AUDIO PRICE INSANITY PRICE VS. PERFORMANCE WORTH IT?

@grannyring technology has improved. My gato FM6 have scan speak drivers and ring radiator tweeters and specially designed crossovers that definitely are cutting edge and allow for vast sound improvements to be heard. My Dac is made by the inventor of the ess Sabre chip. My integrated is niche tube KR audio out of the Czech Republic. I have a great mix of new and old. However technology has made big steps in the last 10 years.

One of the big changes has been how accessible great sound is at bottom-basement prices these days.  Something like a pair of the new Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2s, an Emotiva A-100 integrated, and a Chromecast Audio will give you a great sounding little system for just over $500.  Inflation-adjusted I'm not sure we've ever been able to get that kind of performance for that low of a price. 

As far as the other end of the spectrum goes, a lot of the truly insane systems really need tons of room to breathe.  The Von Schweikert VR11 Ultra system with VAC and Esoteric electronics at AXPONA was breathtaking, but you'd need a listening room with the physical volume of many entire houses to really get the most out of it.  

In a modestly sized listening room a pair of nice stand-mounts, a subwoofer or two, an preamp or integrated with bass management and solid room correction software, and some judiciously applied room treatments could easily outperform a pair of huge towers fed by a stack of extremely expensive electronics.

@calvinj  I'm happy you have achieved your audio goals and are so satisfied with your system. Congratulations!

This is for the general community: I'm curious how one can compare what an individual hobbyist has set up for themself vs systems that have been set up by others, in very different rooms / environments, with likely different goals and preferences?

I'm not sure what one gains from the comparison?

I think that if your investment divided amongst the components, in a manner where each is in the same relative price range, then your system benefits. Or in other words if you have a preamp and an amp and the CD player or turntable are all in pretty much the same budget range you get a better synergy.  I think where you see the biggest diminishing returns is having e.g, a $10,000 Preamp hooked up to a $500 amp in those cases you’re never get the full benefit of the more expensive item. As far as more expensive always being better I don’t buy into that at all. Taking into account that a hotel room at Rocky Mtn. Audio Fest, can limit maximizing the speakers performance, I heard a set of $250,000 speakers that in my opinion and others in the room or below the performance of a $30,000 speaker. They were hooked up to high caliber components so I really can’t blame them I just felt the speakers were a big disappointment. 
So to sum up I think performance to the buyers ear will always be  the ultimate evaluation, with total disregard of price, then let your budget make that decision. The sad truth of this audiophilia is, we always want more and there’s always more to the obtain, both a blessing and a curse.
All one man’s opinion of course

Buying the excellent used components from the past 20 years with proper setup in a good environment will achieve as great and satisfying sound and at quite modest cost as any of the current ridiculousness in pricing