2. analog
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How can anyone afford this ?

I consider myself a dedicated audiophile. I am 36(which I am guessing is a little younger than the average here) and single. I have been interested in high-end audio since I saw my uncle's Mcintosh and Threshold equipment for the first time when I was 5.
Since joining the workforce and saving a little I have always been trying to put together a nice system on a budget. I do OK financially(I am a systems engineer) but I do live in NYC which may put some of this into perspective.
Over the last 6 months I have struggled to buy(all used on Agon) a pair of Dynaudio Audience 42s and a Threshold CAS2 amp, Chang CLS3200, and cables(I haven't gone out[I don't have a girfriend], purchased anything else and really haven't eaten too much to be able to afford these and it is still a real stretch). I am using the amp with a direct connection from my CD/DVD player(Cambridge Audo Azur 540D...slightly modified[op amps, PS caps, bypass caps] that I have had for almost 10 years). A fellow has a Threshold FET2 series II(to match with the CAS2) he is holding for me but that seems like a pipe dream at this point along with a turntable.
A few years ago the analogue bug hit me.
I had a setup consisting of an Audio Analogue Settanta integrated and a Nottingham Horizon SE turntable with a Rega RB300 tonearm with the Incognto rewire and structural mod. This was not an expensive kit by any stretch but for me it almost put me in the poor house. I had to sell the entire rig to pay my bills and it hurt.
It seems over the last 10 years or so I have not been able to keep a kit for more than 6 months before I had to sell it. Whenever I don't have a rig I am constantly scanning the online Ads lusting for the next bargain to set up a system and cannot even listen to music on a mass market rig(I have been spoiled).
Anyway, I guess my question is how can anyone normal afford this hobby? What type of money do you have to be making to be able to enjoy this hobby.....$100,000/year? $500,000/year? Do you need to be worth millions? $5,000 barely gets you in the door(some interconnects cost more) and you could possibly spend millions. I am not looking to put together a $10,000 system(not even close...and that is modest in this hobby) but if I wanted to I don't see it ever being financially possible. If I had a girlfriend or a family(hopefully someday) I would not event be able to think about this hobby with a good conscience. I guess I am wondering if all these people in this hobby are millionaires? I am close to selling my rig again to pay the bills(the amp needed repair/recap and that was $450). Any advice for an audiophile who lusts to put together a nice rig but can't afford it? Should I get out and save for 5 or 10 years and then try again? Maybe I am in the wrong hobby but it is more addicting that crack to me(and more expensive). Maybe I should be a crackhead instead...that might be the only thing to make me forget about it. Thoughts?
adamd1205
gerrym5's avatar
gerrym5
286 posts
 
It's the music. After the SF Ballet performance, we loved listening to jazz being on KCSM FM in our car. My wife says," isn't great we have so much music in our lives." Wow, she is in touch with music. She was right. Music is the car radio was getting to our hearts.

The point to me was that live, car radio, iPad buds, stax ear speakers, our home systems, it's the music that moves all of us.

Chill out on the moving up. Spend more on the live music or recorded content. You'll enjoy this hobby more.
fz1jmp
33 posts
 
Wow! Politics, audio equipment, cash flow and tax's all in 1 thread! Impressive. Back to the main theme, I solidly middle class, put 7 kids through college and have 1 more to go in a few years. Both my wife and I work and I've put together what I consider a super system, all from buying and selling here, for not a hugh amount of money. I love BOTH the equipment AND the music! I love researching, waiting, buying, setting up, listening to, cleaning my LP's, streaming from my Mac, dusting my needle, you name it. I think most of us here enjoy it all and at varying amount of $$. I always think this; My sound is probably 90-95% better then most, and 5-10% not as good as the top, that's perfect with me! I also budget myself to saving for what I want, then just waiting for it to be priced for me.
inna
7,296 posts
 
Eight kids, in our time. Impressive.
dawgfish
157 posts
 
I remember reading in an audio catalog some 35 years ago this phrase: "Remember, the VW Rabbit is cousin to the Porsche 911 and it's still fun to drive."

My advice, which is probably worth every penny you are paying for it, is to establish a budget that you can afford -- today, right now, given all the challenges of living in NY -- and then invest the time to pick the gear that is most satisfying at that price point. Being able to listen to music reasonably well reproduced is much better than riding an on-again, off-again merry-go-round that leaves your home silent too much of the time.

There are plenty of products out there that punch well above their weight class, and you should make it a personal quest to find the ones that work for you.

Happy listening
rhljazz
1,255 posts
 
No car payment, no house payment, and no credit card payments. Never put anything on a credit card that you can't back up with cash.
That leaves some cash to have fun with audio.
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