Mahgister, you are like a patchwork quilt. Costly is a relative term. There is top notch equipment out there that is not at all frivolous relatively speaking. Better equipment is always a possibility. However there are things you can do that will greatly increase the performance of a system, room design and treatment are great examples. Isolating a turntable correctly is another. "Market conditioning" is exactly what convinces lay audiophiles to spend money on garbage that does absolutely nothing and at times makes things worse.
The main problem is that many audiophiles really do not know how or care to evaluate equipment and changes correctly. They think that just listening is enough. The problem with this is that it is not and they are giving advise based on this extraordinary faulty method. If they stayed within their own world then fine. But instead they tell people to "trust your own ears." It's like someone trying to get in a Moto GP race whose never been on a motorcycle. All you have to do is trust your own instincts right? Try that snow skiing and you will keep falling up hill. All you have to do is listen and you become an expert in evaluating audio equipment?
The main problem is that many audiophiles really do not know how or care to evaluate equipment and changes correctly. They think that just listening is enough. The problem with this is that it is not and they are giving advise based on this extraordinary faulty method. If they stayed within their own world then fine. But instead they tell people to "trust your own ears." It's like someone trying to get in a Moto GP race whose never been on a motorcycle. All you have to do is trust your own instincts right? Try that snow skiing and you will keep falling up hill. All you have to do is listen and you become an expert in evaluating audio equipment?