Is there a ceiling limit on what you are willing to pay for an audio component?

@jonwolfpell hookers? seriously? That's pretty dark. 

What is anyone willing to pay for any of these:

Audio equipment, TV, cars, bicycles, houses, boats, cameras, kitchen appliances, donations, hookers, whatever???

we all have different things we value & are willing to pay for. To each their own. Work hard, save your $ & enjoy what you like with it. 

@deadhead1000 , totally agree with your sentiment here. The system needs to make sense all around for price and synergy.  But the way my fav years are 1973 and 1974. Can't wait for the latest box set to come out 

@2psyop - Not at all. Not only are there some great brands in that price range like Monitor Audio, or stretching it, Revel, I think that a lot of these super speakers are made for homes the likes of which I’ll never see. What point is there in buying a Wilson Alexandria for my tiny listening room?? 🤣

In my space, for my listening, I am sure I can get every bit as "good" a sound for far less.

I don't know if any of you would like my stereo, but damn if it doesn't sound better than any hotel room I've been to.

@p05129  +1

'nuff said

Regards,

barts

I only buy something if I have the cash.  I may put it on a credit card but only for the cash back or extended warranty.   If I don’t have the cash in hand, I do not buy it.   

I usually just lurk but I found this topic is interesting to me I felt like commenting. I’m 70 years old. Since the pandemic I’ve gotten back into the hobby. I’ve purchased vintage McIntosh with two systems. I spent no more than $1800 per component. I like vintage US or Japanese built components although my rtr dac (Ladder Schumann) is Chinese made. I also have 2 US made Geshelli J2 AKM model dacs. I have ADS L710 and L780 speakers from 70s and 80s. However I recent ordered the Sourcepoint 8 speakers designed by Andrew Jones. I heard them at Axpona and they were shockingly good there. The speakers broke through the $2000 barrier. 

Men have Hobbies....Boats , Cars , Guns , golf equipment , Etc...Etc.....Mine is 2 channel hi-fi......I think a $10K amp and $10 K speakers w/ $2500 in interconnects and cables...a $3500 DAC and a $2500 turntable w/ MC cart is going to get you 90% THERE.

@bigkidz

Given your level of expertise, I will accept what you’re saying, but isn’t the enjoyment of listening to music outside of the live venue the real goal, and not some absolute sound? Aren’t people capable of listening to different equipment and judging for themselves. I’m not saying that this will lead to the ultimate sound, or even something that would satisfy most people, but it only needs to satisfy the owner/listener.

If you had even 10% of Elon's money, you (well, I) WOULD spend a fortune on audio gear if you love it. Why wouldn't you? Even if you were "only" worth $100 million, you could spend 2% of your net worth (even 1%) on a room and a system that would be nirvana...bliss. You say you wouldn't, but that would make you an aberration if you won the $100-500 million lotto. One's perspective changes with that kind of money, I believe.

Of course, maybe you'd choose to buy a yacht or private jet, and that will make a world-class hi-fi seem absolutely cheap in comparison! You don't need to hire a pilot or skipper to run your stereo for you. It won't cost you $10% of the cost of your stereo system just to crew, maintain, insure, and staff a stereo like it will a yacht. If your yacht is worth a mere $50 million, it will cost you $2-5 million a year just to maintain it before you ever leave the dock!

I always keep a short list of "lotto dream" hi-fi systems in my head. At my age, I don't dream of gorgeous nubile women anymore. One of those would just give me a heart attack or stroke, or my wife would kill me. 😂

It’s really more about would I want to buy... say ...$40k speakers, even if they sounded like heaven. I would not. Again no judgement on those who do... enjoy the sound!

 

This question depends on economic status not what one desires so it is a ridiculous question 

Wrong question.

I know I wouldn't spend £300,000 on a pair of speakers, however much I like their sound.  I probably wouldn't spend £100,000.  But I found their sound to be far, far better than the £25,000 speakers I have now I might do.  If they were better than that I might spend £120,000.

So there is no fixed ceiling for what I am prepared to spend.  Most people evaluate things in this manner, rather than fixing a ceiling.

I probably have a different outlook when it comes to my audio budget. First off I save up my pennies and pay cash for EVERYTHIG I buy. I have literally saved $100 of thousands over the years. It might take a little longer to achieve my goals but that only gives me time to study the products on the table. Then I must say there are people who would trade their souls for their music. I don't thing violating your morals (literally) is a good thing no matter what they may be. 
BUT, I AM WILLING to forego a few 'T-bones' to get just a little better equipment and that never hurt anyone. And last but not least is if your musical desires take away form your family obligations in ANY WAY, you have overstepped any good policy.

