+1 The competition has come a long way to bridge the gap over the years.

Also, people should not kid themselves. The cost of bike parts is a combination of R&D, manufacturing costs, marketing costs, and demand by the consumers. There is always a premium that goes above and beyond the actual "performance" of any given part. That premium is equal to how much they can charge that people will still actually pay. My opinion is that this is especially true for road bike parts & accessories.

Best "bang for the buck" are the few Cane Creek S-2 headsets I bought from Nashbar for about $10 each. Precision fit, replaceable sealed cartridge bearings, not a ton of "bling" but they just work.