearly as fast as an exotic car but on curvy public roads I'd rate it 90% as fun to drive.  The insurance and maintenance costs are low and I don't worry about where I'm going to park it whenever I go anywhere.  I could boost the performance big time with aftermarket modifications but often that results in reliability issues.  There are modders who can tweak my Oppo UDP-205 but I don't want to trade a minor improvement for a potential future catastrophic failure.  I don't concern myself that there is something better out there, I just smile and enjoy what I have - and share the fun with friends and family.

wolf_garcia4,528 posts01-26-2019 3:04amI think a system costing hundreds of thousands of dollars can still sound great.

>>>>>Maybe. It might also sound like horse manure. You certainly can’t tell by just looking at it. Camel, eye of needle.