The answer to this question varies depending on who you ask. I believe that the answer is yes. However, the sweetspot varies depending on the application, and for some applications the range of prices within the sweetspot is quite large. Whether you need at the low end or high end of that sweetspot range is very individual. These days, the market is flooded with competent designs and making a choice all too often is difficult simply because so many competitors are very similar to each other. I make a lot of scope recommendation and the most frequent question I field is something along the lines of: “is this Brand X $600 scope worth the price premium over that Brand Y $400 scope?” Depending on the scopes in question and the application, the answer could be yes, no or maybe. Price alone is not enough information. To make a better recommendation I always have to get into the specifics.