Like most people here I believed that spending huge sums of cash was the way to achieve the best sound. After building my own speakers I realized that this "best" sound could be had for pennies on the dollar with a little sweat equity. More importantly, this opened my mind to see things from the parts cost perspective.

There is no denying that some of this "very" expensive gear is very good, but most of it's cost is profit for the manufacturer and the middle man. That's understandable and these people need to live too.

We talk about snake oil and paying exorbitant amounts of money for advertising and "the name", but it's when you open the box and see what's inside, that's when you realize how much of what you've paid is pure profit.

The point is that people that design and sell this expensive gear do so because there is a market for people with high incomes who are willing to pay big bucks for a very small increment in sound or cosmetics.

When it comes to the most expensive gear on the market, snake oil is alive and well. They talk of new topologies and new circuitry that enhances the sound, but while they may be technically correct, does it mean that we can hear it?

Every year, most manufacturers come out with their new model line. The only reason they do this is to spur new sales. To me, this indicates that their previous model is flawed somehow and that makes me wonder what flaws their new models have. I can understand this change when it comes to digital circuitry when new formats or methods of data transmission has changed, but amplification and speaker technologies have changed very little over the years, except in the case of digital amplification which is relatively new.

I'm just jabbering, but in the end, this stuff that Stereophile pushes is way over priced for what you are getting. I've listened to a $20,000, Class "A" rated" amplifier that didn't sound as good as much lower priced amps (in the systems they were in).

The bottom line is that there is no set amount of money that determines the quality of audio you get for your dollar. To set a dollar amount on the cost of your gear is ludicrous.

I used to love Stereophile magazine, but quit my subscription when I realized that the products they were reviewing were only for the rich and famous and were more of a status symbol than a realistic increase in audio quality. I remember a CD player that went for $30,000. Back then, that was the price of a luxury car. Now come on, what justification can they make for that price?

Well, for what's it worth, that's my opinion.