Don't drink, boat, snowmobile, fast cars, expensive meals, golf. All comparable hobbies in cost. Seek out bargains and used. It can be one and done or a roller coaster. It can be detective work, engineering, OCD or neurosis.
members and their systems
for the short time I have been on here, I see that members will start a thread asking about a certain piece of equipment or speakers.. they will then buy that piece of equipment / speakers, start a thread about it saying how good it is and then next thing you know, they are starting another thread asking about another piece of gear as they are looking for something different. what happened to that piece of gear that was so great ?
i get the whole buying thing....but where are members getting the money to do all of this stuff ? do they not have other bills such as rent / mortgage payment, car payment, other bills to pay for also ?
i get the whole buying thing....but where are members getting the money to do all of this stuff ? do they not have other bills such as rent / mortgage payment, car payment, other bills to pay for also ?
223 responses Add your response
@tomic601 ...Thanks, getting sprung from Hotel Hospital today @ some point. *G* Playing my Spotify playlist on the laptop in room now to 'speed up' the process. The night shift likes my mess, the day crew doesn't seem to have an opinion... Likely is gritting teeth and remaining 'professionally diplomatic' about it. We've both have more serious matters and wretched bodies to deal with in our ways, after all....;) |
"So exactly what is "social" justice, anyway? I mean, besides virtue signaling." Hmm, might want to move into the current world, and learn about more than what net worth means... Some folks even believe in causes other than audio. I think the OP's question was fine. To me it was more of a "How does one balance all the other normal expenses to achieve the goal?" Like MC and others, I too packed my lunch every day when I did not need to. I paid off homes early (if financially wise). Cars never floated my boat so I kept the old Acura for 29 years. Luckily no kids/college to sweat. I also carefully bought a lot of good used gear over the years. Finally, as an audio cheapskate, I fortunately had three sets of mint speakers to trade (w/min. cash) to achieve my current used speakers. I totally get the question; I had it myself in my 30s and 40s when still building towards my current gear. Plan as best as you can; good luck! |
In rereading the question...My bills are simple - my mortgage. My resource allocation for money is simple too. I save a portion of my money for 'fun money' and that is what I have used to spend on audio equipment. That fun money is purely discretionary and also the money I use for vacations, eating out and such. I have created a path to my 'goal system' that I discussed with my audio dealer. And I often buy demo gear - I've even been asked if I would be interested in gear someone was considering trading in. My advice is simple - don't let your stuff own you. I do like cars, audio equipment and other than that I don't spend significant money on other things. |
I'll take this sickness any day over the one that commits small fortunes to an RV or a boat. I can enjoy my sickness every day of the year! Boats and RVs, not so much for most. Talk about the most enjoyment possible for the dollar? Give me my stereo, cheap in my eyes, if not in others. "Walk Between the Raindrops" and its album, a favorite too. Go Donald. |
Most people dont figure for themselves that it is MAINLY acoustic that make a system great, at any cost.... Then with a low cost system, rightfully acoustically controlled, you will listen music for the first time in your life with a really great sound, filling the room, and you will forget about costly upgrades...It is my experience... But if you cannot fix the acoustic, nothing will sound great really, and you will chase your tail... After some years and richer, you will boast here about how your 100,000 dollars system sound great and " perhaps" better than mine if the room is acceptable one... But mine is really good and i dont give a damn about 100,000 bucks system, especially in a non controlled room.... This is the only thing i learned reading audio threads and trying to create my own paradise... I dont boast about my average system, it is an average good one only, i spoke about acoustic, mechanical and electrical noise floor controls... Audiophile experience did right could cost peanuts..... Basic elementary science cost nothing, ignorance could be costly.... I am not so intelligent tough i would had taken the same road if could have take it , i just dont had the money to make the same error which is made by most: upgrading....The only thing i could do few years ago very frustrated, it is thinking about it and how to make it at no cost full time.... Never mind the sound, life is sad without music; but Gosh! how music is greater with a good sound....That was my obsession... Generally i am very patient, some problems are in my head for 40 years....Perhaps i will never solve them.... Audio was more easy.... Think acoustic...... My best to all.... «Why do you listen music through the wall Groucho?»-Chico Marx «We need ears, not speakers Chic.»-Groucho Marx |
