A great room can make a mediocre system sound better than a top end system in a shit room.
See your local Bose dealer to hear what a good room can do for a shit sound system.
My room isn't perfect. The tile floor is partially offset by the drop ceiling, but aside from careful tuning and speaker placement, not much has been done. That being the case, there is a limit to how far I can go within reason.
I can't play past steel studs and a tile floor. I've got a good array of drivers, and they are receiving good signals, and that's about all I'm willing to do now, but it's enough.
It's like buying a bugatti veyron. sure, its the fastest car in the world. but how much better really is a $1.7 mil veyron than a $400k lambo aventador? is it really worth the $1.3 mil extra for a 254 mph top speed instead of 218?
People buy a Veyron because they want a Veyron; not because they want a car.
It's a marvel of engineering, even if it can be approached and even surpassed by cheaper vehicles. It's the ultimate "Best of" album for motor vehicles. Anyone can find something to appreciate when examining a Veyron.
I wouldn't buy one, personally. They make me think of buying a business jet.
I'm more of a Lamborghini man, because I think any car that costs more than two hundred grand should be as stupidly wonderful as the price tag. I love that these things exist, but I don't like the ones that take themselves seriously, because there's nothing serious about them.
You're right to compare these vehicles to speakers. Some of these crazy towers reach tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's fine if you like the design and exclusivity, but when it comes right down to it, anyone who believes they are paying that much for
sound has a screw loose.
At some point, you've got to think about the equipment they used in the studio...
The goal of HiFi is to get the hell out of the way of the signal. Now, you need to buy your way past the "voiced" drivers, and into something that can handle the power you want, but beyond that you're pretty much done.
It does take a few dollars to reach that point, but not tens of thousands. If you only want a stereo setup, it's not bad at all, but that's kind of a stupid move when a gigantic flat screen is smack in the middle of the room.
You may as well have some powerful surround to go with it.
Cheers,
Kennith