Are you Guys Rich or What!?

ok, i'll ante up to get into this game. here's my hand: i've got one of them $50-100k systems that i've built up to for the past 30+ years. and, i'm damn proud of it, moral implications and all. you want it, you'll have to shoot me and wrest it from my cold, dead hands. FWIW, i betcha' i'm as left-leaning or more as anyone else on this thread. (just to give you some flavor: i not only lived through the tumultuous late 60's, i was already by then a lawyer, defending and bailing out the anti-poverty and anti-war protesters and going up against all the draft boards in iowa arogant enough to ignore the truly moral convictions of conscientious objectors; i never lost one of these cases.) nonetheless, after reading some of the really incredible pseudo-philisophical bullshit on this thread, i suggest audiogon add yet another category to their revamped list: post-marxist audiophilia. sure, i agree you can buy into an acceptable highend system for around $7.5k. but why should that fact limit the amount that is "morally acceptable" to spend to get a better sounding, or even better looking (to you), system? should noone be permitted to buy an armani suit, lest he then lust after ever-more exspensive italian clothes? ought we limit mercedes models available for sale to those under $75,000, fearing that doing otherwise will simply enhance the market for farrari's? give me a break guys. chances are, when you are economically able to move up the audio highend ladder, you'll not only do so but become a true beleiver in the republican party simultaneously.

Buy used! I NEVER thought I'd end up with the system I've got now, and if you told me two years ago what I'd have today I would have fallen out of the chair! I've got $25,000 in a system that at retail would be $47,000. Shop around, I surely do not regret a penny. I have a stressful job and a few hours a week listening can take away my stress. That you cannot put a pricetag on!

Whether the amount to spend is $7500, $10,000 or $12,500, it is clear that these amounts can bring you a lot of system, which, if selected carefully and bought used at a healthy discount, can compete with systems in the 50k and up category. A $100,000 system bought at retail with poorly matched components and with more attention paid to the price tag rather than the sound quality of the components will almost assuredly return less satisfaction than the system carefully bought at $7500, $10,000 or $12,500. In fact, I would cast a skeptical eye on any product which is priced ridiculously (20k amp, 15k preamp, 15k CD player, 30k speakers). Products like these are priced similar to a car. Think about the complexity of a car as compared to these products and tell me how they justify such a price. And although these products are usually very good, usually I have found they are not the best. Sometimes they aren't even good.

Im not rich. But I have more than one music system, and my first (cost about $7500 total, retail list about $13k, including Harbeth Compact 7s that I bought new for half of their USA list price) gets me pretty close to the feeling that I'm in the presence of this young lady named Eva Cassidy who passed away a few years ago and whose rendition of Wade on the Water could convert the Devil himself. Id rather spend my money there than on a more expensive car, or whatever else you might spend money on. Depends on what makes you feel good. Plsl, thanks for the story. I'm in your debt. Danvetc, email me about the Harbeths. Oh, and Thomas, you can get great sound for about $1,500. Try a used or demo Denon 1650ar cd player, new Acoustic Energy Aegis One speakers, and a used NAD or Proton receiver or amplifier.

I drive an older car. My system is under 10K. I don't change it that often, in fact I'm finally getting my second CD player in ten years. I take some of the money other people waste on cars and buy vinyl and cd's, and a new component every 18 months or so. It's cheaper than cars and more enjoyable, in my opinion. Also, good stereo components last years. I find music rewarding and a great way to unwind. I buy equipment to enjoy the music, not for the love of new gadgets. I think a person can easily buy a good stereo system on the money saved by putting off buying that new car an extra year.