Modern Linestages

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This hobby isn't going anywhere. Just like car enthusiasts, you have guys that tinker around with old Fords and Chevy's, then you have the Porche & Ferrari crowd. Audio hobbyists will find their level and keep chugging along. Periodically you will find a mfg that will create a giant-killer. There's lots of good stuff between the high and low end of this hobby. There's something for everyone that wants to be an audiophile, regardless of financial situation.

Someone wrote in a thread here years ago that audiophiles are as crazy as they can afford to be. That certainly applies to me. I have good stuff, but the ONLY reason I don't have better stuff is because I can't afford it.
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"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler". Albert Einstein

To somebody who appreciates it a McLaren MP4-12C at $229,000 likely beats the pants off of a Toyota Camry in every way, but these days you can, if you work at it a little, put together a stereo system in your house that is 98.372% as musical and enjoyable as one costing 37 times as much...and that's cool.

Knghifi,
Well said!
Mitch-4t,
Great car hobbyist analogy
Wolf,
I agree, excellent audio systems can be built with relatively modest money if one is patient and does their homework. There are many very good components that are`nt expensive. High cost and high performance is`nt linear at all.
High end audio is no different from any other specialty hobby, there are many levels of expense(dirt cheap to ultra prices) people find their own comfort point. As long as people enjoy music and the home audio components that make it possible, High end audio will continue to exist.

Having owned "complex" line stages, but also very simple Mapletree active/tube and Lightspeed Attenuator, the OPs question seems to be very much on point - why the complexity for great sound? Is it even related?

Adding gain when none is needed explains some complexity, and finding ways to keep noise down also adds complexity. And if someone want to charge me five figures for a line stage, it better be complex and/or built like jewelry. The Mapletree and Lighspeed are neither, but they sure do sound good and both under $1,000 (not great switching facilities though).