Does anyone really need to spend 10k on power

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?

Onh,

Yes, I read that cnn website article just yesterday. Hard to argue with most of it.

Regarding home audio, the fortunate reality of home audio as it has always been pretty much is "shades of grey" in terms of buying options, from the cheapest speakers at the local dollar store to the grandest and most expensive stuff out there to be bought for home use today.

The other thing that will never change is the role that knowledge and common sense plays in making buying decisions under the assumption that the reality is except for the small % of mega rich perhaps, the options availble to all of us are limited.

Onhwy61,
You miss the" point" the entire context of the OP is based on the premise of cost/value of a product and what others are comfortable spending. The analogy of BMW vs Magico speaker doesn't change the original assumption. The worth of either of these two items will be determined by knowledge and familiarity with them by who's doing the judging. I'd say far fewer of the general population are aware of high end audio products so how could they have any meaningful sense of relative value when comparing to an automobile. Value is a combination knowledge of the product,desirability and functionality. At the end of the day it remins what someone wants to do with "their" money. I've never understood why is this such

an issue

To answer the OPS original question, for home use (not larger scale commercial applications), I doubt there is any real, in terms of being quantifiable, need to spend 10K to fix ones power.

But I can't prove it, and I'm sure there is someone out there with a big thirsty power amp or amps, power quality issues, the needed budget, and bothered enough by the problem as perceived, who would disagree with me. If done right, which might be somewhat costly, I would expect results to be no worse than before, at a minimum....an expensive (audio) insurance policy per se, that provides peace of mind at a minimum. How do you put a price on that?

Of course, one might argue that one (ie the audiophile) is a little nuts in the first place to worry so much about such things, but that is another story for another conversation.

I will be the first to admit that I have overspent most likely on audio gear in the past mostly as an insurance policy against inferior performance so as not to cut any corners.

We are all in this hobby because of (1) a love of fine music or (2) a love of fine equipment, or both!!!
Cost is relative, The more we experiment with new and different equipment the more our perception changes as to value verses cost. I have experienced expensive interconnects, power cords and conditioners that can make quite a difference in a given system but may be overkill in another. There is a saying in audio.... IT IS ALL SYSTEM DEPENDENT!!!