Modern Linestages

Yeah, well, a whole lot of wind but the answer is obvious, $20k for a preamp and watch this hobby die.

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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.