Or even the $1K range and up, if you’re willing to jettison audiophile myths and legend. For instance, I’d agree with all of these points:
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There’s no point to adding linear power supplies to everything, or even anything. Or even fancy power cables.
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Bruno Putzeys-derived Class D amplifiers now work fine. No need for Class A, or even AB.
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External DACs have been rendered largely unnecessary by thirty years of DAC chip design.
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Just because something is “Made in China” doesn’t necessarily make it inferior.
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There’s no need to assemble a system out of individually-chosen components to get high-fidelity sound. What’s more, amateurs without technical training and experience are more likely to get it wrong than right.
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Vibrations don’t really matter to well-built solid-state electronics. No need for vibration isolation.
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Fancy cables don’t matter. All that matters is the conductance of the wire. Properly robust cables from Amazon Basics or Blue Jeans Cables are just fine.
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DSD, and support for it, is an unnecessary distraction. Ditto for SACD support.
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Hi-Res, and support for it, is an unnecessary distraction. Properly mastered (aye, there’s the rub) CD quality Redbook is all that’s necessary.
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MQA, and support for it, is an unnecessary distraction.
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I2S, and support for it, is an unnecessary distraction.
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Vinyl, and support for it, is a nostalgic but unnecessary distraction. If you need to do something with your hands, take up carpentry, gardening, cooking, or knitting – all of which have tangible benefits. Vinyl does not; it simply (eventually) clutters landfill with more non-decomposing plastic waste.
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Making something heavy doesn’t necessarily make it good.
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Making something expensive doesn’t necessarily make it good.
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Just because something doesn’t cost a lot doesn’t make it faulty.
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Audio reviewers, either paper or on the Web, are trying to sell ads, not help you out. You can’t usually trust what they are telling you.