It's also worth noting that much of a hub's performance depends on the bearings, and you can swap really nice bearings into a so-so hub on the cheap. Overall hub construction may not be the same, but as mentioned above, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference unless you're a pretty serious rider. In all honesty, a good proportion of the folks buying high end hubs are mostly interested in the bling, though they often have some explanation about needing an ultra-high performance hub in order to justify the cost. Nothing wrong with going for the bling, but it's still good to be honest with yourself.