I have to state here that I am a big fan of the RAAL SR-1b/Ti-1b and its state-of-the-art speaker-like presentation that gives the most accurate rendition of a live musical event in a listening space, all for what many would term a reasonable price.
One thing bothers me about the increasing number of high-priced headphone offerings, though. That is the inevitable price escalation similar to that of speaker-based systems.
When I first entered the audiophile hobby 50 years ago there were few, if any, speakers, amps, turntables, cables, etc. that were in my mind completely unaffordable. There were a few manufacturers like Beveridge and Wilson Audio making such high-priced kit, but subsequently I witnessed a price escalation in these components to where $100K speakers, amps, even cables were commonplace and the price increase was many times the consumer price index. In other words, pricing increased disproportionately to costs and became whatever the market would bear. I guess I don't blame equipment manufacturers for getting the best prices for their products, even if that contaminates the market in the long run. Seeing $100K two-way speakers stretches credulity and gives the unmistakable impression that we audiophiles are easily separated from our money and willing to pay whatever it costs to get the best sound. I think Stereophile said it best: the ever-increasing importance of the ever-decreasing difference.
The two-channel market almost certainly bears this elitist bent of high-priced equipment: I have attended a number of speaker-based system shows and almost everyone there looks like me: white, middle-aged, college-educated males that are nearing retirement and whose declining incomes in retirement will preclude disposable income necessary to buy such stratospherically-priced speaker systems.
So yes, we all vote with our wallets but I hate to see the headphone hobby become overpriced as two-channel systems have unfortunately become.