In absolute terms you're right, most people I know have no idea how pricey this hobby can get and would find me crazy if they knew.
The recent 50 to 100% increase in TOTL prices is even crazier but I'll say this to people who are shocked : have you listened to those ? How does that make you feel ? How many hours a year are you using it ? Also I can get into "do you smoke ? do you know how much you spend on cigarettes ?" or other hobbies : people are less shocked that good lenses are not cheap but photography can get pricey
Not to mention music is medicine for the soul, when I go through difficult times music was always a great way to unwind

You can argue you can still enjoy music out of lower end options, and that's true until you've heard how music can sound out of a good source to great IEMs or headphones. Hard to go back...
Let people try your gear when they never have and mostly their jaw drops at how better it sounds
Taken out of context, those prices are insane. I myself can't justify owning several at once (why I am selling Vega). One pair of IEM and one open back is my usual duo.
Yes, margins are probably quite high, although audiophile crowd is widening it's still a niche market prices are bound to be like this.
Bring more to the fold, lower prices would probably happen! (yeah let's bring more to this rabbit hole, I have started with 100$ IEMs, a year later 350 then 500 then 1K and more...)
About technology, there are some interesting things happening in mainstream audio too, I don't know what they're worth but :
https://www.revols.com/ is a custom fit monitor that you mold to your ears upon first use at home in 60s. Future is looking interesting

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