Mega dollar systems. 200k on up. What are their professions?

@polkalover you are correct. But it is well known in this hobby that once your system gets to a certain level there are diminishing returns or another way to phrase it is that for those that want those extra bits of real or perceived improvement the costs of those improvements go up and the amount of those improvements become small. Some find that acceptable to “top off” their systems. Others will say it doesn’t make economic sense. But we aren’t in this hobby for economic sense. 

@tomic601 I didn’t entirely miss the punk period. However, I wasn’t totally into a lot of punk either. But I was directing my comments from the point of view of the listener. My impression is that your comments pertained more from the point of view of the musician, which I do understand. 

First of all everyone is assuming someone actually buys this stuff. Acoustical Systems will be lucky to sell 5 of these turntables. Wealthy people did not get wealthy by being stupid. The question I always ask myself in trying to remain impartial is, if I had the money would I buy this? For the Apolite the answer is a resounding no.

Most of the megabuck systems I have heard over the years did not sound near worth the money spent on them. Only a few of the owners were really into audio and for many of them the system was just a trophy to impress their friends, just like a Rolex. 
The most ridiculous thing I would buy would be Atma-sphere MA 3 amplifiers. I think they are the coolest amps on the planet. 
At any rate it is very possible to build a first class SOTA system for $100K to $150K dollars. And, there is the art in it. Anyone can throw money at a system but regardless of what you buy you still have to make it work well. The highest levels of performance require hard work and thoughtfulness.  

Having moved from Tennessee to Boca Raton for college tennis, I was often invited to the Boca Hotel and Club to play.  It did not take very long to realize that asking the club members, especilly our northern Palm Beach friends,  what they did was futile. Yes, one was on the board of Chrysler, one had sold a chain of drug stores in Kentucky, etc , but  several had made their money the old fashioned way:  By sheer will:  Yes, as in probate.     Most were from families that had not really worked for any needed wages for generations, having ancestors who founded, for example a big thee auto company, a giant auto parts chain, a huge insurance company, a giant bank, which founder still has his statue in front of a Jacksonville bank.  Other families had been wealthy for so long that they barely knew where their wealth originally came from.  Interestingly, the were not audiophiles.  One Sear exec was.  He still brags about his giant 12" (double woofer) Fisher speaker hanging from his ceiling at one of his homes.     
     These folks had nothing to prove to others, at least nothing as mundane as stereos.  My boss did win the best for the yacht interior at the Monaco Gran Prix, but lost it the next year, requiring a multi-million dollar upgrade.  These people's girls really liked me, but as they found out, I was on a different team. Too Bad!  I could have worried about how good my boat was, instead of how good I can make actual musicians' music sound.     Now where can I get new trestles for my speaker wires!?!

Back when I worked for a top specialist dealer in the near north of Chicago near Northwestern Medical center and medical school, my top customers ranged from some of the top execs at financial institutions, managing law partners, CEOs, the kind of people on the cover of Crain's Business, Chief and attending physicians, and even a union electrical linesman who loved blues and jazz.  Even today, a person I've known for years who works at a local hardware store has a system to die for that I new nothing about until he was asking me questions of his interest in the Gryphon CD player.  You just never know.  But one thing I know they are never young anymore