software/systems engineer |
I'm a 32 year old printer. I've worked a hell of a lot of hours for many years. My system is currently at $32,000. When I was 24 my system was around $12,000, so I guess I've had a high end system from a somewhat early age.
I don't know If anyone else can relate to this but, I noticed that the more expensive my system became over the years, the less time I have to listen....go figure. |
Corporate Director - Health, Safety & Environment for an oil company. 38 yrs old, $21k system retail, paid $12k thanks to Audiogon & eBay! |
I install and service medical instruments, 41 years old. |
I currently work for an Airline, build, modify, and repair kick ass turbine engines! |
I am a disable Vet. by day and an exotic male dancer by night.
I just turned 68 years old , but have been told I have the body of a 50 year old.
I use my tip money to buy my equipment.
I have alot of money in my system but cannot bring it home . The club seems to need it more that me... |
65 year old retired optician, surfboard shaper, ceramicist (what I went to school for) System retail $34,140 paid through Audiogon mostly $17,440!!! |
I am 25 and presently working as a broker for a logistics company. |
I am a 46 year old Architectural Photographer. I don't own an 80K system, and never will. My vintage hifi (Citation amp/preamp, Dual 1229 turntable, Grace 747 arm, Sony TC 755 reel to reel, Advent 201A cassette deck, Nakamachi OMS 4 cd player) keeps me happy. I listen daily, and love what I hear. My advice it to purchase ONE system that you can enjoy for years and years to come. Too many audiophiles get caught up in 'upgrade hell' and begin to listen for 'things, and nuances and palpability?' instead of enjoying the music.
Save yourself now.. while you're still young.
Norman |
-Online Poker Player
-23
My system is worth roughly 50k. |
46 Traffic Inv (traffic cop) Ive been buying stereo gear since 1980. I've probably spent about 20,000.00 including music rough estimate. I'm still not done but i'll will get a hearing test before I spend more then 10 large on better speakers. |
41...Elem Teacher...12k list...5k invested. Retail prices are a joke. |
52; Chief Engineering Officer U.S. Merchant Marine. I operate & repair the engine rooms of steam and diesel ships: Tankers / Freighters / Cruise / Container. As much as I've tried to take extra extra care of my hearing, I suffered a great deal of HF loss in my left ear due to 4 months of watch standing next to a high pressure steam turbine that had bad gearing during my early twenties. My greatest regret since going to sea - physically speaking. Presently contracted on a slow speed diesel tanker carrying jet fuel on the US West Coast. |
Veterinarian and Animal Hospital Owner, Jacksonville, FL 49 years |
28, Attorney/Recent Graduate |
I work as a maintenance mechanic at a nuclear power station repairing pumps, valves, ventilation systems and other piping components. I will be 45 in a couple of weeks. My system retails for about 30k and I have about 17k invested. |
I'm 25. Plan Administration Manager for a large Retirement Services provider. |
A 52 year old environmental consultant and supervisor in the Western Canada upstream oilfield. Setup now with Plinius, Cyrus, Linn and (soon to be) Tyler. If part of your survey, about $15K current. |
52 years old , Medical Doc specialized in Dentistry
I live in northern Italy |
39 years old. Music producer in a broken down industry. Ive spent 6 mil on my studios an stereo gear. Documentroom.com |
I'm a 47 year old surgeon. Recently just started getting back into high end stuff. Still have a pretty inexpensive system, only about $7500 list prices. Works well for me- until it literally burned up last night. |
33 yr old patent examiner w/ Canadian gov. |
46 years old. Substance abuse counselor in a methadone clinic. Current system @ about 5K. |
I am 52 YRS old. Electrical Engineer. Masters degree in Information Systems. Married, no kids. Work for DoD.
I have two systems plus a home theater system. Primary system is made up of McIntosh components, VPI turntable, Legacy Audio speakers. The secondary system (in bedroom) is made up of all McIntosh components, Totem Acoustics speakers, plus a LCD TV. The home theater system is made up Denon electronics, Totem Acoustics speakers and a Panasonic Plasma TV. Call me crazy, but a buy must have some form of Hobby... I also collect vinyl records (LP), my wife think I am crazy. I clean the records on my Nitty Gritty machine when she is at home, but I listen to the records only when she is not at home. No Distraction!!!! |
About 10K mostly used gear just counting the main system only. Man some of you guys blow my mind. |
Oh yea my age 59 I guess I had a senior moment in my earlier comments. |
47. medical sales. 2 channel $22,000 HT add $10,000 more |
34.
I'm a sports marketing professional in the bicycle industry. Somehow I landed in Germany earlier this year for work, and have decided to make this home.
My current system isn't even mine. I was sharing a place with a guy who worked for our German sales office and he moved out but left the system. Get this it's a Pioneer A-77X receiver, 2 MB Quart QL 502 S speakers, and my Hp laptop iTunes through the headphone jack. I laugh at it everyday, but it sounds decent for my needs.
At home in the US (a fully furnished bach pad if anyone is looking to buy a place in Milwaukee) i would guess the retail price on my equipment is about $10k - $15k. TV included. I'm a music enthusiast and watch a lot of movies. Not an audiophile by any means. I raced cars for some years and I think I burned up my ears a little doing that.
I come here because I find it amusing that people would spend upwards of $50k on audio equipment. J/K I actually appreciate the craftsmanship and industrial design of the high end stuff.
