I see your point about name dropping. I thought about omitting them from the post since I figured quite a few of those people probably don't even like me. However I kept the names in since I was reminiscing about the people that have been a big part of my audiophile experience. I also thought it made the post more interesting.
I do have another story that may give some insight into purchasing expensive systems. I had a customer spend over $200k on speakers, electronics and cables. He went from receiver and speakers, to full tilt high end audio. He had plenty of disposable income to justify the purchase. I ended up flying out to his home because of the sizable order(he bought 2 other smaller systems for his friends). When I arrived at his home, I discovered he had one of the most undesireable rooms for listening that I have encountered. 20' plus vaulted ceiling in a 40' hexagonal room with over 50% windows. The flooring was wood and marble(of course!) In the middle of the room was a 3 step down living area where the system would reside. As good as the equipment was that he bought, it couldn't make up for that awful listening space. I proceeded to set up the system to his desires. Without the ability to add any room treatments, I was stuck. I had 2 Thunderbird subs and the bass was still lean since it was 20' away from a glass wall. Oh and the midrange glare and treble slap against all those hard refelective surfaces was mind numbing. After doing the best I could at setup and putting on my best poker face, I turned the remote over to the customer. He proceeded to test the system with female vocalist(I can't listen to Celine Dion the same way again) at ear piercing levels. He had a big smile on his face. What I thought was craptastic sound, was angelic singing to him. What I thought was a terrible room, was the perfect room for him and the entertaining he liked to do. He didn't have buyer's remorse at all. In fact I bet he plays his system more than most audiophiles. I think being single helps with that.
I think buyer's remorse comes from paying too much for a system or components and not enjoying them. I have upgraded too much too fast. I do regret that. I have had to do that to maintain a reference system for designing speakers. I have a long time audiophile friend in Southern California that has emulated(IMO) the way a high end system should be assembled. He has gone to the high end audio shows throughout the years and carefully listened to many different systems. He started out with a modest system comprising of a few thousand dollars worth of components in the early 90's. He is a real bargain hunter and he has been judicious with the money he has spent over the years on his system. He makes 1 to 3 changes a year to his system. Each change he relishes and describes to me in detail the changes in sound to his system. I'm due to fly out there and hear the recent addition of Audionet Amp monoblocs. He has been using Jeff Rowland Model 10 for over 16 years. He is happy as a lark with the changes in his system. What I have seen as effective in his system building is: 1. His never ending education on high end equipment from shows, to dealers, and others home systems. 2. His slow yet deliberate methodology of purchasing each component/cable. 3. He treats his system like an investment. He invest a certain amount of dollars into it and then he is done for the year. My plan is to follow his example.
