Do you have multiples of amps, preamps, speakers, cables, etc?
I do, and am starting to realize it's leaning hard toward a sickness rather than a passionate hobby. Either that, or I'm getting up in age and tired of all the "stuff" I've acquired taking up so much space.
I went through a phase about ten years ago where I got tired of stereo gear and dumped most of it. I really regretted it after a few years and acquired most (and then much more) back.
But this time it feels different somehow. And I really think it has to do with my age...pushing 60.
We have too much stuff in general and it's indicative of something, overall, about our lifestyle.
As for audio, I don't have that much -- ss and tube amp, 1 dac, 1 streamer, 1 cd transport; I'm thinking about getting another pair of speakers to try to have some variety, and it does make me feel conflicted. In part this is because I've realized that a lot of gear worth having is expensive and I'm not necessarily desiring having a pile of cash sunk into objects going unused a fair portion of the time.
67 here and a lifetime of STUFF. I’m gonna see if the guy at the funeral home will give me an upgrade if we can work out a deal. :-)
I sold 12 Russco, QRKs and Spartas turntables last year, all "As Is." If you bought 3 you had 2 and a few extra parts. That kind of deal. I never sold parts only what was there when I’d pull them from stations. BTW that was 3/4 of the stock I had, I still kept 2 Russcos, 2 QRKs, and ONE 16" 750 Fairchild TT.
30 Pieces of vintage Mac. I’m tired of typing.. there is a lot more..... STUFF!!
I am selling my STUFF though, I’ll reduce to a point where it is easy for my kids or wife over the next 2 years or so.
Now tools and 3/4 of my HO train stuff. I’ll keep the UP and the old steam and brass. Maybe a 2x8 laydown yard and a 4x4 little town. Tools I’ll keep my dads.
The other 2 tons I’ll do something with. Sidewalk sale, bring your own forklift. :-)
Find some dummy that wants to be an underpaid, overworked piece of meat and see if I can (talk him/her out of being a mechanic first) talk him/her into taking the stuff. Sucker! A mechanic need to start at 100K and end an .5-1.5 million per year.
Of course lifetime medical after 5 years of service.. period.. I did 49 years, so that’s almost 10 lifetimes. Do I get a refund? LOL
I want to file a grievance. Where is the shop steward?
OH! I was the shop steward.. LOGTD. Lots of good that did!!!
Happy gift give away, I did Vanilla Beans/Kettle one Vodka in 8oz bottles. I wish you could smell the Madagascar, Tahitian, Ecuadorian or Indonesian beans, all different.
At age 62, I've become tired of having a bunch of stuff. A year or so ago I thinned down my LP collection to about 1000. 800 of them fit nicely into a single record rack in my audio room. The remaining 200 are family keepsakes that I don't listen to, but can't let go. They are in boxes in the storage room.
Last week I sold 3 turntables, an amp and a pair of speakers. Still have 2 inexpensive phono pre-amps for sale on my local Craigslist. If they don't sell soon, I'll list them nationally.
When winter ends I'm going to start working on the garage. Need to get rid of the f-ing boat that prevents us from parking any cars in there. Need to thin the herd of bicycles to N+1. Currently at N+5. Also need to get rid of a bunch of auto parts I purchased for upgrading a couple of cars I no longer own.
I hope to continue to rid myself of unused stuff. Would love to greatly reduce the clutter in the house and garage.
Not really, I have lots of cables - digital optical, digital coaxial, balanced, HDMI and I don't have my tape deck hooked up.
I generally get rid of things I don't use - my exception has been music media (LPs and cassettes, thought I burned the CDs and then sold them to Half Price Books).
Anything I have I 'replace' or 'upgrade' I generally will offer to a friend/family member or donate.
at 60 I am also thinning the herd considerably……. My goal for 2022 is to get down to a single TT …. wish me luck
I may be able to help you ^there^
Back on the topic…
I usually get the best gear I can afford, with the expectation it will not be replaced. But I did get some “good enough” gear, that is no longer used. Usually tuners, DVD players, CD players. Etc.
I'm not very smart for a deaf guy. I have 6 working systems and a bunch of tube amps in storage. I'm still not ready to sell off my stuff, I still have one good ear, LOL. My stuff is not a burden to me but it might be for my heirs....LOL. I won't care, I'll be dead...
