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I'm a designer, so I am most impressed with high performance/price ratios like Adcom, although I can appreciate the elegance of some cost-no-object models like those from Ayre Acoustics.

Better listen before purchasing.

There are a few products that I think are overpriced&#151:but not many!

Usually the high quality items are priced higher due to the technology.

Lots of Expensive stuff out there is very poorly designed. Updates, anyone?

I think there probably is a trend to better sound quality as one goes from cheaper to more expensive equipment. However, I think that, at a certain point (probably as low as $2000 for an entire system), room acoustics (speaker placement and other treatments) become more important. I've been able to assemble a system much more musically satisfying to me than many I've heard at dealer showrooms costing many times more. I think system matching is of the utmost importance. Well-matched mid-fi components can easily sound better than much more costly components put together without any thought.

In the last 20 years the quality of all equipment has improved so much that differentiating between price points has become much more subjective.

At the lower end of the scale, price plays a big part! For small increases in price, you can gain big increases in quality. At the top end of the scale, you will pay big increases in price for small increases in quality. Therefore, I tend to purchase equipment at a price level where I know that paying more will not bring any major benefits. THIS WAY I GET THE BEST SOUND FOR THE BEST PRICE!

Does it work?

I have purcased expensive B&W Speakers and Threshold amps that sounded horroble. The Cary 801 is a dream.

Price can parallel quality, but there is a point of diminishing returns. Particularly after aboout the $2,000 price point. Some really expensive equipment sounds no better than much less expensive equipment.

In the old cliche' of you get what you pay for is not always the case. I'll stick with my consumer reports on electronics that get more bang for my buck. I'm no speaker expert but I do believe the the more $ you spend on them you'll get better quality and performance. CD player's,well that's a different story. I think a hard of hearing Joe Satriani guy like myself couldn't tell the difference from a $100 player to a $500+ one that may play perfectly for 20 years.

I think higher priced equipment does often give you better parts quality and better fit and finish, but not necessarily better sound.

Off-the-chart pricing definitely sends me packing. I do own Levinson (Madrigal)gear, but sometimes that looks like peanuts compared to a $50K turntable!

Performance and price go together, but only if the necessary decisions are made very carefully and wisely. It's easy to find bad expensive sound.

Lots of bargains available within the realm of reason when it comes to hi end sound. It's fun to upgrade but the status that comes with top dollar gear is just that. It don't matter a lick to me...

I am a student building my first system.

The best is always expensive, but not the other way around! The stuff you hear about most is sometimes the most overpriced. People want *value*, not just fancy faceplates and big ads. I heard a story about a $5k amp that blew away a pair of well known $40k amps. Naturally hardly anyone's heard of the $5k amp. And if the politicians have their way, not many will.

Depends on the reputation of the manufacturer and how high the price is. I know anyone could build a $10,000 box but the price still causes one to believe it is better than my $2500 boxes.

I'm certainly impressed by the looks of some big-name products, but my ears and wallet make the final decision---usually in favor of more "value-packed" equipment.

And I also believe that not buying the "BEST NAME" electronics. Often more times than not, a simmarly priced product of a "not so popular" manufacturer, will often have better/more functions, and sound even better.. For instance, the Pioneer vsx-D309 receiver VS. the TEAC 8900.. The pioneer is $30 more, but the TEAC has MANY more inputs, and the rest of the standard are just about the same, (wattage, distorion, s/n ratio !!) That's my $.02 !! Afterall, do you think that YAMAHA, DENNON, CAVER, all started as huge companies ??

Generally higher priced do reflect better products but not always. Interconnect cables and wires are examples of prices that are not always representative of better sounds, just greedy manufacturers. Depending on how effecient a manufacturer is in producing electronics can reflect their end pricing and not how well it sounds compared to the marketplace. Speakers are also a mixed bag and the cost performance ratio is not in sync with the pricing.

My ears influence my opinion of equipment. This isn't rocket science. The equipment tells you if it's any good.

Price is usually a good indicator of quality, but isn't the final say....

People tend to think in linear terms. Unfortunately, audio pricing is very non-linear. It's more akin to exponential. So, buyer beware. My feeling is that the 'elbow' of the price/performance curve is in the $3000-5000 range. Above that the benefit gained isn't worth the dollars invested because the improvement is too small.

Nobady can make a good sounding component from gold and diamonds.But, good work always cost and that is what I always pay gladly.

Due to the, assumed, honest and positive reporting by audio reviewers, I feel like the particular designer of a product plays a more important role in the quality of sound than the cost of the materials or profit included in the price. So, more often than not, I want to believe that price does not directly affect the quality of sound.

Althought there are many bargains in the world of audio (Creek, NAD, Arcam etc.) they still tend to be only slivers of what lies over the next hill; thus the audio obsession. Certain price ranges of equipment tend to be of the same quality but catering to differing trade offs. All are usually beeter than something from the next "range" down and less than what can be found in the next "range" up.

there is a definite relationship between cost and quality. But the variable is how you define quality: workmanship, performance, durability, etc. And of coarse there are companies that challenge the quality vs. price relationship. Happy hunting!

20 year experience has shown me that price has very little relation to SOUND quality in audio equipment, and more importantly, no relation to ENJOYMENT of music.