So I went to the Belton, TX hamfest yesterday, and picked up a few
things ...

But I saw a number of speaker boxes that people were asking as much as
$70 for ... why would somebody pay this much for a speaker box? I
just don't get it.

It's just a box with a speaker in it. It's about the easiest thing in
the world to make yourself, or you could pick up one that was used in
something like a police car for around $10 (I saw some of those too.)
Or you could use one from a computer speaker (though the $3 models are
probably too crappy even for ham radio use.)

Do people want something that matches their radio equipment? Are they
collectors? Am I understimating the quality needed to accurately
reproduce a 800 hz CW signal or a SSB conversation?

--
Doug McLaren, "I must get up. There is much evil to do."