I also enjoyed the article BUT, this bit seems to miss the point, the bit about incremental purchases eventually getting to that $20K being a 'long painful way' when, for most of us, it is the only way that exists..The idea that I could go out and buy any audio item, and spend $20K, even one of real magic, is simply too silly to consider. In the real world, many folk do not have $20K total, even over time, to buy an audio system, much less to leap to an individual item.

For folk with a lot of the ready hanging about, a leap to quality makes sense, but I am left with the analogy of the fellow, recently having managed to swindle millions from the market, deciding to buy his $100K in art by the square foot. Sometimes it takes time and pain to reach the point that the sound of the $20K item might be appreciated for more than its price tag.