Has Your Hobby Changed?

Dear mikelavigne,

CONGRATULATIONS! I say that as someone who spent "only" 10 years (two 5 year tours) in the car biz, and I retired last fall. 49 years is amazing...I couldn’t have done that (though I did some digging and learned you were in upper management, and I was just a grunt salesman).

I have followed your audio evolution with great vicarious interest, from the original article (Pos Feedback?) detailing the design and building of your listening room, to all the subsequent changes in it and your system. I have marveled not only at the time and energy invested (you are much better at A-B’ing and gear evals than I could ever be), but the investment too.

My system is modest, but with more free time I find that my interests have shifted back again to what they have always been primarily: listening to the music, and then doing many other things. I have never been a "gearhead" (and I don’t use the term disparagingly), making constant changes to my system, for several reasons: 1) budget, and 2) I am lazy and easily frustrated by comparing gear and making decisions. That doesn’t mean I don’t aspire to improving my system as I can, but gear is just the means to the end. I do wish I could figure out how to make an extra $20K a year very part-time from home, to pay the audio pusherman!


My listening may become more seasonal too, as when the weather is great, I want to be outside much of the day. Much more music listening and other "indoors sports" like cooking during the crappy cold, wet months. It is nice now to be able to listen during the day as loud and as much as I want when my wife is at work. In the evening, that’s a no-go, as my listening room is next to the living room.

So, you have reached a point where you have a world-class system and room, and have worked hard to achieve that. I hope that just listening to amazing music repro is satisfying, because you’ve reached Shangri-La maybe? I’d gladly make the trek from the Olympic Peninsula over to enjoy it with you! I’d bring lunch and libations. 😎 CHEERS

Retirement can open doors for a lot of folks. You finally have the time, if you have the inclination, to analyze your systems sound. Not necessarily a good thing though if you seriously love your music. The trick, I think, is to be able to balance your interest in audio and music and keep them separate. I’m lucky now to have arrived where I can afford to buy anything I would want, but every time I think about the audio function I really can’t find anything that would be worth having to maintain my interest in music. I’m still buying new music though. :-)

One thing for sure about retirement -- I no longer feel guilty about listening to my stereo or playing my musical instruments.  Yeah, there's still the lawn to mow and the garbage to take out. But there are also no more frenzied calls from my bosses wondering "where that report is." Or the call at Five O'clock where I hear, "We're emailing you something and we need the report first thing tomorrow morning."

I envy those of you who have retired. I’ve got four years to go before I can listen guilt free. I work from home so the temptation to listen to an album is sometimes to much to ignore…lol. 

I’m with you. I’m about two years from retirement. I hope I make it and have several years left of good health to enjoy the music. As for gear, I’m still looking for my last speakers and a better streamer/DAC or standalones. Nothing crazy. My system so far "only" costs about $12K, far less than most people on here, but I’m happy with it. After I add about $5K in new speakers, a streamer and a DAC, and a 2M Blue cartridge, I’ll be done and ready to just enjoy the music. Yeah, I’m sure there is better sound out there, but can my 65-year-old ears really hear it? Not sure. I still love knowing what great gear is out there and what people get out of it.

I really enjoy the postings on here of "What is on your turntable?" to get recommendations of new/old music to check out.

This is the only hobby I know of where when you are young and have the ears for it, you can't afford the gear (unless your dad or uncle was into it and you got to hear theirs), and then when you are older and have more disposable income, your hearing isn't as good to enjoy it. LOL.  Ironic. But hey, I still love listening.