How Much Have You Lost Thru' The Upgrade Process?

I agree with Drubin. To look as an aquisitional or equipment based hobby with upgrades as part of it is looking at it somewhat convoluted. In this perspective, a round of golf once or twice a week @ 75-100 including cart snacks/drinks afterward,( or a $20K a year CC membership fee), or an evening of fine dining out @ $200+, or worse yet a cruise for $10K-$15K, or racing a vintage Porsche at the club level with fees tires tech equip etc, would all have to be considered hugh "losses" since at the end, the money spend is totally consumed or "gone". Not even a stately speaker or glowing tube amp still firmly in its place on the rack to look at. Maybe some good laughs or memories and possibly some digital photos but the $$ spent are gone. In that light our hobby of HiFi is, especially now with Audigon for trying various pieces, is really rather inexpensive in comparison to the others mentioned above. If I would add up the hours of enjoyment gained from my listening, and yes even the fun and enjoyment of upgrading and the accompanying anticipation of new equipment, and divide into the total net $$ spent (or consumed) , I bet the cost /hour of enjoyment gained (and stress relieved)is far less than any of the above mentioned or any of the many other forms of passtimes or entertainment. At least this is true in my case...

well, i've gone through 7 amplifiers since 1980- the last four were pretty expensive investments. but each change brought about marked improvements and therefore i learned a great deal about the effects of a really good amp (solid state) in my own system, all other things being equal. things you can't measure with test equipment either. so it really has been alot of fun in that respect.

If you're a pessimist you say: "I bought a used amp for $2000 and sold it a year later for $1800, so I 'lost' $200.

If you're an optimist you say: "I bought a used amp for $2000 that retails for $3000, then sold it a year later for $1800. So I'm still $800 ahead.

Enough that I could buy several Paul Reed Smith Custom 24's(retail price:$2500-3200).

-A lot of this $$$$$. A lot of that #@$%&.
-But what I got, is smiles and friends.
-And lets not forget,
-Enjoyment of music, it is all that counts.
-The art of music is what you get.