Average system cost

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #60 on:** 1 Nov 2006, 08:21 pm »

Speakers cost me about $1300 in parts, preamp and power amp about $680 used, dac about $650 in parts, cables maybe $150 altogether. That makes it $2780 not including my computer as source (about $200 for the soundcard.)

Reading about gear that costs up to around $10k sounds right. Plus or minus a k or two wouldn't hurt.

jcrane · « **Reply #61 on:** 1 Nov 2006, 10:26 pm »

My current system sounds very good and didn't cost much. I am a HT guy to start with and that is where I spent most of the coin but I am eyeing a pair of Salk HT3s for my dedicated room in my soon to be built house.
Onix H34 - $600 (bought used but unit was a war. replacement so it was "new")
Stock SB3 -$250 (one of two bought with the $100 off 2 deal)
Cal Sigma II DAC - $250 (used/stock but ready for mods, traded for the other SB3 in the $100 off 2 deal)
Onix CDx88 - $250 (new but purchased as part of a package)
Onix X-ls - Free (run 229 but mine where free from attending the CO GTG last year)
Cables/interconnects - <$100 various cheap/DIY
So less than $1200 outlay. Will it win any awards, nope but it is a great tube based system that I enjoy.

Jamie

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #62 on:** 1 Nov 2006, 10:29 pm »

That's a nice high value system.

mjosef · « **Reply #63 on:** 2 Nov 2006, 07:00 am »

My stereo system is somewhere around 3.5 to 4K.
CA 540c > PS audio IV preamp > Response audio Signature3205 > VMPS RM1s. Plus AR turntable/Shure Vmr and a HK 5-cd changer and Bolder interconnects and Audioquest speaker cable.
Man..money sure do add up fast in this hobby.

macrojack · « **Reply #64 on:** 2 Nov 2006, 02:20 pm »

I think I've got high bang for the buck. Zu Def Pros ($10K including EQ) driven by a Red Wine Audio Signature 30 ($1399) on top and an NAD 2200 on the woofers $200 used).
Sources are a Sony DVP S7000 bought used 4 years ago for $200 running into a Red Wine DAC ($500 including digital interconnect). I use Zu Gede interconnects elsewhere and Zu Libtec speaker cables. I've got a fair amount of money tied up in assorted turntables and ancillaries and there is Kenwood KT 917 and a Panasonic plasma involved as well. Total invested is hard to say because of trades in the past. I'll guess about $20K for the entire rig.
On the one hand this doesn't sound bad, what with state of the art speakers and amplification and a quality 2 channel home theatre included and a very good analog rig too. But then, considering that is more than I make in a year, it begins to seem pretty damn excessive. Good thing this thread isn't asking for justification.

launche · « **Reply #65 on:** 2 Nov 2006, 02:26 pm »

Quote from: macrojack on 2 Nov 2006, 02:20 pm

I think I've got high bang for the buck. Zu Def Pros ($10K including EQ) driven by a Red Wine Audio Signature 30 ($1399) on top and an NAD 2200 on the woofers $200 used).
Sources are a Sony DVP S7000 bought used 4 years ago for $200 running into a Red Wine DAC ($500 including digital interconnect). I use Zu Gede interconnects elsewhere and Zu Libtec speaker cables. I've got a fair amount of money tied up in assorted turntables and ancillaries and there is Kenwood KT 917 and a Panasonic plasma involved as well. Total invested is hard to say because of trades in the past. I'll guess about $20K for the entire rig.
On the one hand this doesn't sound bad, what with state of the art speakers and amplification and a quality 2 channel home theatre included and a very good analog rig too. But then, considering that is more than I make in a year, it begins to seem pretty damn excessive. Good thing this thread isn't asking for justification.

I hope I am reading this wrong.

macrojack · « **Reply #66 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 02:46 pm »

Launche,
What's troubling you about my post? I proofread it and there's no error that I noticed.

woodsyi · « **Reply #67 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 03:17 pm »

Quote from: macrojack on 2 Nov 2006, 02:20 pm

I'll guess about $20K for the entire rig.
But then, considering that is more than I make in a year...

