At least when Harman Audio spends 1 million on R & D they have trained engineers who know what they are doing and the facilities to test it out scientifically. So they know what they are getting.
This guy "puts together some Stereophile "A" components" and thinks he will have great sound. With no technical expertise, you can build a speaker from a solid block of aluminum which will be very expensive to make and thereby justify a high cost. But that does not mean ii will get any better sound than some MDF unless you what you are doing.
This guy reminds me of someone off the street who walks into a boxing gym and thinks he can beat the champ (Andrew Jones of Mofi for example). Except hi-end audio is subjective with no right or wrong while boxing you will know pretty fast if you are wrong.
Sure, filling a big room with full range, high volume, sound can cost 1 million, But that does not mean you have to spend that much for great sound. Just start with a small room. Stereophile regularly gives a $1,500 bookshelf speaker an "A" as far as sound quality. If not the ability to fill a big room with full-range sound.
I would say most of us here have that drive to make some killer system that blows everyone else away. That’s what hi-end audio is all about. Or why get into it in the first place?