Probably there is not much of a difference between the good stuff and the better stuff. Prices are set loosely in the premium market. What you pay for in difference is a lot for what you will get in added fidelity, quality or whatever else.

Some context:

I started with a home theatre setup which was okay for music as well and was all pretty good quality-wise.
To use with different headphones - AKG K 240 MKII - the receiver was all right, but a constant humming and some noise was not going away, especially at high volumes.
The new headphones I wanted to feed a clean signal to and that was about it. Although the brand is the one with the inter-galactic war shield / amp in the first picture of the thread, their lower ranges seem to be priced competitively in comparison to other offerings elsewhere. Designed in England. Built in Taiwan. So the children are happy.