How long do you keep a component?

Thinking back over the years, I guess I fail the "audiophile" appelation as defined by Sean. I think the shortest period of time I owned a component was about 6 months, but most of the gear I acquire stays with me at least 3 years, and sometimes as long as 5-10 years. The longest ownership period for anything in my system was a Nakamichi cassette tape recorder, which I kept for nearly 15 years, but it was virtually unused for the last 5 years before I sold it.

Now that I am getting closer to retirement, I think the audio gear I got during my last upgrade will be with me for a long time. The only reason that would make me continue to upgrade would a significant change in technology which essentially makes something obsolete (this will be more true for home theater than pure audio).

Thanks for the laugh Sean, that was great! How about this, "going back to a componant you had before"???

I try to keep my components 19 inches "long".

Turntable: 12 years. Speakers: 10 years. Everything else...less than a year. Shortest time I owned something and got rid of it: 3 weeks. I'm a packrat and more often than not keep stuff to use in yet another system. Bizarre behavior, I agree.

i keep most of my components no longer than that moment just before it takes my bride to recognize that "there's something new" (after 35 years, there's not too much guessing required). problem is, speakers are the most noticeable, and usually most expensive, while $12k in wire is NEVER given a second glance. -cfb