Or indeed consumers who are perfectly happy with the sound of 210 kb/s VBR mp3s on an iPod through £80 Grado headphones.

I'm not trying to take any side myself here, but it does sound like you're implying that it's the "audiophiles" versus the "mindless masses", when I think you'll find there is also a significant population of people who value good quality sound but who can't necessarily discern any difference in quality between the top brands of mp3 player. I've owned models from three of them, and I certainly can't.