Arguments along the lines of "its your money, spend it as you wish" miss the point. As a political argument in a liberal/democratic society it has a firm basis, but does it really justify extremely expensive power conditioners? For a consumer the real question is does the extremely expensive unit sound better than the merely expensive unit? And even if it does sound better, is it worth the added cost? It's a legitimate question.
A few days ago there was a story on the CNN website about the demise of the stereo system. Its narrative was that young people (college and just graduated) do not own stereo systems. They listen to music via computer and iPad/headphones. The article contrasts that to a decade ago when young people had loudspeakers, receivers, CD players, etc. In passing the article mentions that stereo system are still alive in home theater and the ultra-expensive audiophile arenas.
As audiophiles why can't we admit that high prices and the perception of low value is a serious barrier to the growth of the audiophile world? Why are we so accepting of absurdly priced products? My use of the word "absurd" implies a value judgement. Of course, but it is a widely held judgement. As a thought experiment, stand in the center of any major city and place side by side a BMW 6 series sedan and an equivalently priced Magico loudspeaker and ask people which is the better value for the money?
