It's hardly a party thing at all. When Walmart started opening more stores in cities and towns across the area, people would take photos of cars with bumper stickers like Buy Union or Bye Bye America in Walmart parking lots.
Everybody wants the cheapest price no matter what.
i want a good home stereo. i could go PYLE and get cheap but i went marantz. i hunted like crazy to find the best deal, but i wanted quality at a good price. same for my speakers, car, tv, computer parts and the like. i don't just say "give me the cheapest" - i look for the best i can reasonably afford then try to find the best price on it.
OT - mmm how you liking that Marantz? I've got an Onkyo but it's flaking out on the SR satellite so I'm looking at an upgrade. [Eyeballing the AV7703 with Atmos]
love it. i had an older denon but it was only a couple of years old itself but i wanted the latest technology all around to match a new 65" LG OLED tv i just got. the denon was fine, just not that "dynamic" in sound.
i've had onkyo and looked hard at that brand but i kept finding people having problems with their boards internally and "flaking out", so i took them off the list. onkyo bought pioneer so they were off my list too. i've always wanted a marantz and went ahead and sprung for the 5012 that i found refurbished online for $650 shipped, same warranty as new, authorized dealer.
i couldn't say no. i can see a difference in my tv and my surround is much more noticable.
when spectrum came by to install their crap on my tv setup, the tech never heard of marantz. i shoulda booted him at the time.
and damn dude - you're not afraid to spend on a good tuner!