@tomic601 , @ et al.... I can't count to 20 anymore....*L* Oh, well.... Think I'll carve a wooden little toe from purpleheart to fill the gap in my shoe...start a nuevo fashion trend, barefoot w/StyleStubs...make the foot fetish fans freak 'n frenzy.... FOOT FILLERS! "With our red-hot poultry shears, we can take your ugly feet to Fashion Fab!" (Not recommended for those of low pain thresholds; high yield pain killers available for the weak of will....). Groucho was Not listening to music....*evil S* Long ago, far away, the Mz. of my affections learned that the fem of the couple in the next apt. liked to listen with a wine glass to us making 'affectionate noises'. Not long after, they returned the 'favor', squeaking bedsprings.....for about 30 seconds.... P turned to me..."That's It?! Damn, that's sad...." We both started laughing...loudly.... Acoustics are what you make of them.....*smirk* ;) |
@mesch ....Yeah, it was an old building and the rent was cheap.*G* My spouse to become on her 1st encounter with that studio later opined that she could trust me because my bed was made and I had a healthy and friendly cat... ...and at that time the couple 'next door' had moved on....*L*;) 'Lack o toe' is doing nicely, thanks. The pain meds have an interesting side effect....'speedy', which is OK with this old hipster tyke...*G* Doesn'tseemtoeffectmytypingatalllllllllllllll...*LOL* Since the MDs' gave me 90 of them, I'm going to try to 'utilize' them to get some work in on my DIY speaker projects....along with the usual daily work..... Stand back, y'all....."Warp 20, Sulu.." *Pow*G* |
My senseless humour helps me.....tolerate....this....planet.....*fists clenched*gritted teeth*eeerrrrRRRR* Hearing from the PD in Atlanta that the idiot that shot those folks 'was having a bad day' made spouse and self pause... "NO, BS! The ones' he shot had the bad day, not to mention anyone that was there to see it go down! Jez.... 'I'm depressed, so I think I'll go out and off some women....' " Why not just suck the barrel and let it go, slick? Save us from yourself....;( Live it or live with it....damn....*fume* |
It took a while but eventually I assembled a system that gives me near continual satisfaction. I now only enter the market when something breaks, obviously wears out, or when a new technology both comes of age and becomes affordable. I've even reached a shaky détente with my unquenchable lust for buying musical instruments. |
@keegiam, aewarren, 'and all the ships at sea' (for those of you who remember That phrase...*L*)... Nearly Everything I own is used, or has been about me for decades in some cases; it was SOTA then, and it still is, spec-wise. The exceptions: -IC's; most cables and speaker lines are new....not fancy, but capable. -A digital crossover (beats a bunch of individual boards) -A digital splitter/mixer, for my own devious (and perhaps demented) purposes...and Yes, I heard that...*L* -A purpose built computer for audio only that'll boot your laptop into a corner. It works in conjunction with an older one that basically monitors what's going on... The 'freeware' I run is able to accomplish nearly Everything I can consider doing in an audio environment, including mine. Like some 'hot rods' and 'rat bikes' of my (and likely your) past... ...'tain't 'pretty'....but It Works. Real Well, thanx. J |
@aewarren...*S* I'll assume a friendly suggestion re: https://www.naimaudio.com/products Nice....*S* New or used, natch....we all have our prefs about 'stuff'... I run such a weird batch of things that most likely consider me brain and ear damaged. *L* But, they're meant for flexibility vs. 'absolute performance' and they make me happy....which, in the end is my interpretation of the Concept. 'Concept' being Why we do what we do, audiophilia-wise. *S* Currently, I'm in a space that is hardly 'perfect' in terms of 'proper' acoustics, and will never be such. A steel building with 13' ceilings, plywood walls, concrete floors, and various 'n sundry STUFF about my speakers. So I cope with it... 'High-end' here would cringe. *LOL* I'm so used to dealing with 'problematic spaces' that I hardly blink anymore.... ;) Hey, it's Fryday! Yay.... |
I absolutely NEED this shirt..... https://www.lightinthebox.com/en/p/men-s-t-shirt-hot-stamping-animal-print-short-sleeve-daily-tops-1... That about sums my 'tude up.....*LOL* Cheap, too.... ;) |
aewarren, "Did you understand glupson’s post about Naim? I didn’t!" It attached to "I recently bought a complete Mark Levinson audio system and the dealer threw in a Lexus." (which I think was a funny comment) Naim For Bentley | Car Audio Systems | Naim Audio I would also recommend Burmester. Both are great applications in given environment. Bugatti EB 16.4 VEYRON (burmester.de) |
