[Elizabeth]

Sad to say I had spent about $40,000 in 18 months on audio....
Then I lost a connection I spent a good part of the day on, and wandering the internet FOUND something else.


Something else.
So yeah I spent $1600 on the new thing.. in 10 weeks.. But compared to audio? a super bargain.

I am actually listening to the stereo all the time WITHOUT THINKING OF CHANGING ANYTHING!!!

So you want to solve your audio dilemma? Find something else to do with your spare 'thinking'.
 

(I have to say I really cheated.. Since I DID spend a lot to get the system to were it is much better. But I needed a way to drop the chasing, and found it. Good Luck finding your out.

[FullRangeMan]

Audio is a bottomless hole.

[Wind Chaser]

Elizabeth

What is the new $1600 thing that has interfered with your passionate quest for the ultimate musical satisfaction?

[mhconley]

Audio is a bottomless hole.

Especially if you buy into the audiophile cable crap.

Martin

[FullRangeMan]

And in the vinyl era after a few listenings I had to throw away the discs

[dB Cooper]

I found that accepting that no audio system- no matter how expensive- delivers a perfect representation of live music was a revelation, and that once you start paying more attention to the music, and less to the system, music listening becomes a lot more enjoyable. I have found little correlation between price and musical enjoyability in systems I have heard at shows. Megabuck systems seem to be more about conspicuous consumption than musical enjoyment in my experience. I also rediscovered a strategy for experiencing the sound of live music: Go to live music events. Works like a charm.

[witchdoctor]

Sad to say I had spent about $40,000 in 18 months on audio....
Then I lost a connection I spent a good part of the day on, and wandering the internet FOUND something else.


Something else.
So yeah I spent $1600 on the new thing.. in 10 weeks.. But compared to audio? a super bargain.

I am actually listening to the stereo all the time WITHOUT THINKING OF CHANGING ANYTHING!!!

So you want to solve your audio dilemma? Find something else to do with your spare 'thinking'.
 

(I have to say I really cheated.. Since I DID spend a lot to get the system to were it is much better. But I needed a way to drop the chasing, and found it. Good Luck finding your out.

Best way to save money on...boats
Best way to save money on... gambling
Best way to save money on... sports cars
Best way to save money on..._________________

And on and on, so happy to hear you found what you needed but I feel really bad for people with those SUPER expensive/compulsive hobbies

[SET Man]

Hey!

   $40K in 18 months on audio? Wow! That's more than I've spent on my audio stuffs in the past 20 years!  Well, my system haven't much at all the past 10 years though and that's good thing. 

  So, what's your new addiction that cost $1600 in 10 weeks? Well, that's too rich for my blood still

Buddy

[Early B.]

The best way to stop spending money on audio is to take a sabbatical from AC. Stay away, Liz.

The addiction isn't in the audio purchases, it's in the false belief that someone else's gear sounds better than what you already have. The AC is much like facebook where people post about how super exciting their lives are, but it's actually just as mediocre as everyone else's.

 
 

[poseidonsvoice]

The best way to stop spending money on audio is to take a sabbatical from AC. Stay away, Liz.

The addiction isn't in the audio purchases, it's in the false belief that someone else's gear sounds better than what you already have. The AC is much like facebook where people post about how super exciting their lives are, but it's actually just as mediocre as everyone else's.

+1. But, before she goes can she tell us what she spent $40K in 18 months on? I’m with SET Man in his comments...”WOW!”

Best,
Anand.

[FullRangeMan]

IRS want to know.

[SteveFord]

That's an awful lot of Shakti Stones.

[NEWRIVERRAT]

I am actually listening to the stereo all the time WITHOUT THINKING OF CHANGING ANYTHING!!!

This is where I've been for the past year (doing this since the mid-seventies). How'd I do it, you ask? Quit drinking the Kool-Aid.

[veloceleste]

I try to keep my audio spending to zero sum. I try to sell something before I buy something. I'm not a flipper per se, I like to try different gear that may suit my chase but if I can't sell it for very close to or what I paid for it, I won't buy it. Brand new gear isn't even a consideration.

[Letitroll98]

I have the TV on as I'm perusing AC and reading this thread, and a commercial comes on for Austin Martin.  Their new car is on sale for only $1,799 a month on lease.  Would I get more enjoyment from the Austin over my Honda, sure, I guess.  Is it worth it?   Not with the amount I drive these days.  I actually got more enjoyment putting on new front brakes, something I haven't done in forty years.  That's where I am in audio, I get more enjoyment restoring an old Pioneer turntable for my son than getting some shiny new audio toy.

[Jazzman53]

Sad to say I had spent about $40,000 in 18 months on audio....
Then I lost a connection I spent a good part of the day on, and wandering the internet FOUND something else.


Something else.
So yeah I spent $1600 on the new thing.. in 10 weeks.. But compared to audio? a super bargain.

I am actually listening to the stereo all the time WITHOUT THINKING OF CHANGING ANYTHING!!!

So you want to solve your audio dilemma? Find something else to do with your spare 'thinking'.
 

(I have to say I really cheated.. Since I DID spend a lot to get the system to were it is much better. But I needed a way to drop the chasing, and found it. Good Luck finding your out.

The whole audio thing is a psychosis-- one example being a $40k system posted in the Cheap & Cheerful circle! (lol)

[JLM]

Wow!  Haven't spent $40k in the 40+ years at this even with my big splurge a year ago.  Ways to save money on audio:

1.)  Study audio fundamentals (knowledge will steer one away from constant flipping and chasing unproven claims).

2.)  Focus on biggest bang for the buck concepts (like active speakers or having a decent/dedicated room).

3.)  Ignore all the snake oil (boutique wires of all kinds, virtually every tweak, all the forms of eye candy).

4.)  Go with a streaming service versus buying albums (will help discover new music and focus on music versus gear).

5.)  Keep your system simple (better synergy, less wires, lower cost, less focus on gear).

6.)  Find references (friends, reviewers, experts, manufacturers) you agree with and ignore the rest.

7.)  Realize that 90% of the sound quality of a top of the line system can be had within the Cheap and Cheerful guidelines.

[deadhead]

I got back into audio so I'd stop spending money on wine.....

[Delpo]

I got back into audio so I'd stop spending money on wine.....

It’s an investment right until the moment you drink it!

[dB Cooper]

This is where I've been for the past year (doing this since the mid-seventies). How'd I do it, you ask? Quit drinking the Kool-Aid.

Think about it... To exist, the audio industry needs you to become dissatisfied with your system... regularly. (Or grow its audience, which it isn't doing).

While $40K sounds like a lot (and is, IMHO), at the last show I tallied the list prices for, the average system cost (excluding the now-obligatory boutique cabling) was >$58K. I don't know what that is, but I'm not sure it's a 'hobby'.