How can anyone afford this ?


I consider myself a dedicated audiophile. I am 36(which I am guessing is a little younger than the average here) and single. I have been interested in high-end audio since I saw my uncle's Mcintosh and Threshold equipment for the first time when I was 5.
Since joining the workforce and saving a little I have always been trying to put together a nice system on a budget. I do OK financially(I am a systems engineer) but I do live in NYC which may put some of this into perspective.
Over the last 6 months I have struggled to buy(all used on Agon) a pair of Dynaudio Audience 42s and a Threshold CAS2 amp, Chang CLS3200, and cables(I haven't gone out[I don't have a girfriend], purchased anything else and really haven't eaten too much to be able to afford these and it is still a real stretch). I am using the amp with a direct connection from my CD/DVD player(Cambridge Audo Azur 540D...slightly modified[op amps, PS caps, bypass caps] that I have had for almost 10 years). A fellow has a Threshold FET2 series II(to match with the CAS2) he is holding for me but that seems like a pipe dream at this point along with a turntable.
A few years ago the analogue bug hit me.
I had a setup consisting of an Audio Analogue Settanta integrated and a Nottingham Horizon SE turntable with a Rega RB300 tonearm with the Incognto rewire and structural mod. This was not an expensive kit by any stretch but for me it almost put me in the poor house. I had to sell the entire rig to pay my bills and it hurt.
It seems over the last 10 years or so I have not been able to keep a kit for more than 6 months before I had to sell it. Whenever I don't have a rig I am constantly scanning the online Ads lusting for the next bargain to set up a system and cannot even listen to music on a mass market rig(I have been spoiled).
Anyway, I guess my question is how can anyone normal afford this hobby? What type of money do you have to be making to be able to enjoy this hobby.....$100,000/year? $500,000/year? Do you need to be worth millions? $5,000 barely gets you in the door(some interconnects cost more) and you could possibly spend millions. I am not looking to put together a $10,000 system(not even close...and that is modest in this hobby) but if I wanted to I don't see it ever being financially possible. If I had a girlfriend or a family(hopefully someday) I would not event be able to think about this hobby with a good conscience. I guess I am wondering if all these people in this hobby are millionaires? I am close to selling my rig again to pay the bills(the amp needed repair/recap and that was $450). Any advice for an audiophile who lusts to put together a nice rig but can't afford it? Should I get out and save for 5 or 10 years and then try again? Maybe I am in the wrong hobby but it is more addicting that crack to me(and more expensive). Maybe I should be a crackhead instead...that might be the only thing to make me forget about it. Thoughts?
adamd1205
frogman.. most wealthy people either inherited their bounty or made killings based on POLICY.. see wall street and bankers. to put down people of lesser wealth with the why don,t people work harder is just more of people participating in there own domination. still waiting on trickle down and tax cuts to start working are you?
Frogman - You're not too far off the mark. We all tend to want more no matter how much we have. My wife and I make a solid income, just under $200k combined, have two cars that are paid for and live in a "small" house that's under 1,400 sq-ft. We don't have any debt outside of the house payment, contribute to savings and retirement so I consider that we're financially responsible, but sometimes I wonder where all our money goes when I compare to friends that are living on less than half of what we make. I actually feel like I'm wasting my money, sometimes, by needing as much as we seem to make. I know it's possible to live on much less but I also know that we could spend more if we had it. I think the last time that I saw the statistics we were in the top 5% for income in the US and almost everyone I know lives in a bigger house and many drive nicer cars. I often wonder how much dept they must have. I think the key is to focus on your financial life and make good decisions for you and your family. It's impossible to compare to other because you don't know if they really have the money that it appears or are just carrying a ton of debt.
Well done digepix,adamd1205 I have pioneer silver-pioneer elite [old]stuff, klipsch vpi hw-19.two ch and 5.1 and lots of music I love it.but I have a buddy that spent 98 k on one pair of masters,and he loves my sound and I love his.and we are still friends....... Its not what you spend its about the music isn`t It
I like what Mceljo said. My wife and I do okay, one car note, house note, thats it. Everything else is paid for. We take vacations we have saved the money, however I see friends who make less, take elaborate vacations, have the best of everything and never think twice about spending. Then one day when one said, "I should try to start a savings account" it dawned on me how much better off I'm doing. If and when we get bonuses, my wife and I pay off anything credit card debt we have, which is usually little to nothing, a few hundred in each of our pockets, the rest in savings. I'd rather buy a new amp, or better speakers, but I also like the security of knowing if work slows, I can take time off without having to start selling off my toys. I have $3500 wrapped up in my system. I've been putting money back for new cables, because some new and exciting ones came out. Yesterday I took that money and bought music with it. I need too quit obsessing about buying new toys and focus on why I even have a stereo. It's not "audiophile" grade, but it sounds pretty damn good to me.
What we tend to forget is just how well most of us have it in this great country of ours; even with all those horrible, greedy corporations, and wall-street types. Here we are, sitting comfortably at our computers, talking about the high cost of AUDIO GEAR (!?!?), when as we write there are uprisings in another another part of the world, where millons live on $2 a day. Yes, trickle down does work.