My Dad told me that I could make more money in five minutes by marrying a rich woman than I could in a life time. I didn’t listen All the money I did make I spent on lunch. Like many here I have friends in the business and that’s what aids in the gear that once was the be all and end all getting replaced. |
@millercarbon - no cell phone??????? How can you live in the 21st century? What if your car breaks down? I'm not saying you even need a smartphone. You can get a non data phone meant for people who don't know what the internet is for as the famous @mahgister would say is "peanuts". I'm sure your must be joking. As far as the original post, I've been incrementally upgrading very s l o w l y over the past 39 years which has lately accelerated a bit since the kids are finally off the payroll (physician daughter was a marathon). I try to always make the newest component the best of the system, buy demo or used in new condition and don't collect the stuff. When I'm done with item it's traded in or sold outright. There are all types on AG. $500 systems to $500K systems. I cringe when I hear people looking for $30K speakers or $50K amps, but I have no idea about their financial situation or their values. They could be lottery winners, or wall street types. It could be like Monopoly money to them and they are keeping up with the Joneses. Last I checked it's a free country. |
Thanks @mitch2. Much tougher for her - I just had to write checks. She probably will have to take care of me at some point (hopefully later than sooner). She has another year+ in her residency and then a 2 year fellowship, (after 4 yrs of med school and almost 2 years of residency) and all the hypochondriacs in the family are already bugging the crap out of her. @glupson - Porsches are actually more reliable than you think (watch .... I'm probably jinxing myself and my 10 year old one will have a problem next week) but MC could still get a flat tire. With those low profile sticky tires unfortunately we get lots of flats. I guess he carries a portable tire inflator. He could have some other type of emergency. He is the only person I have heard of that has no cell phone. No texting....wow. Just cause the non-data flip phones are meant for the tech deficient doesn't mean that thrifty people can't use them. |
I think it's a perfectly reasonable question and there are many reasonable answers in the thread about who saved up how. I suggest next time someone posts a question for "what speakers should I buy, my budget is 10K - and I got the money from my uncle, I knew where he hid the cash for the speakers he was planning to buy, so I don't have in on my W2" :) |
I'm not sure why I would ever buy anything new except for a phono cartridge. Having said that, for my office system, I bought a Schitt Mani new, but that was $107. Not exactly hi-fi prices. Everything else - speakers, amps, tonearms, turntables, cables - I can buy used or demo and not worry about depreciation. |
People put loads of money into all types of things. Fishing for example, be it fresh or saltwater. Look at all of the ordinary Joes who have a bass boat parked in their driveway. Someone who is seriously into bass fishing has at least a 50K investment in just the basics. There are Hundreds of thousands of rabid Bass fisherman/women out there. The same with Hunters. I've seen guys with gun collections which are incredible and the amount of money they spend is up there. Harley Davidson lovers, Hot Dodders, etc.. very easy for these guys to have spent anywhere from 50-100K on their passions. People who drop serious change on audio equipment are not odd ducks. There are different passions out there spending like money. |
Spending a lot on fishing, hunting, biking, automotive gear is understood and considered normal. Big spending on audio equipment sounds idiotic to many, when in fact it is all quite idiotic. Unless, of course, you have nothing better to do. Then it makes some sense. $100k and that's enough, people, moderation time. |
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I suspect accumulation is the key to how many get to higher priced systems. I started out many years ago asking the same question; all this high priced equipment, how can people afford it? Starting out with beginner equipment, over many years buying mostly used and selling the old I can afford the more expensive. I sometimes look at the total retail on my equipment and wonder how I got here! For some of us it takes nearly a lifetime to get to sound quality we could only dream about decades ago. |
