Law of Diminishing Returns; where does it kick in?



I think that most of us who have been in this hobby for a while have experienced the "law of diminishing returns", the point at which spending a lot more money produces a little bit better sound or just tradeoffs.

I would like your opinions on where you believe this occurs in Speakers, Amps, CD players, and cabling.
ultrakaz
I think this is what high end audio equipment dealers tell there customer who just spent 30,000 on a pair of Speakers. SORRY .....
Simply divide the system cost by Sound Quality Units to obtain the Diminishing Returns number. 

Any number under 10 is a poor system
Any number under 1 is a better system
Any number under .1  is SOTA 

The key to an accurate assessment is proper measurement of Sound Quality Units.   ;)
subject personal audio history.........( - o + ) ...........history audio industry object




The " ( - " are the left subjective side and " +) " right objective side of the " bias zone" where the returns are related to a balance between subjective impressions and to objective engineering progress...

The "o" is the center bias zone where the returns are impossible to really assess or calculate with clear subjective or objective points....




We all at some moment in time reach the center point " o " where no progress is sensible, for reason linked to our own limitations (hearing personal history) or to our incomplete methods of embeddings that makes impossible evaluation of the audio system Parts and Whole in term of S. Q. or in term of money....


The most important point in my post is the consciousness that the rightful embeddings methods (mechanical,electrical,acoustical) and our own listening history are the unbeknowst factors that play much a role....Not only the cost of the gear like some think superficially....

The point of diminishing returns end to be a fixed point for each of us in particular, but begins like a variable point in general ....