Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
One would bloody well hope that the $3500 Krell would sound better than, say, my
$250 Sony. The point is that I am essentially content with the sound of the Sony, in fact with an excellant recording, it sounds as good as I need to.

That is to say that while the Krell might sound better (even to me) than the Sony, it really doesn't sound all that much better -- and I'd be a jackass to spend the difference on the Krell. Of course, if one has a great deal of money, (or at least more money than brains), then any improvement (really or imagined) might be worth it.
LOL.... I think you get what i'm saying about diminishing returns, though I wouldn't quite say that someone is stupid for spending the additional money....

I might be totally impractical for most people, but for the truly affluent with more money than they know what to do with.... it might make just as much sense to drop $200K on a 2channel setup as to just leave it in some miscellaneous bank account in Grand Cayman...