I think several folks summed up my opinion above. Almost all bows on the market today are entirely functional. They will shoot the arrow as well as the idiot behind the string allows them to. Many folks do not possess the skill or desire to shoot as well as their bow can potentially be shot so the extra tight tolerances, newest designs and bells/whistles will mean little. However, some folks can and do take advantage of the "latest and greatest" most likely, as mentioned above, because they can. I think it also depends in large part on the application you plan on using the bow for. Some archery activities require higher levels of accuracy to be successful and thus require bows that are more well manufactured and use superior materials. For the average bowhunter a cast magnesium riser bow with solid limbs and simple cams would probably do just fine.