More expensive = better?

A more expensive amplifier is not necessarily better. For example, people pay a lot of money for Macintosh when there are other amps around that are far better and cheaper.

Having said this, there are some expensive amps that will give you a superb sound. Ypsilon, German Physics, Audionet for example are not cheap but are superb. There are many others.

Well that's why I asked. Great responses. You know my system may be the best I have heard. Doing the room does make the most sense. It's the how that's the unknown. Who is another question. 

The problem with directly correlating sound quality to cost is the elimination of subjective perception. 

If a person hates the taste of steak for example, it's not going to matter if it was a 10 dollar steak or a 100 dollar steak. They will likely be unhappy with the taste regardless. 

Same sort of principle with audio equipment.

That being said you'll often find worthwhile gains spending more when one does it judiciously.  

In a word, no. Humans for some reason, usually equate more expensive as better, and it's often not the case. 

No for sure not. Sometimes worse, cost seems to have little factor on sound quality sometimes. Always listen with your own ears and look at the measurements for a sanity check. 1/2 these products are snake oil.
 

I can think of a bunch of speakers that are made super nice but have bad crossover choices (odd slops, passed after cone breakup, etc) and will never sound right. Most electronics are good these days. If you want something that looks nice or is super powerful go for it but know what you are paying for is looks or headroom you don’t need. I am ok with that personally but keep my head grounded.