An oponent of blatent consumerism and materialism, I occasionally find it hard to rationalize to myself my own spending for audio gear. Certainly from the lowly depths of middle class America, 50k - 100k systems seem as extravagent as using Springbank 25 to mix up scotch and Coke. Indeed there are probably more 'noble' appropriations for this kind of cash. Of course, I do not question the right of people to spend their money as they would, however I think I do have the right to question the judgement of all luxurious excess. Still, I'm not so full of myself that I think that I'm imune to these same lapses in judgement from time to time. One thought that all AG critiques of conspicuous consumption should keep in mind is that all of us have probably had to defend our spending on these things at one point another. Thus, I think it not improbable that in the face of constant criticism a certain amount of defensiveness may develop. I know I get a little irritated when people start hrmphing abou the cost oft my (in the context of this board) modest system. So perhaps a little more grace than normal is required in discussing this topic.
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?