You guys need to knock off the IR and thermal talk, my wallet can't handle it right now I have a feeling that playing with my buddies PVS-14 this winter, is going to turn into an expensive new hobby.
I'm not willing to spend the money on, say a Nightforce and I question when you jump up that much does it become a case of diminishing returns? I don't' know as I have never looked through one.
You can't just compare brands because each brand has its tier 1,2,3,4,5,6.... levels of price/quality. You do get what you pay for up to a point. Diminishing returns and all of that. You really have to just go to a few stores and look through them and compare.