Does anyone really need to spend 10k on power

Taters, Ceteris paribus! I assumed people would understand all things being equal was implicit. However you make a valid point. Thanks.

I'd like to propose that making assumptions about decisions other people
make and then self-righteously condemning them is a pretty sketchy
practice.

For example, my wife and I own two cars that are more than 12 years old.
They get good mileage, look like crap, but get us from point A to point B.
We are quite happy doing this. We need nothing more. We have friends
who drive $70,000 cars. We don't feel morally superior to them nor do we
shame them for enjoying the heck out of those cars. Those cars don't seem
to drive much better than ours, but our friends clearly love being in them.
The companies who make those expensive vehicles employ a lot of good
folks. One day I might buy one of their cars when they get much older
because
they are very well made and are sure to last many years.

Finally, while my wife and I drive our "economically responsible"
cars that are barely worth $3,000 together, we also spend dozens of hours
a week enjoying the benefits of our $5000 power conditioner in the family
room. It's our choice and we are very comfortable with it. I couldn't care
less what anyone else thinks of our choice, but it disturbs me to think that
someone else might miss all this fun because they are embarrassed or led
away from it by the ignorant assumptions of others who haven't even heard
or experienced what they're condemning.

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming. ;-)

Vhiner, nice! There's no substitute for good reasoning and common sense.

Need has nothing to do with. People buy what they want. All of our homes are filled with things we don't "need"

Vhiner, you made a good point. You don't perceive a difference between your old cheap cars and your friends $70k cars. You seem to be a practical person, not buying mid-priced cars just to have them and yet you see value in your $5k power conditioner. I'm certain many would take exception to your comment about cars when some are sensitive even to a type of shock absorber or brake pad. And $70k for a car is not so expensive these days. A new Chevy P/U loaded, stickers close to that now. The motivations for what we do are very complex and sometimes we don't understand ourselves why we do things. I'll admit something here. I bought my current CD player based on brand just so it would match my preamp. I knew it would sound good; but I skipped right over my obsessive research and comparison process when I made the purchase. Luckily, I have been very happy with it; but the me of 10 or 15 years ago would never have settled for brand or looks first over sound. Does that make me a shallow person now? I think we all let how a component looks as well as sound affect our decision- even if it goes the other way to make sure it is as ugly or industrial looking as it can be.