I think that's the part. If it's right, then you are probably right about being "pretty damn excessive."

chadh · « **Reply #68 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 03:51 pm »

Hey, no need to jump to conclusions here. For all we know his audio rack is made of gold ingots and his mattress is stuffed with $10,000 bills. If you're sitting on real wealth, who cares what your income is? Or maybe his wealthy mistress pays for his luxury condo, extravagant meals every night, the finest in health care, world travel AND an $18k annual stipend.

We all make our personal consumption decisions on the basis of our own private priorities and in the context of our own potentially complex (and completely PRIVATE) financial situations. I don't think any of us needs to justify his choices to anyone else.

On a purely personal level, I think he's living my dream! Who needs stinking food, shelter and medical coverage when you've got really good music? Seriously, when I moved recently, I looked at all of the stuff I had and wondered how much of it I really cared about. Certainly, little of it was actually needed. Some of it made life appreciably easier. But none of it made life better to the extent that the stereo does (except maybe my tempurpedic mattress). I wondered whether my life would be significantly worse if I sold the car and caught the bus to work, sold most of my books and started to use the library, bought my clothes at costco and never set foot in a mall again (a definite lifestyle improvement!), moved into a much smaller house etc. If not for the wife and kids, I think I could just about live with a whole lot of those compromises in order to have a wonderful sounding stereo.

By the way, I did a quick calculation and it seems that my current system has a MSRP of around $5000, but I probably paid $4000. Plus I have a headphone rig in the office which retails for around $1000, but I probably paid around $700.

Chad

miklorsmith · « **Reply #69 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 03:58 pm »

Great post, Chad.

BTW, if you did all that stuff, you'd be Srajan at 6moons! (if you could spin a yarn, that is)

Dmason · « **Reply #70 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 04:17 pm »

Chad,

I came to the conclusion a couple years ago that I didn't want to accumulate more earthly material goods than could easily be fit into a U Haul trailer, or could be fit into an average size shipping crate and lifted into the hull of a west-bound freighter of Australian registry. I have personally found freedom in less stuff than I was "conditioned" to, feathering a nest with. Part of that comes from being able to be outside 12 months of the year. If it were not for modern, highly effective antibiotics, I likely would have died this last winter. This will rearrange anyone's priorities. My re-evaluation fortunately came before this. Illness only confirmed things. This happens to people who survive illness.

My stereo system currently is made out of bits n bobs, but likely cost less than any of the systems mentioned here. On the other hand, there are people who would think me insane to spend $400 on EML tubes, to listen to a $5 Playstation. It is really all a question of priorities. I would take the bus before foregoing good sound. I value good bicycles over good cars. I enjoy the visits to the library, I buy clothes at Target, my car is a 1979 Benz, etc. None of these things "enhance" my life. My colleagues tend to enjoy their shiny upmarket German cars, but bitch about the payments, and attempt to live a materialistic lifestyle of conspicuous consumption that they are not any "good" at. While I enjoy good health and great music.

woodsyi · « **Reply #71 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 04:17 pm »

I completely agree that what people spend on their gear is no one else's business. That's why I don't post what I spent here on this post. I was merely pointing out the likely part of the post that "troubled" Launche and tacitly affirming macrojack's own admission of "excessive spending." Having said all that, I personally think of audio as a HOBBY which takes backseat in fiscal priority after even my dog's food. It's a rewarding hobby but still just a hobby.

Thebiker · « **Reply #72 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 04:34 pm »

Many of us build our systems one piece at a time, striving to do as much quality and synergy as we go. When you do it that way, it usually results in a rather large total price for the system.

And some of us, that just can't part with gear that we grew to love end up with multiple systems and the total dollar value is almost scary. I'm one of those (of course scary is relative to each person) that just creates an additional system for different areas, which is how I ended up with three tube based 2-channel systems in the house, plus a solid state HT.

Well, there are much worse addictions!

Daygloworange · « **Reply #73 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 04:34 pm »

Quote

I think that's the part. If it's right, then you are probably right about being "pretty damn excessive."

Woodsyi, I didn't take that comment in any negative way, I hope no one else did. I took it more as a " man, that's a dedicated hobbyist".

I agree with the comments about priorities, personally, I fit in with a lot of people here, where the joy of listening to music is a very spiritually important and uplifting part of my day to day routines. The quest for better sound reproduction is merely a means to an end with me, and not a materialistic one at all.