I buy, sell, and trade gear all of the time. Right now I'm trying to down size once I realized my guest room was just audio gear...
Currently I have 3 systems: my reference sonus faber & macintosh system, my Frankenstein home theater (7.1) of random gear, and another 2.1 setup w/ sonus faber & rotel. Outside of that I have only 4 pairs of speakers sitting in my garage with 2 preamps, 2 amps, 1 avr, and 1 DAC on the shelf.
Had enough equipment for three systems plus. Upgraded my speakers and realized the potential of my main system. So, this past month, I’ve sold a ton of gear, the proceeds of which will now go into my main system. In fact, I’d down to deciding on amps, then I’d like to think I’m done for awhile. Of course, picking up a new preamp this weekend, I heard a pair of Rockport Cygnus. Holy cow! I have the sickness, don’t I?
I am now getting close to seventy. I upgraded before retiring… and was happily able to do my biggest upgrade a couple years ago after retirement. During this cycle I traded in stuff at each purchase. This had the advantage of giving my dealer discounts that would otherwise not been possible. Got rid of the extra turntable, $2K pairs of interconnects (3)… 2 B&W 800 subwoofers, etc. Yeah, it is starting to get to be the time of life to getting rid of all that stuff you will probably not use and clutters your life… and having a system or two that are the very best you have achieved.
I can’t tell you how great it is to sit down each day in front of the very best system I have heard… one that reflects my appreciation of music, one that actually looks amazing. It is really rewarding. One of the things the 75 hour weeks over the last fifty years has earned.
Most of my excess has has been culled by building dozens of systems for others over the years. It's easy enough. I've got systems spread over 4 states, Canada and Austria. In the end.......it's just stuff. Don't worry, I kept the really good stuff.
I just changed from using separates for 55 years over to an integrated amplifier.
I sold off 5?listening rooms of hi end gear- quad E 57s, Magnapanar, TAD, AR 3, paradigm, Boulder, Dynaco, McIntosh, Peachtree, Belles etc etc
Feel liberated- so happy
i stumbled over a Rotel A14 and was shocked how good it sounds coupled with Elac and Epos speakers and a Cambridge streamer. The only piece I kept was a Calif Audio Lab Mark Ii CD PLAYER that is terrific!
Not as much since I gave my brother in law and older 5.0 speaker set. But I still have a center channel, two headphone amps, a DAC, and several headphones stored in a closet which don't get used.
More than I need, not as much as I want. Multiples of a few things I switch between, but not a full complement to have multiple systems. Yet. But I usually keep things until they die and need to be replaced. It’s only recently I’ve bought more.
I can't believe most you guys are such dumbasses wasting your money on so much stuff, I have a $60,000 system consisting of one preamp 1 amp one CD transport one up sampler and one deck and a pair of speakers and all my cables are OCC single Crystal and it sounds incredible. the last upgrade I'm going to make is Townshend podiums for the speakers.
I don’t have a lot of audio gear...I try to keep it simple. But I have another problem. I married late so I got into a lot of hobbies. But they don’t feel like hobbies...they’re a part of me but I can’t seem to reduce the herd.
Besides the audio systems there’s a small cymbal collection (I’m a drummer), a bunch of vintage bicycles and components (trying to sell my hoarding of nos Campagnolo components from different eras), golf clubs, Japanese Koi, 1968 Mustang fastback, mid century modern furniture and lighting. Im sure I've missed a thing or two...
I was a lonely guy for a while...they’ve kept me out of trouble.
Definitely, you really need help as I have heard that its a serious compulsive disorder. Maybe a year of therapy would help, good thing is that you will be spending what spare cash you have on therapy and not acquiring more gear. This condition can be quite financially debilitating, as well as the stress in hiding all your new acquisition from close family members, especially if you have a wife 😨
When you have found a solution and a good therapist please let me know .. maybe then I can be saved before its too late 🙄
Too much. I've started thinning out the stuff that I'm least interested in working on or completing Just going to keep a couple of the main components and maybe 10 amplifiers. Still will have a lot in the estate sale!
