What does 90% of the Absolute Best Sound Cost?

I'd like to add that our subjective appreciation of the music is linear.  The cost is exponential.  

Let's say, for example, the best speaker "bang for the buck" is $300/pr. A clear audible upgrade may cost twice that.  Then, twice that.  Then twice that. Until we reach the stratosphere. You'll also find that lower price points are "all business" where the lion's share of the investment is in sound quality.  As we move up the ladder, elements of esthetics, build quality (yes, does have an effect on sound quality, but not linear) come into play.  Those factors may be very important to the owner who's willing (and able) to invest in them.  Money well spent.

Obtaining quality and/or quantity is not expensive if you target one, or the other.  Getting both simultaneously gets pricey in a hurry, but also represents the best-of-best in world-class gear.

Back when I was a dealer, our "reference" 2-channel system topped out at $80k retail.  It's nice to see this aligns with the "take this exit" price point with many of you.

A. What does it cost, in terms of components, interconnects, and direct furnishings (e.g., racks, isolation pads, surface room treatments, etc.) to achieve 90% of the absolute best sound possible?

B. What % does $50,000 get you?

A) My system (below video) is the absolute best sound system because it recreates the original sound better than others and 2nd best is far far away. All other systems are just different sounds each other. My system consists world’s best sound components and there is no replacement (no $million component sounds better).

https://youtu.be/i5Rrg0CU-XM?si=rW6VJ--P71JQaeZr

My system costs about $30k.

Wavetouch Antero spkr: $9,500, modded Oppo 95: $5k, Modded Bakoon int amp (3ft IC cable attached): $10k, spkr cable 7ft pair: $2k, 2 power cables: $5,600.

B) For $50k, you can get a whole my system ($30k). For rest $20k, you can buy my world’s best Streamer ($5k), DAC ($5k), or a power conditioner ($5k) from me.

Alex / Wavetouch audio

Sorry, but this is kind of a dumb question.

There is no way to objectively and financially measure SQ.

While it is very true that a more expensive system is not necessarily better SQ than a less expensive one. A well thought out, professionally set up million dollar plus system sounds like a million bucks. To reach 90 or 95% of such a system for $150K is deluded and ignorant.

A well thought out, professionally set up million dollar plus system sounds like a million bucks. To reach 90 or 95% of such a system for $150K is deluded and ignorant.

It's not, though. Not if you bought the ten-year-old million-dollar system for $150K.

I saw a video where a coffee expert was blind tested to see if he could distinguish different levels of coffee. He did really well, and explained that somewhere around $30 / lb the actual quality of the coffee was completely topped out. After that It's just differences that aren't necessarily better, just distinctions he could pick out because he was so familiar with them. So he was able to tell the even higher priced coffees apart because he was familiar with their distinctive characters. That's the boutique effect. When you're talking about $1,000,00 worth of speakers and electronics,  I'd say that's 95% boutique sound if it's just a 2 channel stereo setup that isn't a stadium filling professional concert system.