As it stands it's costing me about 20k to build 4 horns. Will sell a pair to pay for a pair to keep. This way I get SOTA gear for hardly any cost. If you're on a budget get resourceful. Just heading out to an audio shop with a credit card and spending a few 1000s will not get you far. 

@vonhelmholtz - wisely spending. Well maybe if you know what makes sound and how to put it together.  But  since we manufacture components and repair and upgrade components, most people do not have a clue as to what impacts sound.  Most people and companies don't even know how to set up speakers correctly.

This hobby is right up there with car collecting for people with stupid money. When you can pay over 200 k only for a piece of wire imo that is nuts. I can say for me it is what is my return on investment judged by my ears and not trying to impress anyone but myself. Can I see myself touching the 10 k speaker list? Maybe but it would have to improve my sound by 50% over current speakers and then I still think I would pass. Yes even with stupid money I think J could find better options to spend it.

I wish I had Jay's budget also but sadly I do not. I had bought and cobbled systems together for years, some new and some used. I decided it was time to move out of the 90s and 00s and put together a complete new system. I gave myself a $20K budget But stayed below $15 when I was done. I am pretty happy and have a musical and pleasing setup of-

Luxman 505UXII

Rotel 1572 CDP

Rega P3

Fyne Audio F502SPs

@bigkidz 

Again, money has nothing to do with sound quality.

Nothing like a blatantly false statement.  Wisely spending money has everything to do with sound.

Quck story:

We have a (very) extended family member who happens to be a centi-millionaire. I can’t remember whether he just bought, or sold, an asset for $90M. This amount of money was a staggering to me. Sorry for the confusion.

He just turned 60 and still has the modest ($1K) system he purchased while in college. A while back his receiver stopped working and he complained about what it would cost to get it repaired. I had a spare Nakamichi TA-2 receiver in my loft that I packed up and shipped to him as a "loaner" untiul he got his old receiver fixed. That was 8 years ago. Oh yeah, he has a $50k piece of artwork hanging above the system. Maybe the the artwork missed up the acoustics and he just gave up on the whole hi-fi thing as a result? Probably not.

We had a retired truck driver as a customer years ago. He loved music and the stuff needed to reproduce it. He liked audio more than he liked his decades old daily driver that we’d load up with pretty decent hi-fi gear quite regularly. Sometimes things wouldn’t fit in his car, or were too heavy or bulky to handle, so we’d provide the grunt needed to get it there and put it in place. He liked to set up and mess with his own gear. I’m pretty sure his investment in audio was in the double digits related to his total portfolio. The centi-millionaire -- .01%.

When the perfect storm of love for music and reproducing that music accurately at home hits you, it can be quite invigorating. The wallet opens, and money falls out. As with any "indulgences", true enthusiasts are quite involved and want to get up close and personal with all things connected to the hobby. This would include an appreciation for the "state-of-the-art" -- whatever that is. Audio has it’s Bugattis. And, it’s used fox-bodied Mustangs. True car guys "get" the differences. The subtle. And, the not-so-subtle. And, so do true audio enthusiasts.

So, if your audio ceiling is set at a modest level, and you have the financial headroom to purchase truly exceptional audio gear, you probably need to pick another hobby that you fully resonant with. Like art?

Apparently my limit is just below 20K for my system but in my mind it should be below 10K. I'm apparently weak and rationalize more than I should.

Pretty simple: my audio system has to stay within the cost of my current sports car, < $125k. It’s a compromise my wife and I made years ago, 1 hobby can’t be more expensive than the cost of the other. Also, must pay cash for everything. Don’t have the cash, for house, cars, toys, no purchase.

@ghdprentice

@kennyc

yep …, well said, sirs! There is no “limit”,full stop. The ONLY factors are the thickness of your wallet, paired with the bespoke personal preferences in this crazy hobby.

@jbhiller

You express a good point about the merits of exhibiting a general politeness in a public forum, However I can also appreciate the point of view expressed of other readers… it may not have been intended by the OP, but this post can be viewed as little more than a dig of an upper tier product envy, that is not a good look in any case.

The muscle man on YouTube has about as much experience with hifi as I did when I was in my 20’s. His Wilson’s were not even set up properly by Wilson Audio or a dealer. He got them used and they were set up for the last guy’s room!
Anyway in terms of budget. You shouldn’t have one until you get the sound you want. You really need to spend what you need to spend to get the results needed so you don’t need anymore equipment after that. If you don’t get to the goal you are pissing in the wind chasing a fantasy dream instead. So if you get to your goal sonically who cares what it cost you? I never had a customer tell me their retirement dream costs too much!

