Guilty Pleasures....

I sometimes feel guilty (especially after dropping $18K on amps) but I have a very understanding wife. I make sure I pay all the bills, put money away for retirement, and provide everything my family needs first. I have been lucky in that I have the means to devote resources I have into this whacky hobby. Overall, this is my chosen hobby and make me happy which in turns helps make me a better husband and father...hey that sounds pretty good. I need to make sure I remember that so I can use it on my wife the next time I want to buy something big....:)

i don't feel guilty at all. this hobby is about a challenge to create a presentation that i enjoy, and having attained that would not find it necessary to search for other components. the sound i am looking for is not the sound most people want.

i realize that in terms of life's priorities, there are many others which are more important and i try to keep this fact in perspective.

i don't obsess about my audio interests in the presence of other people. it is a very private hobby. fortunately, i don't listen for hours and ignore evrything else that is going on around me.

Dewald
Hmmmm.......with due respect, your Mother always understand. She has probably been there, done it & everything else. I think it only make sense to rationalised with her "disagreement", if there is any & perhaps communicating more at the same level & compromise on any differences.
All the best....

Whatever the guilt feels like, Dewald, and it can feel horrible, you don't have to use it to beat up on yourself. Developing a radical turntable and tonearm is sure to teach you a lot, and bravo for your salvaging and recycling. IME the most awful feelings will pass if you let them do their thing without trying to get rid of them by repressing or acting out. Maybe you and your mother need to have a talk, perhaps with a neutral party present if one or the other of you is not sure they'll have a chance to be fully heard. Good luck!

There is no need to feel guilty, what needs to happen is to build a system you are happy with and stick with it. An audio system is a tool for playing back your favorite music. That's all there is to it. Once you leave the obsessive compulsive behavior behind you and stop obsessing over other components out there, you will find you have more time for everything else including music and the expenses also stop.