Cheers from Germany |
I am 44 y.o attorney. I am a music nut who has always appreciated hi-fi, but has only gotten the bug in the last 3 years or so. My system retailed for approx. $27k, although I paid much less. As I officially have the bug, the price/value will soon be going up.............. |
35 year old attorney in Chicago.
$6,000 system, give or take $500.
Creek 5350 se
Roksan Radius V with Roksan Chorus cart.
Rotel RCD 1062 cd player
Paul Speltz's affordable anti-cables
Some positively reviewed (like 10 years ago) but cheap (<$50) Ixos interconnects
Apple Airport Express |
Currently unemployed for 15 months as of mid Dec. 2009 and am 41 years old, married for over five years, and a new father with our first child, our son Richard. I typically do computer aided drafting (electrical and mechanical) using Autocad and am learning Solidworks at home since November of 2008. I can't find a job that I am qualified for if I had to. Not getting the BSME degree was a huge mistake. Ironically, I do loudspeaker design as a hobby and have tried every reputable company in the USA and some in Canada too. |
Yea me and my girl lost our jobs mid Dec 08.I was in construction,she account..We are in our 40,s & live in Calif. Spent Over $15,000 on first system. 5.1.Had to be better then 2.1 .Just OK sound.Did some due diligence& now have an excellent sound from some great pieces that cost under $1000.The incredible sound is close to a $100,000 rig i was dreaming about.I thought I.d have to start a new profession. |
32, IT Consultant, basically I sell web hosting and the internet. |
55 yr old; oil refinery manager currently but been in oil refining last 33 years. system is still evolving focusing on analog upgrades over las few years |
Former Marine, retired, now a photographer. Age 62. I do landscape photography mostly in fall and winter in Montana, Wyoming and the Black Hills. |
Chstob: You really made me laugh! |
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50. Sell books,databases to schools (20 years). Bachelor's in Philosophy/Poly Sci. Been at this since I was 16. About 35k retail and paid 15k. Have had 45k invested and the 15k sounds better. (Can't do that with any other addiction). I have found that my 7 year old son has the best musical instincts of anyone I've met. We love to listen to music together (while he plays with his Legos of course). |
RGD:
It's those last 6 monts of being forty that is the killer.... |
Wow this is an old thread...
Now its 6 months shy of 50 and I'd give my eye teeth to be back where I was at when I first posted... |
50, commercial director, and about 40k spread across a six-zone Sonos system. |
Many things - I studied as an architect so I've spent some time there but I've also designed sets for rock music festivals, rock bands, television and theatre. I have been a university professor at two universities, spent about five years working at a software company, worked as a technical consultant to a computer animated cartoon, did thematic design for a casino and various other architecture and design related projects. A long time ago I wanted to be a musician until I realized that I wasn't that good and basically I'd starve to death eventually.
I'm 43 now and I've decided to stop working for the time being to focus on our children and life in general. I have some health issues that I need to focus on and my music hobby helps me with that. I may return to work one day but I doubt it. If I did I think I'd like to try something different anyway. I like variety in my career.
I've had three main systems in my life thus far.
The first was when I was a university student in the middle 80's and I think I had about $10k into it with a Maplenoll turntable as the front end.
The second was a simple digital front end with an integrated amp driving hybrid electrostats. This lasted from the mid 90's to about 2003 and it was about $12k.
After that I started building the system I have today which is finished (finished = no more major additions or alterations as I'm happy with it). It's a two channel system in a dedicated room and the list price would be somewhere around $265k although I've purchased a few pieces used and others have increased in price significantly as of late because of the US dollar so, the real value is more like $193k. It took seven years to get here but it was working in some capacity throughout the build.
I've loved all the systems and enjoyed them a great deal. I've collected a number of LP's although I try to keep it to around 3,000 recordings at a time. Another 800 or so on the computer (CD's and HRX files) and I'll have 20 reel-to-reel tapes from The Tape Project. I've never stopped to calculate the value of the music because to me it's like food. You've got to have it! |
Project Controls Manager - Process based projects
28 years old
Spent about $8,500 on HT so far (including TV).
Mostly bought this stuff used on ebay and A'gon.
Retail would have been ~$12,000. |
50 year old Security Guard for a Fortune 500 company. I've been interested in stereo equiptment since about the age of 18. I took alot of years and alot of overtime to get my system where it's at today. |
QA Analyst for the worlds largest Options Exchange. Music has defined my personality since the age of,,, I guess around 5. Stereo equipment has always been an important part of my life. At the age of 14 I believe had one of the first 3 prologic AVR's (pioneer vsx-9700S) to hit the market. I may have been the only kid in the country at the time (1991) with a full blown home theater in there 15 x 15 bedroom. (Yamaha center channel, Advent prodigy tower II’s, Advent indoor/outdoor for the rears and a Yamaha sub).
Led Zeppelin "The Song Remains The Same" on laserdisc was legendary throughout my circle of friends.
Now my system is a very modest 7K of two channel delight! |
I am a retired FireFighter of 21 years. I now work at a major automotive plant as a second career. 46 years old. |
29. U.S. Navy - Combat Systems Firecontrolman - Aegis Computer Network Tech.
I make just enough to play. |
Update...unemployed...2 yrs older at 43...system still lists approx 11k...less than 5k invested. Going through MANopause. |
Hai ,my age is just 42, i am from Amsterdam / holland ihave my own business as a factorymechanic in which i solve mechanical poblems .
I also design loudspeakers . |
