thats the whole point.....
why spend 500 dollars on sub that can easily be pwnt by a sub that cost half the price. why spend 700 dollars on a 1k amp that rapes your electrical with its massive ammount of current draw when you can spend 500 dollars on an amp that does twice that amount with the same current draw.
the fact of the matter is in the statement you already made. they pay just a little more, but get a whole lot more for what they buy.
hell, i met a guy who bragged about his system an how much he spent on it. just so happens he had 2 Dub6v2s and a 1k.1 from JL. he spent a lil more than a grand on equipment and another 300 for the box an installation. after i listened to his. i was like ok, it wasnt really loud, sounded ok. i wasnt impressed. i told him to come take a listen to my setup. he asked me how much i payed i an i told him. his firsts words after that were, oh man, my stuff is probably 2x louder than yours. he sat in my car, put Ridin Rims on, an after the first few bass hits, he got out an just left.
most people out there who ride the name brand nuts think they are the shit an better then most, an hate to see people out there with systems louder then theirs an cost less.