What Sonically is the Difference between a $1,500 CD Player and a $10K-$25K One?

Kind of like the "Emperors New Cloths".  If you spend $10,000 you will talk yourself into hearing the difference.  Buy a new car or pay down your mortgage instead.  It is like anything else with audio.  It minimal returns for money spent in my opinion.  However, the wealthy folks in the group don't have to be practical.  I think it is being able to invite your friends over to tell them now look what I have.  Kind of like $9,000 speaker wire.  Wonder if you priced Nordost at $240 and Tara Labs Appolo speaker wire at $9,000 if people would convince themselves the Tara Labs to be superior.

I have an OPPO player and wonder if there is anything I could do inexpensively to reduce vibration.  Seems like reducing vibration on both CD players, pre-amps and amps make a difference.

I currently have Paradigm Prestige 85F towers.  They came with metal jumper plates.  Will I hear a significant difference if I replace them with speaker links?  I have Tara Labs Apollo speaker wire and wonder how important it would be to spend $265 for the Apollo speaker links as compared to the $125 Equinox speaker links?

It is all about pounding your chest when you have your buddies over to show them your new stuff.  It is then very important to tell them what you spent so they can all be extremely impressed.  Then ask one of your buddies to do a blind testing between the old and new CD player to see how much difference you can hear for the $20,000 difference.

Reminds me of the story, "THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHS"!  

Then you buddies turn to you as ask, "HOW MUCH DID YOU PAY FOR THAT THING"?  Kind of reminds me of the Smuckers commercial.  If it's Smuckers it has to be good.