My 2 pennies on tmazz's last comment...
Buying a system that's new, just released to the market (and therefore expensive) means being on the cutting edge, this is true. (maybe not the 'best' though) And, that only applies to big name brands in my experience. The people buying new systems made by oddball companies that make 1 product you've never heard of (Hψrning Euphrodite's anyone?... ) ... those are for true hobbyists that have sacrificed a lot to get that setup... but they are VERY rare and aren't the people pushing the way for lots of gear showing up.
There are in-betweens where it's not McIntosh but it's not an Aksa kit amp either... and along that scale seems to be pretty proportionate with sales price and deviation from MSRP. So, you get a big discount right off the bat with less known brands vs. well known.
The people I've seen on the leading edge buying the newest, latest, greatest... are people with high incomes building systems designed to impress others first, selves 2nd. They tend to buy well known brands so they can be easily identified in magazines and such. (So when reading Skymall they'll say "ooo, I saw that at Carl's house! He's so money!")
Buying McIntosh gear is much like buying a BMW.. Some people think you have good taste, some think you're a snob, etc.. but they all know the brand and associate you with the type that can afford such things. To me, that's embarrassing but to others, it's the point.
Either way, you spend what the market has determined it should cost. I don't think there are a great number of people buying at the leading edge these days... and the market reflects that. You get new gear at a good price (overall more value) from smaller companies. One of the big deals of this hobby for the past 10 years is finding those values.
So, I don't think it's a simple cycle of buying best then trickling down.
-C