$50k - $80k Budget…Opinions please.


Long story short, I sold my beloved 2-channel to reduce family debt. In about a year-ish, I’ll be in a position to rebuild with a hefty budget. I loved my Harbeth + Pass Labs combo. My REL sub died before I really got to integrate it, so opinions wanted there as well. I fully understand the diminishing margin of returns when moving into some arenas, but that’s ok, opinions are strongly encouraged.

I listen to a lot of Miles Davis/Coltrane, Radiohead, Tool, Pearl Jam, Brent Cobb. I’ve often preferred “organic” or neutral, not sure how technical that is.

toddcowles

Showing 2 responses by perkadin

This thread is absolute madness. From a financial point of view you should not be "saving up" for a system, at least not in the traditional sence, I will expand upon that in a bit. This is a hobby, a complely unnecessary indulgence. You should be able to pay for your entire system without taking on debt or dipping into retirement savings that are intended to maintain your current status of living. If you are past retirement age, and still in a position to spend 50-80k on your hobby without materially impacting your future, then go right ahead. But OP has made a few comments that has me doubting their financial position.

If you want to get an idea of a responsible budget, you can use the 1% rule which allows for spending 1% per year of your total net worth on luxury items. Luxury items can mean anything from travel, goods, services etc. Pretty much anything that you don’t really need to purchase. So to have a budget of 50-80k on Hifi I would expect your total net worth should be in the 5-8m range (potentially lower when you account for resale value). Net worth is total assets - total liabilites. If you are ultimatly responsible for a portion of family debts beyond your immediate household, you should factor those in along with your liabilities.

Given the 1% rule allows provides an annual spending limit you can save up for a system buy buying it over time and keeping within that annual amount. But dont forget to add in other luxury costs like travel, and expenses from other members of your household. I’m assuming HiFi isnt your only indulgence. Now here’s where things get interesting. Unlike travel or service expenses, you can use a modifier for audio gear since there is resale value on these items which is typically 30-50% from new, or much higher when buying used. Example- lets say you buy a used Gryphon Diablo 300 for 10k. You should be able to comfortably sell that for 8k a few years from now making its total cost 2k, maybe a bit higher due to shipping etc but you get the idea. Take 1% of your total net worth, figure out what your other luxury expenditures are, and what’s left over is what you can spend per year on your this system and adjust back up to account for the resale value of the items. If you find yourself short on budget either scale things back and/or look into the used marketplace.

 

@toddcowles The advice was general, nothing specific to you personally and it wasn't an invitation for a financial debate.  I am in the business of wealth building so your comments touched a nerve. I can't tell you how many clients I've worked with that thought they were set only to have it all come crashing down.  The more we make the more we spend, and it becomes easy to lose scope of what is truly affordable so it's good to put things in perspective with general guidelines.  In the grand scheme of things HiFi is small potatoes compared to boats, homes, and worst of all, mistresses. My condolences on the marriage. In all seriousness consider the used market, especially higher end items which are built to last a lifetime. A well researched puchase might be free. The least expensive car I ever owned was a 98 Carerra S.