There is a true story of a famous reform (the least traditional type) rabbi who gave a sermon in Toronto, Canada in the '70s. He recounted he read a story in the press somewhere of a middle-class lady being interviewed about her sexual habits vis a vis her husband - in some detail. Which she fully answered apparently with little care. At the end of the interview, the questioner asked, "There's just one last thing, how much is your total annual income?" Her reply: "Don't you think that's a little personal?" The question as you've asked, birdscantrow - flirts with titillation more than it needs to. The setup as to why people switch so readily has some very interesting psychological undertones that you then refuse to ask about. If you had & then added besides I'm curious where audiophiles get all this money from, it becomes more overtly sociological/psychological in all sorts of interesting ways. As it is, you come across more like the little boy with his nose pressed to the store window salivating for the rocking horse behind it. The prioritizing of resources to fund audio & the various demographics involved is not an uninteresting question, but given this is primarily a more directly audio forum with some related issues as well, linking it to some of these more substantial issues would've gotten you much more enlightening responses. |
sokogear, "Just cause the non-data flip phones are meant for the tech deficient doesn’t mean that thrifty people can’t use them." I think that millercarbon mentioned somewhere that he does not have a phone with a plan, revolving kind I assumed. I might have imagined that, though. I have a few phones for guests that I reload from time to time instead of having a revolving plan. I am one of those who does not have a so-called "smartphone". It is not because of technological deficiency, although I do not claim proficiency either, or because of thriftiness. In fact, my phone cost me more than many pay for their brand new iPhone with a plan. Newer "smartphones" are too large to be convenient, while too small to be comfortable to read from. I like to be away from the Internet so "you can always be online" that I hear often is not appealing either. There are more issues, but I will not go into them. I have actually heard that Porsches are quite reliable and my comment was only because in millercarbon’s world there is no place for imperfections of Porsche, Tekton, Raven, and whatever else. |
@glupson - I didn’t think of the burner phones. They are mainly used by drug dealers, but I guess they can be more economical than a monthly plan. You don’t have to be connected all the time if you have a smart phone. You just turn notifications off. You can go on .the web when you need to. Like directions, ordering at restaurants without waiting in line, and texting, which I fought for a while, but it is actually very efficient. Porsches are very reliable. Something like 60% of every 911 EVER made is still on the road after like 60 years. The difference with Porsche versus Tekton, Better Records and his other commercials he spouts is that MC doesn’t get any special treatment for promoting them. FYI - I don’t like the big smartphones because they don’t fit in a pocket easily and I get criticized because I still have an iPhone7. I think they are up to 12s now. I like the size of the 7 best, and if I need something bigger, I use my wife’s extra iPad (worst case, my lap top). In some situations, they are actually required. Some restaurants’ menus have to be accessed via a QR code and some teams only issue tickets electronically and they scan your smartphone to enter the venue. If you leave the house much I would recommend you give it a try. You might like it. You can even read Audiogon on it and post! |
sokogear, That is interesting fact about 60% of all 911s ever made still being on the road. I doubt they have never been repaired, though. Some years ago, I stopped by some car heading for auction. It was a little Ferrari. I think it sold for $12 000 000 or some number towards that. Eventually, I read its history, which was some read, and it was not even the same color like what it started as. I know, that is an extreme example. Going back to cell phones, I actually need to use the phone quite often and current phones are not only large, but also do not sit on the face that well. When someone hands me their phone, I feel like I am slapping myself with a brick. As far as texting goes, it is easier on a non-touchscreen phone. I can do it without looking at it. Maybe those are real "touchphones". You feel what you want to press. I do have an iPod Touch and, note this, a SONY Z5 Compact phone that has no phone service (a friend gave it to me) and that I use as a remote control for my server/streamer, weather forecast, and some silly Coronavirus screening, all on Wi-Fi. That is how I know my fingers are too big, letters are too small, phone is too big, etc. I noticed menus in restaurants, but they usually have a paper menu for a few of us who keep up with times, just not with these times. So, I actually understand why someone stays away from the phone like millercarbon does. However, it is not the way to retire rich. As I had mentioned before, my half-yearly phone bill costs me like a White Hot Stamper record that I bought out of curiosity, and not out of passion. |