$10-$15k is not a lot of money and no way is it for bragging rights. Who are you going to brag too? Your wife? Maybe a few people in an audio club, and some of these guys in audio clubs spend more money. I didn’t buy my Porsche to brag about it.
We are in a niche market, even in the mid fi sector, low fi probably sell many more pieces. There are some major benefits in the more expensive gear than the lower fi products
The death of ultra hiend audio
Verity and DarTzeel last year, now MBL, ultra high end audio manufacturers are facing their demise and they have nobody but themselves to blame. What do these companies have in common: too much investment in creating the very best and when that fails raising their prices bottom up to recover their losses and inevitably charging 2x what the same product cost just a few years ago. Ego, greed and poor management can only result in one thing!