Further Dialogue on this appearantly hot topic

First off, I'm glad I have gotten as much response as I have from my previous post. However I am realizing that I have not fully communicated what I set out to communicate. My point is not that expensive equals good. Though, it would seem that that's pretty much what I said, or at least implied.

Let me clarify two things. One, I was making a huge generalization, obviously too huge. Two, my context is largely in the world of gear (i.e. audio, video, lighting, computers, software, things of this nature). For instance, here is a very specific example. I can buy a Royer R-121 ribbon microphone for $1300. Or I can buy the Samson VR88 for $500. These claim to do the same thing, however there's a reason the Royer costs more than twice as much. Yes, they do the same thing, but the Royer just sounds better. They're hand made in the U.S. and meticulously tested to conform to unbelievably precise specifications. The Samson is made in China. It's mass-produced and the manufacturing doesn't have nearly the same standard of quality and attention to detail. Unfortunately, I get the guy (usually between the age of 18-22) that thinks he has discovered some big lie in the industry and that he doesn't need to pay that kind money to get something that sounds great. When these people tell me things like "it sounds just as good as that expensive microphone", I always want to say "wow! Let me call all the recording engineers in Nashville and L.A.! I think you figured out something they don't know! They're out there buying all these expensive microphones, they're gonna be thrilled that the cheap mics sound just as good!" (sarcasm...lots of sarcasm)

Then there's an issue of industry respect and production value. We have, in the last year and a half, been buying exponentially more industry-standard equipment for our tours. For instance, we stopped building our own power distro's and started buying them from TMB ProPower. Yes they're expensive but the fire marshall at the venue only has to glance at stuff like this to say "they know what they're doing" and then he walks away. They didn't so quickly walk away from our home-build distro's... and those home-built distro's almost started fires on more than one occasion...'but we saved a bunch of money...' grrrrrr......

When I got hired at CIY, they purchased quite a bit of my recording and computer gear. Several of the core pieces (and most expensive ones) were all over 3 years old. I was really glad I hadn't tried to save a bunch of money 3 years ago when I bought that stuff. It has held its sound quality, durrability, and industry esteem. So I didn't waste money, and CIY is getting great gear for a good price. I could not have, in good concience, asked CIY to buy low-end gear from me.

Those are just very small examples of what I'm talking about. Yes the $10 watch will probably tell time for years just like the $80 one...so it's not always a 1 to 1 comparison. There's just usually a reason that some stuff cost more than others. So bring on the responses! :)