I don't really have a problem with the techno/scientist side of it either. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have all the great gear that's available out there.

I've been guilty of prioritizing my finances towards my gear many times, and with absolutely no regrets. To me, it is a priority. Just my two cents.

Cheers

miklorsmith · « **Reply #74 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 04:44 pm »

If the blingy Mercedes driver gets all the spiritual enrichment promised in the commercials, more power to those with the means. If it's to promote the Dmason "superconsumer" definition, well . . .

There's something to the ascetic aesthetic. I have three big financial weaknesses though - audio, mountain bikes, and children (not in that order). Can the Monk on the Mountain have just a couple of breaches of purity?

Doc, I didn't know of your grave illness. My sincerest best wishes and thanks to the miracles of medical science.

woodsyi · « **Reply #75 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 04:55 pm »

Quote from: Daygloworange on 3 Nov 2006, 04:34 pm

Quote
I think that's the part. If it's right, then you are probably right about being "pretty damn excessive."

Woodsyi, I didn't take that comment in any negative way, I hope no one else did. I took it more as a " man, that's a dedicated hobbyist".

Thanks. I certainly did not mean anything negative. Strangely enough, I thought about deleting the post thinking it's a hot potato topic. Then I reread my draft and posted it thinking I worded it and used quotation marks appropriately so as not to be misunderstood.... Or may be I just wanted a little spice to the usual Friday afternoon board ennui (TIC).

chadh · « **Reply #76 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 05:07 pm »

Woodsyi,

I should apologise if my comment came across as a real rebuke. It wasn't meant that way. It was more a cautionary comment, that Macrojack's spending decisions may not be as excessive as they seem (especially as the original comment was dangled out so provocatively).

Quote

BTW, if you did all that stuff, you'd be Srajan at 6moons!

Ahh Srajan...I've got to hand it to him. With the six moons venture, he's really managed to capture the imaginations of a lot of people. Whether you love or loathe his reviewing style, whether you agree with his conclusions or not, I don't think I've seen any other reviewer garner so many references online as this guy. Now his I find his asceticism only adding to his legend. He's obviously doing something right.

And Doctor Dan, I'm glad you're still with us! But let me know if you decide to load yourself onto that freighter bound for Australia. That's home for me, and I'd be happy to make some recommendations.

Chad

macrojack · « **Reply #77 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 06:49 pm »

It's about priorities. We eat very well, thank you, but all three of my cars combined are not worth as much as my speakers.
I'm a retired hippie and I've kept my audio life separate from the family budget. Thirty odd years of trading have provided me with an accumulation of audio hardware which is sometimes re-ordered to provide for something new. I sold medium priced speakers and expensive electronics and bought expensive speakers and very moderately priced amplification.
Now I need to move some turntables. Anybody need or want one? Most are direct drive.

Dmason · « **Reply #78 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 07:04 pm »

Chad,

Oz looms large on the event-horizon of possibility. Byron Bay is Ground Zero, with Hilo, 'Kai, all stones in the stream..There are milk runs and there are milk runs. And my services could be put to use in any of these gardens. Bikes, boards, and baffles, travel well. Life is short, and mine was foreshortened last winter, no doubt.

Enjoy the music folks, it is one area where $$$ is not wasted, no matter what, my vote. All the rest is fleeting, but the music will be around loooong after we depart. ...Depart, we will. Change, we must.

Berndt · « **Reply #79 on:** 4 Nov 2006, 02:22 am »

Funny, I used to race motorcycles professionally.
Nobody was talking about the price tag, everyone knew it cost 100%.
We talked about the racing, the tracks, and had the travelling circus vibe.
I notice a lot of audio guys are motor/motorcycle heads.
But I digress, motorcycles had consumables, the equipment was a fraction of the cost, so how do you really track the #?
My wife told me I spent 7500$ this year on "stereo stuff".
That includes a soldering station, VOM, solder and other consumables.
But anyways, I feel firmly hooked in my new hobby. When my friends come over and just want to sit back and listen to music all night I feel like I have done a good thing. I love plotting and planning and geeking out on new hardware or an old tuner or a.....
I could pare it down to a current value but that denies all the hours I speant researching, fixating on, and enjoying a new piece of gear.
Sorry for the run on sentences.