I myself would also rather have a 100K system than a 500sl. The people who do buy the high priced cars just so they can play "Look at me" are just as insane. There seems to be no need to go from 0 to 120 when for the most part the speed limit is 55 and can be achieved for $100,000.00 less.

That being said, 100k for a pair of speakers that only sound twice as good as a pair costing 5k does not fly with me. I have heard all the big systems when Soundex was still in business. They had a complete setup of Dynaudio from the $150k each monoblocks to the outrageous Arbitur speakers all cabled up with what resembled vacuum cleaner hose sized cables. Yeah it sounded great but not 20x better than a reasonably priced system.

The people who buy the mentioned gear have the cash to do so without blinking an eye. It's not for everyone and I agree Stereophile and TAS are hurting themselves more than helping to create new fans by only talking about the mega bucks gear and not mainstream reality.

I can remember many occasions in Soundex where a doctor buys a 10k turntable and two weeks later is trading it in for 8k to put towards a 15k pc. And then come back in another two weeks and do it again. If I had cash to burn, I might play the game, but I don't.

I make fun of myself and other Audiophiles all the time. Cables, sorbothane, granite blocks for my speakers, raising the speaker wires off the carpet (using folded cardboard instead of $20 per block of wood with a v sawed into it).

It's just like anything else, if it's your passion and you have the money, why not?

I know too many people that shell out major cash for pets that will only die in a few years anyway. What's the difference? It's their passion and what they choose to blow their money on.