I am probably out of step with others, but here's my take on expensive ukes, of which I am an enthusiast. It isn't about sound quality. Let's be honest; ukes are ukes. A decent $300 uke probably sounds--objectively--as good as my $2000 ukes. So what do I get out of it? I get the satisfaction of knowing that I am supporting small businesses. I get a ukulele that is unique and hand-crafted for me. I have never ever stepped inside a Walmart. I support small businesses. My ukulele choice is just a part of that philosophy. So for me it is more a matter of weltanschauung rather than sound quality. Don't get me wrong. My custom ukes have unimpeachable quality, but that isn't what propels me and my decisions.
That's my personal take on expensive ukes. I hope no one perceives my post as an attack or a rebuttal; I'm just describing me.
I think this hits pretty close to the mark.
We don't buy ukuleles to listen to someone else play them while we close our eyes. There's a lot more to this than just how they sound. If your desire was to buy a great tone, you could just spend $5 a month on Spotify and listen to all the great tone you wanted.
We buy then so we can play them - and playing them involves much more than sound, or even "quality." It involves touching them, feeling them, looking at them. Admiring them. Connecting with them. Getting inspired by them. Buying a ukulele is about an indulgence in our senses. It's an experience. We are spending money on an experience that makes us happy.
Yes, we should try to buy a ukulele that sounds nice. And yes, we should absolutely expect that expensive luthiers are pouring their heart and soul into making instruments that sound nice. We should expect that a builder's instruments have an identifiable voice. But that's table stakes, it's not the whole story. Focusing on "is an expensive ukulele worth it because it sounds better?" seems like an over-simplification that really takes the heart and soul out of the experience. You can't come up with a math equation to justify an expensive ukulele. You can't justify it by objectively comparing anything quantitative to a cheaper ukulele.
Further, and perhaps more importantly, when it comes to buying from small one man shops, I think there's something much deeper going on. Part of the human experience is needing connection to other humans. Buying a ukulele from a builder fulfills that need. When I buy something mass produced in a nameless factory, the thing I buy may be functional, reliable, and beautiful, but it doesn't really make me feel connected. Building a ukulele is a very intimate experience. It requires connection between the luthier and the material. Your hands are touching and manipulating the parts for tens of hours as they evolve and take shape. You know every twist in the grain. You know what the shavings of wood looked like piled up on the workbench as the braces were carved. You know what the sides felt like as they bent to shape. You know how smooth the corners of the tail block are. You know the soft sound of the finish being buffed to just the right level of shine. There is an inherent and deep connection between the builder and the product. Buying a mass-made factory instrument, for most people, probably doesn't involve that sense of connection. But, as a player, when you buy from Mr. So-and-So's-Ukuleles, you preserve the connection. You know who built the instrument. You may even talk to the very person about the very instrument. The connection is preserved. That can be a very magical experience, since it helps fulfill a basic human need.
Go look at the facebook pages for a major factory brand. Yes, there are a lot of devoted fans of the brand. But they're generally following or liking posts that were curated by a marketing department. Or at least by a named person who's function it is to be a public brand ambassador. Then, go look at the facebook pages of the guys building and selling ukuleles all on their own as one or two man shops. That's where you'll see actual friendships, not brand fans. As far as I can tell, that's a lot more fulfilling.