Now back to the original question. Yes, Its worth spending money on the good stuff. Especially when it comes to reels. Nothing can ruin a day faster than some 30 dollar piece a crap reel breakin on you. My favorite reel is a Shiano Calcutta. I have 2 and I love them. The Curados are not all that great. They just dont hold up.
Now for rods. I think components and assembly or more important than what the blank is made of. Even though I mainly fish with Loomis, I feel the Lami G-1000 series is the best value. I havent seen the All Star rods yet so I cant say anything about them.