More expensive = better?


Because I have never owned any very high end gear I’m wondering if an $8000 integrated amp will sound jaw dropping better than a $5000 one? Right now my system is Parasound JC2 and SMC Audio DNA1 Gold. 

Thanks in advance,

Ben

honashagen

"My speakers are under $1k, staright up, midrange surpasses Wilson's biggest guns, Dali, Sonus Faber, Rockport, none beats my midrange. Under one K bucks"

Hyperbole aside, what about the low end and the high end?

Sound is only as good as its weakest frequency range.

A good $8,000 amp will sound much better than a good $800 amp, that’s for sure. Jaw dropping? Only if you were clever/lucky enough to choose an amp that perfectly fits your setup.

Also bear in mind that for your jaw to drop you need 1/ To be sophisticated enough to appreciate a high quality sound reproduction. 2/ To be able to build a coherent setup/room system to give a hi-end amp a chance to show you its’ class.

Otherwise you can buy a $30,000 amp, plonk it on your hi-fi rack, and it will perform to 30% of its capability. Just like a $3,000 amp. So many people have done exactly that and claimed that there’s no difference.

Hyperbole aside, what about the low end and the high end? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Not HYped . Staright shooting. There are no xover style speakers that will surpass a FR in midr5ange, ] This is common knowledge, If you don't get it by now, I'm sorry you have not yet heard the real deal I don't want my mids piped through a midwoofer and a tweeter. Sorry just dont. Now as for more cash better...well ] If we are taliing WAVAC or Kronzilla's $100K++ SET amps,., well yeah more cash the better. But if we are talking other over priced tube amps, well no , . Jadis' KT170 looks very interesting but at $15K+ , ahhh, I can get a good made in China PP tube amp and come very close to Jadis' sound, for UNDER $1500. 10x's better the Jadis,, ahhh I don't think so, Justa nuance, = Not worth it. Go SET, now for $15K I can get a 845 tube will annihilate the KT170.

What I'd love to see is a double blind lineup of various priced equipment in the same category ( preamps, or integrated amps, or speakers, whatever) least expensive to most expensive in a manageable price range played over the exact system and then have folks pick what they like. I wonder what the results would be.

Has anyone seen such a process if so any takeaways? and yea lots of intervening variables at play but this is just down and dirty for sake of discussion.