I have a confession to make

I was going to go to treatment but my insurance wouldnt cover it so I started an audioholics anomyous meeting but nobody showed up. Guess im all alone hehe. On a serious note, this is a wonderful hobby, just an expensive one. I once asked another audiophile if i was through spending money. He said "Is your system perfect" I said "No" he said "Then you're not through" The point being that perfection is something we'll never reach, so enjoy what you have.

This reminds me of my friend who worked in Saudi in the 80's. If I got the story straight, every citizen was given $45,000/year they suddenly got so much money from the oil. The old timer, driving his new Cadillac said he could go back to living in a tent in the desert anytime he wanted to. Yea right!
BTW, a favorite perfume was Charlie. At least he said that's what all the men wore. Serious.

I know a good lawyer and I think that we can sue your local stereo store for damages, professional treatment, divorce court, pain and suffering, etc...

A guess here-you're in debt & buying a little audio here & there won't change the overall picture much, so you think. The audio thing is fine; it's the debt thing that's out of control. If it wasn't audio it'd be something else but since it's audio, you can do some adjusting. I was fortunate & got out of debt a few years ago but have restrained myself & (specifically for audio) have stuck to my guideline of selling audio I have to buy other gear. I won't bore you (or others) with the details but once you do the first item, you'll feel very good about the whole process. Just as a beginning suggestion, how many sources do you have and listen to? If one is dominant, may I suggest selling off your pre & using an inexpensive passive? I mention this as I recently sold my pre & was getting ready to spend $3200.00 for a new one but didn't want the system down while I waited on the sale to finalize, so bought a $150.00 passive. Now my thinking is I'm keeping this little unit, as it's doing a great job. Of course my point is you don't have to keep spending money to enjoy this hobby! You know what's up, you've read the comments & now it's time to take action. I'd like to mention this little phrase I came across earlier today, as it seems appropriate: "Between stimulus & response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom & power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth & our happiness".

Recognize it for what it is: Status climbing and rank materialism. Even if no other audiophiles see your system, and none of your family and friends understands it, you are succumbing to peer pressure and media manipulation. We all do to some degree and in different ways, but the pursuit of social approval attracts some of us more than others (or is more readily achievable for some of us than others).

It is my innate repulsion for excessively conspicuous consumption, and for coercion-induced conformity, that ultimately keeps my habit within managable limits relative to my overall wealth/income (or lack of same :-) Plus, my interest has always lain primarily with the music, and I see audiophilism as somewhat of a fundamentally trivial and slightly shameful diversion that I like to think I could take or leave in extremis...