Higher priced progressives really that much better?
Yes and no.
I was taught to reload on both Dillon 550 and Lee Pro 1000 for pistol match shooting. The mentor who taught me to reload had me load my match loads on both and range test them side-by-side. The shot groups were comparable.
We discussed the pro's and con's of each press before I made my purchase:
Dillon 550:
Pros - It's a Dillon with life-time warranty. 4 stations. Looks very cool on your bench with the blue cover. Other Dillon match shooters will embrace you with open arms for having made the "right" decision.
Cons - Manual index, manual case feed, primers needed to be flipped on the tray and picked up one-by-one into the primer tube, more costly and slower caliber change, powder throw required powder charge weight verification every 50-100 rounds for "charge drift"
Lee Pro 1000:
Pros - Auto index, auto case feed, primer trays are faster/easier to reload, much lower cost and faster caliber change, Pro Auto Disk did not require re-verification of powder charge weight after initial several charge weights were verified.
Cons - It's a Lee with limited warranty. 3 stations. Gravity based primer feed tube needs to be watched to make sure the next primer drops into station. Other match shooters will ask, "Really, you load on a Lee Pro 1000? Why?" Dillon match shooters will give you "sympathy" hugs.
I ended up buying the Pro 1000 because I liked the auto index/case feeder option. The small primer feed attachment worked about 95% of the time for me, but I separately resize/deprime and hand primed match cases, so it was not an issue for me (BTW, large primer worked 100% for me as long as the feed tube was kept full). Many talked of Pro 1000 needing "constant tinkering" but my extent of "tinkering" for each reloading session is cleaning/lubing of metal contact parts, checking shell plate timing, checking case feed and right disk hole / powder charge weight verification.
Over the years, I have used other progressive presses and we even did comparison range tests of our match ammo and my loads were comparable, if not more accurate - holes on target speak volumes.
"Higher priced progressives really that much better?"
Knowing what I know now, I would generally answer by saying the higher priced progressives are more "heavily" built than Pro 1000. Many complain about "jerky-ness" of the Pro 1000. When I am reloading with resized/primed cases, I remove the primer feed attachment with rod that rides the ridges on one of the frame tubes that causes "jerky" clicks to drop primers into the feed tube. When other match shooters loaded on my Pro 1000, they commented how "smooth" the action was without the feed attachment rod. I can produce 450+/hour and 650+/hour with resized/primed cases.
I have considered buying a Dillon 1050 or more recently Hornady AP LNL, but my wife kept asking me, "Will they produce more accurate match loads?" Each time, I have to tell her no.
Instead, I am thinking about setting up dedicated caliber stations (one setup for 45ACP and the other for 9mm/40S&W as they share the same shell plate and small primer feed tube).