My personal opinion, and really, it is only that. I have a sneaking suspicion that the average person who spend $500K+ on speakers is not an audiophile. I am sure some are, but I expect many are not. I would even question how many of those speakers end up in the very necessary to extract full performance highly customized and tuned room. (Of course I would also questions whether these are really as good as the cost, but that is another discussion). For some people, these are truly audiophile items, but I suspect, again purely opinion, that for many, these are simply luxury items for those with very very large disposable incomes. Without the fully customized room and all the tuning associated, other than visually, the audio experience you will have will be no better than someone who spent far less, but has an acoustically proper setup. This would extend to crazy expensive turntables and electronics as well.