Certate 3012H would have been your best value for money with the mag seal and mag sealed roller for an extra $120 and has a 5 year warrenty which is a genuine 5 years not like the shimano 10year(2 year)

 but cant complain witha sustain they are top notch reels!

 Yeah i agree on the certate which will be my next purchase for my tailor lure chucking!  Will be using the sustain for flatties, big summer yellowfin whiting, bream etc ( replacing my stradic ci4 which is going in for a service and becoming my egi reel ) Unfortunately most, if not all tackle shops have been sold out of the 3012H for a while now. Any chance you know of a nor shop with the 3012H in stock? 

check out alan hawk.com   his reel reviews are top notch

As for the branzino I have the older model which for me is perfect and dint mind spending the dollars smooth as and I know it will last me for quite a few years dont really like the new model branzino yes it does look all nice and bling but it has a much smaller spool than the earlier model.Anyone who has fished with me knows I use the high end gear thats my choice and some of my reels are the earlier model and they still look like I bought them yesterday you get what you pay for and at the same merit if you look after your gear it will last you.

Whether something is "worth" the money, is in my opinion a subjective assessment of the need.  I don't think many people really "need" a Rolex or a Lamborghini, but they do provide satisfaction and pride of ownership to those who purchase them.  A Casio watch and a Toyota/Nissan/etc. will be quite satisfactory for most people's needs- thus the more expensive items would not be considered "worth" the money. 

Same with fishing kit, I guess.  I would carefully venture to say that for species which are generally targeted on 2500-3000 size reels, one could probably get away with using a cheap $70 reel.  Practicality does not address "need" or desire though!

W.r.t. "rort", the high end reels are awesome pieces of engineering, but I personally think the very high price tags are based more on what the market is perceived to be able to bear by the reel manufacturers, than the cost of manufacturing.  

For instance, I bought two new 2008 Stella SW's for around $520 each (4000 and 5000 size, different Australian sources, around 2-3 years ago) when the going price pretty much worldwide was $725.  Since the introduction of the Stella SWB's, you would be hard pressed to find the same '08 SW reels at under $800 (weird, isn't it?  Perhaps Mr Hawk had something to do with that).  However, two very recent auctions on Ebay for new 2008 model 4000 SW's fetched $623 and $637 respectively.  Which would be the correct price:  The $520 I paid, the $630 odd of the auction price, the $725 when the 08 series was the latest, or the current 780-800?  I guess that would depend on the perceived need, and the amount of money one is prepared to pay.

Its a bit like saying is a $10,000 watch is 10x  better than a $1000 watch , still tells the time.

The guy with the $10,000 watch will point out all its features, how superbly accute it is , its special alloy case, but its still a watch.

If you have the disposable and you want a tackle rack full of stellas , go for it, just not sure a $1000 dollar reel will ever be affordable

or needed for me .

I mainly beach fish with some odd boat trips , and have caught all I ever want , ( small marlin, macks , middle size mullas, etc etc)

with good quality,  middle price range gear.( spin reels in the $200-300, overheads in the $200-400).

Some I have had for more than 10 years , still going great with regular servicing and a washdown. ( usually by then , most ( including me) will upgrade anyway)

( posted excact time as post above , so I didnt nick his watch idea haha)

 In the future what sort of market they are trying to target.

with the worldwide economy slower than a few years ago and retail spending down right throughout Australia in particular, will the manufacturers still be raising the prices and specs higher and higher each time around. I found a shimano beach rod at my local tackleworld and thought to myself now that looks like a bloody nice tailor rod. Ultra light, awesome action and quality guides, however it was $950 retail! For a tailor rod!! Throw in a nice reel to match and some quality braid and you are staring down the barrel of at least $1500 worth of Combo (probably closer to $2k if you really wanted to treat that rod to an equality expensive reel)

i have both the high end and mid range gear and I find more than anything you just seem to get a little better longevity out of the top end reels. They get less handle play and drag problems after a few long hard trips away.

It all comes down to personal preferences though. Yes the top end gear is awesome to use and catch fish with especially with lures and plastics ect. However millions of fish have been caught over the years with old Alvey reels, fiberglass rods and mulie baits.

 Went into the shop to get a 4000 sustain and had a play with both

IMO the biomaster had a lot less play than the sustain ... and the biomaster seemed better ... they were advertising it on sneakyfisho for $280.00 so got it cheaper than what the sustain would have been

but in saying that i have never had many problems with most of my older reels.. have had reels $50 right up to a stella and find its more a preferance.

It has a lot to do with the person using the gear :)

 I think while the sustain may feel better now, the reel (pun intended) test is a year or two on the water. See what feels smoother then. 

For the record, my twin powers and stradics have nothing on my hyper certates for smoothness a few years on.