Greg,

I had the same thought. I e-mailed to get the price list and it looks like:

RTA132A Base Analyzer... $295.00
132B ValuePAK: base + 3 options .....$ 795 (You Save_33%)
132B+ ValuePAK: base + 6 options ...$ 995 (You Save_52%)
132C ValuePAK: base + 10 options ...$1495 (You Save_54%)
Add-On Options ... $295/each
Optional Scalable Plug-&-Play Hardkey Dongle (parallel port): $100USD

I don't know what all those options are, but I can't justify spending the $295 for the base.

FWIW, I used my $50 Radioshack digital SPL meter with those Autosound tone tracks (converted to WAV) to do some preliminary balancing and it helped. It was pretty crude, but it helped get rid of some glaring peaks and lows (in bass ranges mostly) that I fixed with subwoofer gain and filters before I started in with the equalizer and and incremental fine-tuning by ear.

If I stumble across $295, it would be even nicer to use this product, but I'm happy enough for now.