Law Of Diminishing Returns?

My opinion - you need to spend $8K-$10K retail (maybe half that with smart used purchases) to get a decent sounding system.

Twice that can achieve an excellent sounding system in a decent room, but still with some compromises. 

I wouldn't go so far as to say this is 80% of the best available though. A high end system ($50K+ IMO) that is set up well in a good (well treated) room can sound very compelling and systems > $200K even more so. 

This all assumes spending the money wisely. It's easy to spend a lot of money and get mediocre sound.

There are obviously diminishing returns though. The step from $10K to $20K is more significant than the step from $20K to $40K, which again is more (probably much more) significant than the step to $80K. 

It is entirely individual dependent. By definition an audiophile has an incredibly steep reward curve. Like I had a friend that was a marathon runner… endorphins would flood his system after running about five minutes… me, a tiny squirt after four hours of heavy exercise long after I wanted to collapse and die. An audiophile gets tremendous happiness from listening to well reproduced music.

It also depends on your income level. An audiophile will always choose a very high percentage of disposable income to audio… typically levels most people consider crazy. “Audio Dollars” (as my partner calls it)… $1,000 is equivalent to $10 normal dollars. I balk at spending on Charmin TP… but. $2,000 interconnect… a screaming deal… no hesitation.

To an audiophile the value of experiencing exquisite sound quality is of incredible value.

Old audiophiles like myself and many here have developed listening skill far beyond your average listener. When we listen, we hear so much more than just punch and details. This comes with experience and passion over long periods of time.

"The law of diminishing returns was practically CREATED for the audio folks."

Plus 1 for secretguy.  In 2007 I purchased the Focal 1027 Electra speakers with a berrilyium (sp?) tweeter for $5,000.  They served me well including my new home with hardwood floors.  Thinking  that the technology must have improved tremendously since then, I purchased the Focal Sopra 2's in 2022 for $19K  after I demoed them in the store. I thought the Kanta's were a lateral move so I stepped up to the Sopra's which struck me as more open. When I got them home, they sounded perceptively better than the Electras but only slightly so. Was the slight improvement worth 19K in 2022 vs the Electras in 2000 for 5K?  Nice to have but an expensive Lesson One

In the 1990's I purchased Tannoy standmount speakers - the D-100's.  They sounded damn good. I just purchased on Audiogon a used pair of Dynaudio Special Forty speakers for $2k..  I A-B'd them with the Tannoys.  While the Dunaudio speakers sound very good, the old Tannoys sounded more "open" to my ears. Lesson Two learned.  One almost needs a 12-step program  to break this cycle.

If you hav3 the $$ there are audio systems that are substantially better say between. $50k and a $100 k. Rule of thumb on average ,  having owned a Audio store I know very well what’s under the hood and quality.

25% of a product including packaging is what goes into most products between R&D  packaging and markup, this is where $$ comes into play ,the parts quality is a substantial magnitude of better quality and that’s where the sonics become much more refined. Detailed and realism , knowing and matching system electronics for system synergies is equally important ,that’s why you see likeDCS  digital creating statement $100 k digital setups if you can afford it go for it .I personally used to own $100 k + retail systems getting 50%+ off why not , I am now semi retired and I feel for $50k minus discounts is plenty good enough. As a Audiophile you are never done purchasing .

There is a guy on here that likes tweaks and said he spent maybe 500 bucks on entire system and it sounds great, at least to him. I don't remember his handle....anyhow, it goes to show it is all relative...