Why pay so much for super high end?

@funtrollfun, yes, all audio gear sounds the same.
Everything in audio is a ripoff.
Audiophiles are such fools!

you could get $100,000+ speakers for a couple of grand.

@funtrollfun, every DIY guy I know who has $2K in his speakers claim they are as good as $100K+ speakers. That's part of the DIY fun, just imagining how much money you are saving. Pride of doing it yourself.
I can't say that I would mistake their speakers for $100K+ speakers, but they were worth at least $2K, well mostly, sorry Rick.

If they are happy with their DIY gear, God Bless 'em. I wouldn't lecture a DIYer on how to live his life, and I don't expect some DIYer to lecture anyone else on how to live their life. Only a pompous fool believes they have the right to educate the rest of the world on how to live life properly.

Much of audio is ridiculously priced, and could be done much cheaper. The prices are so high because some folks WANT them to be high, for elitist status purposes. In the last 10 years every major audio manufacturer has come out with a new top of the line model which is at least double in price.
If you don't want to chase the spiraling absolute sound, that's your business, and no one else. If others do decide to chase the spiraling absolute sound, that's their business, and not yours.

in a couple of hours you can basically earn $10,000 an hour being a speaker builder saving yourself tons of money.

Hahahaha....now that's good comedy there. If that is your actual thought process, there is sense talking logic or reason with you.

Placebo is just so incredibly powerful people do not understand it.

This applies to DIYers as well. That is why many of them are so strong in their belief that their "creations" sound identical to gear 100X’s their cost.

Now, funtrollfun, you DO realize that you are on a forum on a used audio website, don’t you? How large of a target audience do you think you are speaking to here? You know, the type who would actually pay $30K for a $30K amp? My guess would be 0% of your target audience dallies in a simple forum on a web page designed for used audio gear.

The fellas that really find your gears, don’t waste their time here. They are busy buying $500K+ cars, $5M+ boats, $5k+ watches, etc. To them, $100K is like $10 to you or I.

Most of us here might spend more money in this hobby than you, but lose very little money making shrewd investments. Over the last 30 years, yes, even pre-dating Audiogon, I have lost money in this hobby, because I change gear frequently so that I may experience much of this hobby personally. However, the amount of money I have lost would probably shock you, maybe 5-10% tops, mostly lost on ads, shipping, and PayPal. I even make money on some re-sales occasionally.

So while you are busy building stuff that you are working on convincing yourself is just as good as the "real thing", I am busy auditioning many different versions of the "real thing".

When the dust settles, at the end of the day, I have a finished product that I can sell if I choose to, you do not. Yes, there are the very rare DIYers that do sell their creations, just as there are buyers of used gear that consistently make money on their gear flips. These breeds are in the very, very small minority though.

In the end, most folks are frugal with their money, it’s just a difference of whether they would choose to spend their time looking for wise investments or building something themselves. It takes all types to make the world go round, not everyone is cut out to be a mechanic, just as not everyone is cut out to be a knowledgeable investor.

In the end, life is short, find what brings you the most happiness, and pursue it. If building your own toys tickles your fancy, have at it. However, stop trying to be so mule-headed as to think that your path to happiness is the way for everyone. There is no one single path to audio nirvana, most here are mature enough to understand that. Perhaps you can DIY some common sense and understanding into your world.

better put my hip-waders on....it's really getting deep in here now. ;^)