Your Opinion

Well, the difference between 8 or 9 and 10 is 20% or 10%, but anyway.

My opinion (you asked for it), is this. If YOU are happy and enjoying the music, have spent little, and have no angst because you haven't spent more and are, therefore, missing something - you're doing fine. Or, if YOU are happy and enjoying the music, have spent a lot, and have no angst because you didn't spend less and are, therefore, getting less than what you paid for - you're doing fine.

I am ok with your general drift. What disturbes me is that you seem a bit hot under the collar. Everybody in this forum knows that, for example, I am a blowhard with limited experience. They all slap the crap out of me and gently jerk me to reason. Tone arms matter. Cartridges matter, but a little less because you cannot hear them unless they are held well. What matters more is not spending more than will let you love the music.

Your math may be fine but your logic needs work.

IMO, the bottom line is that price usually has less to do with performance than most are willing to admit.

Of course a higher price should more easily afford a designer to add quality, aesthetics, or compensate for potential shortcomings in a given execution.

Bottom line is a product's sonic performance has everything to with the design and the execution thereof. Not the price.

Case in point, I am intimately familiar with a product that retails for $14,000. It's performance is a good 20% or better over a product retailing for $3000.

However, neither comes close performance-wise to a third product that retails for $400.

That is except for a fourth product that retails for $3150, whose performance is simply in a whole nuther league than the first 3 products.

Go figure.

For the buyer, ultimately it's knowing what works and doesn't work for your system respective to your budget but otherwise regardless of cost.

On the other hand, I see nothing wrong with somebody spending $100k on a given product. In fact I think it would be lots of fun and if I had that kind of buying power, I wouldn't hesitate to do likewise. Assuming of course the product accomplished it's intended purpose.

But I'd also feel rather silly to think just because my product costs $100k, it's better than anything that costs less.

-IMO

Sputniks, You use the terms we and us. You really should only worry about yourself and how you feel about what you are doing and how it makes you feel. FWIW I agree with 4yanx's comments and Aceto's last sentence.

I second Newbee. Please don't include me in your "we" and "us." Bored Sputnik? Raining in your neck of the woods?