I believe the prices of bows are really stretching what the public will bear. True there is a lot of R&D that goes into producing lighter,faster bows but the prices are really elevating. As for the best bow - I am sure you will get a lot of opinions on this. And the two (price/best) do not go hand-in-hand. What is the best for yo might not be the best for me. And speaking of me, my personal preference is the Martin line. I like the Firecat and love the Cheetah. To me its plenty smooth, fast, quiet, and accurate. And most important, I can shoot it very well.