Just let people buy what they like. There are those who who pick on people with a huge budget, there are those who pick on people with a small budget. For some people 3k just don't matter, i have a friend in the U.S. who does not have to worry about buying a 60k amplifier, he does not even need to check his account for it.

I for one, am not rich, just hard working and lucky. But i just spent 320,-EUR on a CD Player for a friend with a beginner set. (Magnepan 0.5QR-SE, Onkyo Integra 6850 and a DIY amp). He listens to my system quite often, and even tough the price is aprox. 311 times higher he still LOVES it and there is no problem like Resident Looser has with me, where he asumes that i believe in "more expensive is better". This is complete none sense, but people like you, RL generally bash people who have a much higher limit on their audio hobby and disagree with your obsession over mid-fi electronics (based on my view).

I asume this was directed straight at me, and if you where a true man, you would pick this fight with me openly, and not hide in some ancient post.

...that's simply a part of the "more expensive has to be better" mindset...An attitude which would seem not to be limited to Bavarian nimrods...