Between 1992 and 2007 I spent an average of $5-8,000 per year on this hobby, er merry-go-round. Looking back over those expenditures, I can certainly identify a few that returned much better value than others. But at the end of 2007 I decided to "freeze" my system and put all that money into an account for going to live performances.
If anything, I now spend MORE than I used to, but now it goes into tickets & travel (to Music Festivals, catching musicians in their home towns, etc). Now when I look back at my spending, I can say, "Oh that's when I saw Lyle Lovett" or that was the Caramoor Extreme Chamber Music series, or that was our third trip to Tanglewood. Many of those events have given me much greater pleasure than my stereo system ever did on its best days.
Of course, it is still nice to come home after work and listen to some music, but the desire to upgrade my equipment is mitigated by the thought that I could be using that same money to go see Rachael Yamagata or Vienna Teng or Yo-yo Ma in concert.
Works for me! My system has been very stable ever since.
If anything, I now spend MORE than I used to, but now it goes into tickets & travel (to Music Festivals, catching musicians in their home towns, etc). Now when I look back at my spending, I can say, "Oh that's when I saw Lyle Lovett" or that was the Caramoor Extreme Chamber Music series, or that was our third trip to Tanglewood. Many of those events have given me much greater pleasure than my stereo system ever did on its best days.
Of course, it is still nice to come home after work and listen to some music, but the desire to upgrade my equipment is mitigated by the thought that I could be using that same money to go see Rachael Yamagata or Vienna Teng or Yo-yo Ma in concert.
Works for me! My system has been very stable ever since.