Cautionary Tale


“Don't waste your money on a new set of speakers
You get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers"
Next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways
It's still rock and roll to me”

Billy Joel, 1980

I am totally amazed at the current cost of high end home audio and music reproduction equipment that folks are literally spending small fortunes on. Maybe partly because of my socio-economic background, I have learned to make do with very little, which is reflected in my approach to my own systems and what those that I typically recommend and assemble for others. I have watched fads come and go like monster cable, turntable weights and any number of media cleaning solutions that can cost as much as a modest sound system, not so many years ago.

I bring this up because I can basically scrounge almost everything I need by patiently watching E-Bay and Craigslist plus shopping at thrift stores, putting something together that can evoke strong emotional responses (good ones, not sticker shock).

By that I mean you don’t need to invest $10K to well over $150K which apparently is the going rate right now for to get a “perfect” system. Even perfect systems are not really perfect for everyone or on every musical selection and the state of the art keeps moving. What about getting 98.5% of that emotional effect with something that can cost you a very small fraction of that cost? And let’s face it- live music really is best, so as an alternative, why not invest the money in live performances and concerts?

Granted, the consumer electronics industry has not made it easy to get all the basics without some searching – they have been busy cleverly removing things like the mag phono inputs and pre-out from amps, preamps and receivers so you either have to go to the older used stuff, stunningly expensive new electronics or you improvise. Also, the home theater/surround sound/DTS etc. industry has all but destroyed the ability to get a clean stereo signal thru an otherwise good quality multi-channel receiver.  

Back when the Beatles were in town, you could assemble decent tube-type amps and speakers yourself from kits or raw components giving you an amazing sense of accomplishment and some decent gear to start out with. Total outlay was often around $300 or $400 with a turntable. Fast forward to today. Even with taking inflation into account, the high cost of gear today is nowhere near justified but it’s apparent that’s what the market will bear.

I noticed that some of us have been around long enough to have some hearing loss or tinnitus or both. I have to say that in my case this has not significantly diminished my enjoyment of music and I have invested in good music-compatible hearing aids, but I have to take this into account when I consider justification for upgrading to that next step.

We are all aware of what we have invested. Question is, are we totally happy with the result and will we stay that way, or can we even really ever get there? Spock of Star Trek fame said “After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true”.

 

 


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15 minutes where ego rules supreme. Sure easy, our fish camp off Kitchen Dick Road in Sequim. It ain’t that exotic. I think I still have a case of Lost Mountain. Anyway good thrift shop score. Keep having fun. one of my four systems is pure vintage, all part of the fun.

The best system in the world is any good one not too costly and better than that, low cost, BUT  well embedded....(mechanical and electrical and acoustical controls)

I must already  own it.... 😁

People in general, it is a story that go back in the past,  wanted to pay to be assured by the eyes of others that their purchase is well worth it after all...Money act like a placebo....

Paying is often  a lack of confidence or simple materialism...

Happy new year.... 
Well, having been out of it (audioholics) for a number of years, I now find myself cooped up at home with my own toys.  Thirty years ago I didn't know what a phono stage was so I never thought I needed one.  I remember in  the 1970s cruising Electricraft Stereo in Seattle and the high-end room had stuff priced anywhere up to $1700 including the corner Klipsches.  You could get a complete setup including McIntoshes for under $4,000.

Looking at top end store websites now gives me a bit of sticker shock and since I really like the stuff I've accumulated (built around a Parasound HCA-1500A and new (to me) Cambridge Azur 540a with a Harman Kardon phono preamp). With my SMGa Maggies and modest belt-drive turntable and Carver sub I've only invested less than $2,000 and I get goosebumps all the time listening to familiar music. Of course each of us collects a repertoire of recordings that we like (and happen to sound good on our system) so the goosebumps are somewhat predictable. I guess to each his own.

Sequim is where we go in the summer, but last summer was shot because of the plague.  Hopefully will go again this summer.