How to stop upgrading and aviod going bankrupt????

First, ask yourself what you want your system to be doing that it isn't doing now. My driving motive was to have a system free of all the bad things about vinyl (surface noise, pops during the most intimate part of the music, etc.). I have achieved this.

Next, determine if your priorities are in line with reality. Have you been in debt more than a year to feed your system? Is owning your own home more important than good sound? Do the "grown up" thing first...

Finally, when you have a decent baseline system, budget a percentage of your income each year to do your hobby. 10%? 20%? You decide. Just remember that TV commercial where they explain that "the $2000.00 watch really costs $10000.00" If you would have invested the money for retirement...

You need to think logically, not on impulse. Develop a budget that you can live with. How much can you afford each year for equipment? How many years are you willing to wait for your dream system? Multiply the two and you have your budget. With this in mind, determine your priority for spending on each item. Next research to determine the brand and model for each unit of the system starting with your dream speakers. The efficiency of the speakers will determine which amplifier you will need in quality and power. Then determine which items to get first, second, third, etc. Once you make up your mind, relax and stick with your choices. As time goes by, buy the items on your list and forget about the stereo dealers, and magazine ads and articles. You will be surprised how fast your stress level drops. This will also ease the stress on your wallet as well. Once you get your dream system, STOP!! It is now time to enjoy your system.

We all joke about it, but it's a pretty serious issue. The next upgrade will never bring you the happiness you are hoping it will. It is the human condition to want the better thing you don't have, then adjust to that better thing as normal once you have it and crave the next thing. It can be fun and exhilirating if kept in check, but awful if you not. You've got to be able to get off the treadmill and enjoy what you have. A hobby can easily turn into a life-ruining obsession. You are seeking the perfect system, which does not exist (just as the perfect woman does not exist). Trying to obtain it is futile and will drive you insane.

Ask yourself what unmet emotional need you are avoiding by chasing the perfect stereo system.

Matt8268 is correct. As in "The Social Contract": Lacking things (audio gear) will make you unhappy, but having them will not make you happy. Learn this and spend your money on music. Read record reviews instead of audio magazines about equipment and support your local musicians.

the rule which separates music lovers/hobbyists from folks who need therapy is simple. do you spend more on hardware(components, etc) in a given year or software(cds,lps,etc). if the answer is hardware then you need to think back to why you liked music in the first place...hi fi as a hobby is like golf....90%mental..10%equipment.