CNC Programmer, manufacturing. I don't work for Boeing, but we make Boeing parts. Twelve years in the business, I'm 34. My system has a retail value of a little over $9000, but I have a little over $5000 in it. It's msileading because I can't listen all at once to my three pairs of speakers, or my two CD players, or my hybrid stereo amp, or my pure tube mono-blocs... So I have to say I have $9000 in equipment however, I can only listen to $5000-$7000 in one sitting. As you can see it's not brutally expensive (of course, this is a relative statement as you peruse this forum) but I have the "coolest" little system. Maybe I'll post it someday. In closing, if you're not going to state your income, then the question isn't being answered. The value of your system is only interesting relative to your income. I want to know exactly how "sick" you are, individually. I make a little over $60,000 and try to keep my debt in check. Take care.