What Do You Get When You Spend Megabucks?

If good sound is not an issue, you will get nothing! Many of these posts or claims are just silly.

The consensus seems to be "Anyone who spent more money than me is just trying to gratify their ego."

My system retails for more than I care to think about (I of course, did not spend that much on it.) but I have never regretted a purchase based on the slim margin of improvement.

I am happy with how my system sounds now. Timbre's are more correct the sound stage is bigger, deeper, and more defined. All of these attributes come at a cost. Did I spend too much? Some might say no, a starving man in a Chinese prison for owning a bible might be speechless at the idea that it is possible to spend that kind of money. Who's right?

I had $6000 speaker for a long time and I was very happy with them. I sold them recently to replace them with a $16,000 speaker. The differnce is not marginal or subtle. Ultimately they do the same thing that my very first stereo (bought from Readers Digest around 1976) did. They play back the signal sent to them. The RD system sounded better than my transistor radio. It seems many think I should have stopped there.

At what point have others determined that I need to be satisfied? How good should my system sound?

No system is ever going to sound like live music. Live music is an absurd standard by which to judge a system! Musical satisfaction has more to do with the imagination than the stereo! Determine to enjoy what you have, and you will enjoy it, but don't make silly statements about diminishing returns to condemn what someone else has determined is justifiable.

Lakefrontroad, how much time has cinematic systems spent in your listening room, listening to your system? He sure seems to know a lot about the sound of your system!

That would be a good question, if anyone cared, but he sure knows a lot about the sound of other peoples systems. He must be like the shadow from old time radio!

My point was to say that he seems to know an awful lot about your system and how it sounds, but as you pointed out, he has never heard your system. So how could he be so knowledgeable?

Sarcasm is how it comes across but I find it very frustrating have self-proclaimed experts talking about things which they know nothing. I asked the question to point out the fact that I already knew the answer and that cinematic systems comments are a waste of everyones time. There was no attack on you so I'm not sure why you're so sensetive?!?

lakefrontroad I never attacked you or your system. From everything I've seen of you and your system, both are first rate. What I don't like is the way people who have never heard a system in the room it is located can make such dogmatic statements about the sound. The same system in a different room sounds completely different. Cinematicsystems knows nothing about the sound of your system or mine. This has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with his broad-brush statements.
Stehno recognized my comments as being what they were intended.

I haven't had that amp or those speakers for about six months, but the issue is that you don't know the room or the treatments. Componants don't play in a vacuum. unless you know the dimensions and the treatments it is not possible to assess the sound.