What is the current retail cost of your reference system?

My system is captured in my profile. It’s as much as a nice car not including music media - $75k or so

I enjoy music and I share with friends. The amount I spend is irrelevant because I enjoy when someone else shares their system with me. Consequently the cost is less important than the passion to me.

grislybutter

That is unfortunate...

Being a CPA I have an affinity for numbers. The interesting aspect of this thread for me, aside from the usual morality plays, are the percentages across components.

I am in the camp of allocating the highest percentage to speakers (50%). The next is my turntable/cartridge (11%), followed by power, pre, SACD/DAC (all 9% each). Sub (6%), interconnects (3%) and streamer (3%).

Price paid $40k, current retail $60k. I love my system.

I too thought the percentages were interesting, and I do keep a spreadsheet although I gave up on calculating losses selling gear. I bought everything I have now new.

I dont like sharing how much I paid for anything, but I've listed all components in my profile.

Integrated Amp 15%

TT 15%

CART 12%

Phono stage 9%

Speakers 31%

Streamer/DAC 7%

Cables 6% (This would be much higher if I didn't switch mostly to Zavfino, sold the more expensive Nordost cables)

Isolation 5%   

Three observations:

1. For costing out a system, MSRP is an irrelevant number.  I am encouraged by how many people have bought used or at a model closeout, as I did in assembling my systems.

2. No matter whether the system is 4 or 6 digits of expense, part of the fun is seeing how far your budget can take you.

3. (irrelevant) Some years back some economists studied the transaction prices of cameras on eBay.  Looking at the unconditional distribution of prices (that is, ignoring which camera it was, etc.) they saw that it had two peaks: One around $200 and another around $800.  Of course different people have different needs, and there is a distribution of budgets out there, but nonetheless, why a bimodal distribution.  Further research uncovered that the piling up at $200 came about because that is what men thought they could get away with without disclosing price to their wives.  The question I wished the OP had also asked is, "How many of you are candid with your spouse about how much you spend?"