I would have been on the hype and marketing side of this discussion until I started assembling my own rods. The higher end rods (should) use better components. Assembled properly they should function better as well. That's the reason a custom rod can out perform much more expensive production rods. Keeping in mind, all rods are assembled by hand. The production rods compromise when selecting the components; blank, handle, reel seat, guides and finish. There are a lot of variables.