When someone tells you it's a $40,000 amp, does it sound better?

"

Better:

Smoother, more detailed, greater center image palpability. Wider bandwidth, particularly in the bass. Greater speed and so on."

@ atmasphere: With great respect, since I'm well-aware of your expertise- is it possible to assign a monetary value to those attributes?  I think my question gets to the essence of OP's post.  Of course, I could be wrong.   It wouldn't be the first time.

Every time I listen to my Luxman Class A integrated I tell myself it's a $40,000 amp and by gawd, it does indeed sound even better.

"Pop the lid?"

As a mere mortal, somehow $40,000 dollars of "truth inside" does not compute.

I have no way of qualifying nor quantifying this assertion.  I'm a mere mortal with adequate but  not "deep" pockets.

However, I do have a sense of how much food $40,000 will buy. 

But this is an audio forum and not culinary.

Market value is what the market is willing to pay. Intrinsic value? Well, that's a whole other rabbit hole.

Onward, Lads and Lassies.

@mahlman 

I like to put the question of "what is art?" into the same folder as "what is love?"

I find it humorous that some a’philes seem to think that the pursuit of reproduced musical sound is some kind of contest. As in big swingin’ D***S. "Mine is bigger/better than yours."

We’re approaching the winter holidays, and I thought of a certain tune. Partial lyrics:

"do you hear what I hear?
A song, a song, high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea"

@ryder 

5. Advertising and promotion

Cults and their members are where one finds them. This is simply a general observation based on keen observation of human behavior. All in a historical context of course.  :)

The other evening I watched the wonderful special on the legendary Ron Carter, and noticed that his music collection is on CDs played through what looked to be a rather modest stereo system. :)

@larrykell

Well, Mr. Carter appears to be quite an erudite audiophile! I'm actually not surprised. Thanks for the link.

There is a certain kind of humor to be found here which will escape some, but not all.

Once we’ve agreed on a suitable, appropriate, and applicable definition of "better" in the context of reproduced music, only then can the dialog proceed. My first questions, and of course they are simply mine, is: "’better than what?". How and why? That question is only answerable when a detailed study/revelation of specific systems, the owner’s hearing acuity, and her/his musical/audio tastes are factored in. And even then..... It’s tough nut.

So, I posit that OP has asked a question which is both rhetorical and unanswerable in any meaningful way.

Ultimately: word games, at best.

FYI/ and full disclosure : as i type this, I’m binging Ahmad Jamal with a modest CJ control tube amp and vintage Franco ( may he RIP,) Serblin speakers. My investment is no where close to $40K for everything.

But is sure sounds durn bueno. And I humbly submit that bueno is ultimately preferable to better.