Trickle down is the key. Remember when B&W came out with the Nautilus speaker? Then they trickled that technology down to their 800 series, and I see it is even now into the 600 series (I think). I let the big boys blow all their money on top of the line so the company will pass the technology down and I can afford the lower end stuff. It's all relative though. 2k for the N805? I wouldn't think too hard about it, but I know many that would. It's a hobby, do what makes you happy. If it makes you happy to have the latest technology as soon as it appears, more power to you. Me, I'm looking to pick up a Conrad Johnson preamp made in 1984.
Are you Guys Rich or What!?
I have an old system, nothing special, Adcom, Vandersteens etc and I recently set foot for the first time in a "high end" shop, hoping to get to the next level of audio nirvana. When I saw some of the prices for monoblock amplifiers, cables, the latest speakers etc, I practically fell off my chair when I realized that I could blow $50-100K pretty easily on this stuff. I am not rich. Do you big budget system guys all work on Wall Street or something or do you eat macaroni and cheese most nights to put a few bucks away for CDs and your next upgrade?