My conscience wouldn’t let me go over 3 million USD. No matter how good it is, that’s my cap.

$25k speakers, $12k amps, $5500 Source, $7K BACCH 3D Software, $1250avg per cable, Acoustic Treatments $3500, Headphone Amp $8k, Headphones $6K

I have no regrets, and at 48 in poor health I give no F's

I can afford whatever I want...and what I want is what I have, and none of it is "self indulgent" expensive because I prefer things that sound good to me, and don't care what reviewers or pretty much anyone else thinks about it unless I agree with them. Schiit preamp and DAC, Pass Labs (XA-25, their cheapest amp and maybe their best sounding amp), Bryston Bit 15 conditioner (it has a lot of plugs) and other stuff. Horn speakers with titanium drivers, smoking jacket and those little fancy slippers, etc. Note that expense is relative, but there's great sounding stuff for less than $130,000 speakers that are simply drivers in a box. 

As many have said the answer is relative to a buyer's intensity for the hobby and financial worth 

with that said, the decisions I regret are not spending too much but passing on a component I really wanted that was just over the financial horizon so to speak 

that typically leads to early disappointment with a purchase and ultimately increased cost

@2psyop 

Which YouTube reviewer?

That is a loaded question , for example a $4k speaker n average only $1k goes into this including packaging ,this too applies to electronics ,the rest R&D overhead and markup, this why you truly spend what you can afford to spend , That  being said 

after say $50k on a Loudspeaker the differences to $75k maynot be as substantial say from a $5kto $15kLoudspeakers ,  the parts quality gets substantially better .

for $5k that’s a good starting point , you willnot have even average quality Xover parts ,and drivers ,cabinet meaning both speakers are roughly $525  each including the packaging ,sad but true .having owned. A Audiostore  MFG need to make this ,with Audiocables the profit margins on average far bigger . That is why lower priced items can be modded much easier .for Digital for example $5k is bare minimum for a good quality digital front end for example the exception $7k T+A 200 dac is a bargain vs even dacs at 2x the cost. digital cables say 2 Ethernet cables ,and usb$3k a good Ethernet  hub Sonore ,or uptone audio $550+ $750 for  A very  good linear powersupply such as the excellent Linear TubeAudio . + Audiocables another $2500+ minimum  everything adds up ,iam just speaking of a $50 k Audio system To many older audiophiles $50k is not  even close to a top quality sounding Audiophile System.I have been over many professionals homes near the Boston area with systems exceeding $150k , when i owned a store I spent $50k fora$100k system .I am now approaching 65 and just rebuilding and-just over $50k is my cutoff to get exceptional sound quality after That  you can do much better sounding still but ,at a very high cost , $$ diminishing returns . My point is don’t be frugal if you can afford more within reason. 

Let’s see… a decent integrated is 7k - 10k, speakers 12k - 16k min.  So if you avoid vinyl and shop cheap for all else you can do it for 25k. The system I use was put together over many decades with many false starts that cost money but in and of itself is only worth around 12 - 15 k and I would call it modest by any audiophile standards. T sounds pretty good tho. The more you can spend the less work you will have to do, hobby wise. Don’t! Write me about that last you guys.

Obviously there is a limit to what you are willing to pay. The limit however could be a trillion, billion, million, thousand, hundred dollars. Just don’t pay $1 please.

Can we exercise a little civility here? Why say this is a stupid thread? Why question why someone would ask a question?  Just move on if it's not for you--that's my humble view. 

Forums are digital quasi-equivalents of meeting places of yore.  The righteousness of those criticizing posters is tiresome. I'd prefer a forum where negativity is rare and the free flow of thought (regardless of merit to the thought) is promoted. 

I can think of a good chunk of reasons why someone would ask this sort of question.  

.... just trying to explore the myriad of routes we will go down to enjoy the music

Everybody's budgeting is different, doubtful if learning other routes matter for your decision process.  Some budgets are fixed while others can be flexible which usually correlate to each person's financial situation.  

My budget is flexible, but I have other financial commitments.  I've blown my budget a few times, usually trying to hit close to end game component. 