Hilde 45 if you can't handle the truth then that's too bad, cuz loading up on that much gear is really dumb and a waste of money but I guess if somebody wants to waste their money that's totally up to them but I still think it's pretty stupid
Way, WAY TOO much in the opinion of the general public. In this forum with all its eclectic cohort of forum participants, it’s probably still quite modest.
I heartily “thinned out the herd” already this past summer as I precondition from my wife to further contemplated changes and upgrades.
I still have three 2-channel audio systems in practice ranging from $2,000 to $7,000 to $50,000, along with a full 7.1 high-end HT system with discrete high-end YBA power amps and discrete AV preamp/processor driving ML speakers in my mancave.
the reality: I spend 90+% of my listening time to my “A” system ….ya just can’t beat dem HARBETHs.
In my main listening room which I started about two years ago after sort of being out of audio for 30 years, I generally trade in what ever I am replacing. Not much room for extra stuff. At 72 I tend to shed extra stuff whenever I can. I even traded back a pair of interconnects when I needed longer ones. Currently replacing my power conditioner and will sell the older one as soon as I can. Of course there is my camera equipment but we will not go there.....!
I interpreted your question as, "how much gear do you have that you are not using?"
I have tried to simplify my system(s) over the years by using SS gear that remains powered up all the time (got rid of the tubes) and by weaning myself off of physical media. Currently, I have a couple of duplicates but those are mostly active situations where I recently made a change or where I am in the process of comparing options. Thankfully, I do not have a pile of boxes of gear that I don’t use. I do have some older gear that I haven’t been overly motivated to part with, such as my first NAD system. Somebody interested in vintage systems would probably appreciate that stuff.
Where I find excess is in cables and small boxes. Since I have constructed many cables over the years, I have a couple of plastic tubs full of pretty good cables that I could (and should) probably sell. I also have a number of small boxes (mostly digital enhancement stuff), which is why I remain mostly skeptical about the benefits resulting from small, magic boxes that cost a lot of money.
I have the VAC PA 100 100 tube amp & ARC LS15 tube amp that l bought back in 1995 and a Spectron musical MK ll amp I have two sets of speakers, Maggie's and Mythos ST's Two Ultra 13 subs, Exogal Comet Plus DAC, Oppo BD 105 Blu-ray Audiolab 6000N streamer For 5.1 Emotiva XMC-2 AV Pre amp Anthem 5 channel amp All my interconnects and speaker wires are MIT
Yes I have too much stuff and a lot of it is audio gear.
But as I am a discerning purchaser each and every piece paid me back in spades
with enjoyment. It is coming to the time I will need to start downsizing.
My music room is coming down the home stretch to completion and that was
~$60k. Pretty hard to sell that to someone!
I live in an apartment, so I have limited space. I guess that’s a blessing. Otherwise I see myself accumulating a lot more gears. As of now, I have 4 components that are duplicates and ready to get rid of: turntable, phono stage, a streamer, and an old NAD home theater receiver. I’ve just been too lazy to get them listed online.
The problem with this hobby (or any other hobbies) is that it is so easier to go spend the $$ to buy new gears. Many times it is just a few simple clicks on your computer. But it is a lot more work to get rid of your old gears, and that takes a lot of discipline.
I’m curious how many of you out there that live in small spaces with big excess of gears.
@xcool - And an issue for those afflicted with audio disfunction, and living in small spaces, is no storage room for the original packaging (especially speaker boxes. Really makes selling more difficult.
I currently live in a large family home with significant storage space (mostly filled with junk I don't use). I keep all boxes/packaging to ease the re-sell activity.
I think if I lived in a much smaller space, I would not have accumulated so many duplicates. I also would have sold/traded more records when I made new purchases. Oh, and I wouldn't have 6 bikes and 2 boats...
If there was ever a question about our society being relentless consumers, this thread proves it. I regret selling my cabinet makers table saw more than any piece of stereo equipment. 🤣
I sure do. At 61 I’ve accumulated 19 McIntosh pieces, 20 sets of speakers, 3 turntables 3 DACs, 2 phono pres, and an assortment of interconnects by nordost, analysis plus, kimber, and a wide range of tweaks. I have no room anymore so I’m at that point. Great hobby, you just need a warehouse.
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