I'll add this aswell: even though a higher priced piece of equipment sounds 'different' doesn't mean it necessarily means it sounds 'better'. I was auditioning a pair of JBL floorstanders, big bulky ones, somewhere in the 1k$-2K$. I was able to flip between Kef reference bookshelevs (previous gen), PMC GB1, Infinity (expensive ones with RABOS technologie (about 9 years old i think)) and others at the flip of a switch (or rather, at the press of a button on a remote control. Source & amp was musical fidelity. I can say I heard genuine differences between the different speakers, and the more expensive not necessarily for the better. It's really a matter of taste in the end. The kef's didn't sound any better than the PMC's to my ears even though the kefs are bookshelves and cost twice or more that of the PMC's. The JBL at first sounded 'cheap' but infact have a more open sound. Taste, I tell you taste !
The bottom line though, to me, is that none of them sounded 'bad'.