• I was over double my budget for my pre+amp because I wanted the reviewed reported sound included in TAS 50 Greatest Bargains in High-End Audio.  
• I went to AXPONA last year to audition speakers to purchase.  The 2 speakers I was targeting had tradeoffs - better high and midrange vs better balanced but muffled.  Another speaker that sounded great was double my budget. After the show, my dealer went to bat for me to get the great sounding speaker.  So I was over my speaker budget by 40%, but got a great deal on these demo speakers
• Never heard the storied Koetsu Coralstone cartridge which reportedly is the best Koetsu stone cartridge.  I was disappointed that the Coralstone is recently discontinued.  But I got a fantastic deal on a mint Coralstone Diamond so I purchased it justifying that it may be the very last opportunity to hear this cartridge.  
• After optimizing my analog chain, I'm working on my digital chain.  Top DACs, that can sonically be satisfying as analog, usually start around $40k : MSB, Linn, Aries Carat, Wadax, Lampizator, etc.  But the same Linn Organik DAC card in their $42k streamer+DAC is offered as a $7k upgrade for older model streamer+DAC.  So I purchased the Linn DSM/2 with the Organik DAC card upgrade.  I hit the sonic lottery!!

Bottom line - everybody's spending is different

The spending in our High-End Audio hobby is between sane and insane, systems costing equivalent to a car, house, and beyond.  Non audiophiles think we're crazy the way we spend, but that is the way of hobbies.  

I often bought used, traded, flipped stuff but I am at a point where my kids are grown and my bills are low.   That said , about two years ago I started a major upgrade.   

I spent more than i originally budgeted , but I am at the point where it sounds so good and I get so much enjoyment that it's immaterial.    

Biggest and best  purchase was a 300b amp by Toolshed Amps. I saved for over a year for that one.    Worth every penny.   It is a fantastic sounding amp.   The tone and transparency is addictive.   Build quality is over the top, heirloom quality.   It was a little more than my ceiling of $5000. That ceiling was broken when i spec'd Amorphous OPT  and a few other options .   It is so good I am having Matt from Toolshed build me it's companion DHT preamp.   

I expect this to be my last amp / preamp combo so I'm already saving money by hopping off the amplifier merry go round.  

I’ll have to ask my wife…

I will pay whatever it’s worth to me. 

Why do you care? Do the responses change your self imposed "budget"? 

It is a function of your income / value of sound quality.
 

I am retired. Right now my sweet spot is $35K for speakers and ~ $20K per component… about 8 of them. If my investment portfolio were to double I would double the investment in my speakers (to Sonus Faber Lillium) and preamp (Audio Research Reference 10)… maybe my amp (Audio Research 160m to Reference 320s)…

So, I guess for me it is generally financial. My system cost many times the value of my Lexus and 4Runner… audio, far more important than automobiles.

If I had it I would spend it...liberally but wisely, of course. The same goes for musical instruments and travel.

If I had the money there is literally no limit to what I would spend on a component. The most I’ve put into a single component now is north of 30K. That’s still a lot less damage than a divorce or any other myriad of bad choices men make in life.

It's all relative and depends on what you can afford and how important audio quality and music is to you. Your budget is a bit below what I would pay but there are people on this forum who can afford and do pay much more than I can afford.

"For me, I cannot see myself paying over $5K on speakers and likely not more that $3K on any other component...."

Nothing wrong with your stance.

You simply will not experience SOTA, but SOTA equipment isn't  SOTA without a proper setup/room and recording.

Makeup for not spending the money on equipment with the room and recording.

Never spend more than 70% of recommended retail price.

To all...thanks for responding. I can respect and appreciate anyone’s budget. And yes, I do really like audio and listening to music and can enjoy a really nice sound system. It is my thing. I am not trying to see who is rich, who is not.... just trying to explore the myriad of routes we will go down to enjoy the music. For me, I have been buying and assembling audio components since 1983. The most I ever paid for one component was $3400.00. But what was hinted at, it’s all relative to budget and everyone’s is different. But I believe, for me, I can’t pay more than a certain set amount. It’s really more about would I want to buy... say ...$40k speakers, even if they sounded like heaven. I would not. Again no judgement on those who do... enjoy the sound!

My top price is whatever fits my budget. So sad that even our government doesn't understand that principle. 

Today, if I had the money, I could easily double the investment in my system.  6 months after that, I could probably do it again 

IMO, Stupid thread ! What’s the point find out who’s privileged ? If you like the sound with the right pocket full,.. buy it. 

@baylinor I sense it's the opposite: who sets a limit regardless of their bank account based on what's the best value for one's ear

If you really wouldn't spend more than you say even if you were wealthy, I would say yes, you're crazy. That makes no sense to me.