HI Fred,
You are right. The same argument can be made for any hend speaker. In fact, if we wer eto compare apples to apples, in the world of high end off the shelf turn key speakers, the BEolab 5 is actually a GOOD value. Many higher priced speakers have inferior technology. Of course, one can always DIY for cheaper, but a tat is oranges to apples. Many audiophiles do not/ cannot DIY, and just want a hassle free package that looks nice and does everything in one box!
Many of these have budgets of 15-25 K for a good system. For such folk, the beolab 5 is a great investment.
Not for us DIYers, certainly!
-akhilesh