In Pictures: The World's Most Extravagant Technology Products

Many technology buying decisions come down to dollars. But what if price weren't a factor? Some of these 16 absurdly expensive products are practical, some are pretentious, and some are preposterous. They're all out of our price range--but hey, window shopping is free, right?

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Laser Your Vinyl 4 of 16

Audio enthusiasts still argue over whether the durability and clarity of CD are superior to the sweet but sometimes scratchy sound of vinyl. Now there's the ELP Laser Turntable series, which takes the best of both worlds and comes up with a third way. Instead of a needle dropping down on your stacks of wax, four lasers read the reflections of your records' grooves, while a fifth tracks each record's warp to keep the reading beams' height constant. The result is more accurate sound reproduction than a traditional stylus produces, with all the warmth that purists crave, minus the wear and tear on the record. Dropping $13,999 gets you the LT-2XRC model, which plays 45-rpm, 78-rpm, and any-size 33-rpm records.