Buy used! I NEVER thought I'd end up with the system I've got now, and if you told me two years ago what I'd have today I would have fallen out of the chair! I've got $25,000 in a system that at retail would be $47,000. Shop around, I surely do not regret a penny. I have a stressful job and a few hours a week listening can take away my stress. That you cannot put a pricetag on!
Are you Guys Rich or What!?
I have an old system, nothing special, Adcom, Vandersteens etc and I recently set foot for the first time in a "high end" shop, hoping to get to the next level of audio nirvana. When I saw some of the prices for monoblock amplifiers, cables, the latest speakers etc, I practically fell off my chair when I realized that I could blow $50-100K pretty easily on this stuff. I am not rich. Do you big budget system guys all work on Wall Street or something or do you eat macaroni and cheese most nights to put a few bucks away for CDs and your next upgrade?