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How often to Audiophiles upgrade their equipment?

I am eternally confused as to how and when I should spend my money. I started into this hobby a little more seriously about 3 years ago and have the bug in full now. I do very much enjoy listening to music. However, there is always confustion on how to spend my money. I am not being very clear. Let me start again.

Currently I have a home theater setup in the family room with a Rotel RSX-972 reciever, B&W 603S3 mains, LCR600 CC, ASW1000 SW, 602S2 surrounds, Sony 999ES DVD/SACD and Sony KP51WS500 TV. I have started a second budget system in the main living room for music only and it has Monitor Audio Bronze B2 speakers, Rotel 1060 Amp, and Rotel 961 CD player.

I am generally quite happy with this setup and enjoy them very much. But off course I am always thinking what can I do better and if I should at all. Having a young family, I doubt I will ever buy some of the very high end euipment or if I would want to. But I have an opportunity to uprgade my speakers now with a very small loss. I was thinking of the 604S3, but having looked at them, they are just too big and frightened me off. The next step up to the B&W CDM series is quite a bit more. But to go to that line, I should probably also upgrade my amplification first.

I guess what I am getting at is, how long do "real" audiophiles stay happy with their equipment and when do they decide it is time to upgrade. For example, I was thinking of always sticking with a budget, and stick with my equipment for say 5 years (unless their is something terribly wrong) and then get new equipment/newer models different brands but using the same amount of money as in the original budget five years earlier.

If this question makes any sense, please relate your thoughts and experiences.
schugh
budrew
467 posts
 
Over the past year I've upgraded quite often because it had been about 20 years since I upgraded before that (high school). It wasnt so much upgrading as it was exploring how things sound differently. Some were upgrades, some were side-grades. Right now I feel like I'm just fine tuning, but unfortunately it's the fine tuning that can get expensive and become the proverbial search for the grail.

I think the trick is to find a sound you like and play within that realm. For example, if you like the "tube" sound, as if there was one, you can experiment/upgrade with different types of tubes or brands. Once you find a sound you like -- dynamic, romantic, warm, detailed, whatever -- don't try to upgrade too much beyond that because you may lose it. Some components just click into place like the wheels in a slot machine and you'll keep them for a long time, or at least you should try to resist the urge to replace them.

Also, if you think you might upgrade fairly soon you should consider stretching your budget and going the next step up. This can sometimes save you worry and money.

And don't forget tweaks and room placement. These can really make or break how you like your system, whatever it is at the time.
beavis
272 posts
 
Upgrading? You mean there is a term for never stopping.
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
As often as they

'cuse me, the UPS man is here

can afford

-sorry, gotta go, its FEDEX
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rushton's avatar
rushton
2,445 posts
 
I guess I fall into the camp of making fewer changes, but more material changes when I do make one. Like Rcprince, my equipment usually stays in my system about 10 years on average. (I lived with a beautiful pair of updated Marantz 9 amplifiers for 25 years. Speakers on the other hand seemed to have lasted about 8 years on average.) I have avoided making minor incremental changes in favor of fewer more significant upgrades. I've also consciously limited myself to a single system so any of the limited financial resources available could be maximized in that one system.
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