I expect this to be the case. However, I am wondering if the difference in tone is proportional to the price difference to justify the added cost. A shootout between your high end guitar and a properly set up american guitar of the same model, recorded in lossless audio and played on a hifi stereo, can demonstrate this. Unfortunately, that will not happen anytime soon coz no one wants to pay for the cost 
The Marginal Utility over the Marginal Cost is irrelevant and NOT Important with regards to sound. Otherwise known as Bang for the Buck or Value for Money.
Its a Marketing Gimmick used by product managers to make you buy a clearly inferior or lower priced product. Bang for Buck is ONLY real in the mind of the person who purchased the guitar.
In fact, Bang for Buck addresses your pocket (ability to finance) and not the sound of equipment.
For example, if I let the audience hear my US$10k Gil Yaron Les Paul Replica which are now loaded with an additional US$6k of 1959 PAFs they will clearly say its sounds far from a Greco that I picked out of the pier for around P10k.
In terms of Bang for Buck, the Greco has higher Bang for Buck but the Gil Yaron will sound far more better and pleasing.
Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that audience does not care how much a guitar costs only if it sounds bad or good? I will tell you that I rather the Gil Yaron with real PAFs.
The other factor affecting Bang for Buck is that it only exists at point of purchase or in the case of the example above -- after upgrading. Why so? A lot of guitars when launched usually have a TBA price or SRP.
We usually want to get to the street price or the cheapest price that dealers are willing to give after deciding the maximum amount they can shave off their margin. On the other hand, a simple pickup upgrade is a perfect example where in Bang for Buck assessment happens AFTER the pickups are loaded onto a guitar.
Even if a small 5% increase in sound quality is observed we still keep the pickups on the guitar until we find a buyer for it. I don't know of anybody who observes an improvement over the previous pickup set and reinstalls the inferior but superior Bang for the Buck pickup.
Its an efficiency equation that does not really serve the interest of the guitarist as proven in the following cases.
Case 1: Following the Superior Bang for Buck Formula - A Japanese Greco given to you by your uncle will win out versus a real 1959 burst sold to you for P100. The price of the Greco (numerator) does not matter because the denominator (your money spent was zero).
But somehow, we do know that the real burst is clearly the winner here.
Case 2: Let us follow the Yupangco / Perfect Pitch technique wherein they price ridiculously equivalent to American SRP plus shipping to Manila. After two to three years, that's the only time that they bring down the price the U.S. Street Price to the new U.S. model comes out at the same street pricing.
At two different points in time, we have two different Bang for Buck values. BUT the guitar that you really wanted still will sound the same the first time it arrived at Yupangco and three years later. If you truly stick by bang for the buck, you should be able to forecast when and what the maximum discount will be given before you can purchase.
Here is the kicker, iyon pala naka reserve na para sa kaibigan ng mga taga Yupangco pagkatapos ng tatlong taon.
Case 3: If we consider Clapton's Blackie and SRV's number One which are PRICELESS as numerators, any denominator or price to acquire will do. Naturally these guitars did command a lot of money at auction. But clearly if the owners or benefactor of the owners considered the Bang for Buck formula, they would not have sold it an auction for charity. Why?
Because the Bang for Buck formula says that their guitars will remain priceless forever and its value will increase over time.
The whole reason why I have a bad sounding Charvel is to be able to immediately do a shootout with my 15 other guitars (All of different Electronic Configurations, woods, hardware, scale length, body shape, weight, etc.) with hiyaw. No need to spend. Because I have to prove that this property is not design specific but rather wood specific.
