Agreed. How many times have all of us heard, "You spend how much? On headphones?" even from our middle-class peon friends? Nobody understands why anyone else spends what they spend on their hobbies.
The theory I posed to my friend is this uber-expensive gear (I mean the Dartzeels, not even the Pass Labs so much) is likely owned by the billionaires. My theory is they don't even listen to whatever system they have except when they have guests over and need to impress somebody. I will guess those systems are put together by a consultant or even a decorator with the direction, "I want the best". The basis of that theory is anyone who has the time to enjoy such a system doesn't earn enough money to afford it, and those who earn enough spend their time earning and not listening.
A less cynical part of the theory addresses some other really expensive gear (as opposed to uber-expensive), we talked specifically about Audio Note Japan. I envision gear like this in a dedicated listening room with only a couple of chairs. There is a very simple system and each component has its own pedestal for display (and perhaps its own lighting). All the media is in a different room so as not to disrupt the decor or acoustics. It would almost be a shrine. I used to want something like that, but now with the way I listen to music, I'm not sure I'd enjoy it. Perhaps someday, though. I'd really like to have a dedicated, purpose-built room for two-channel at least once in my life.