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Priorities, who makes the rules anyway?

I'm putting this on the table for two reasons, 1) I am tired of 'which amp for my speakers' threads, and 2) I am right.

Most everyone I know thinks I am a crazy-man. They refer to me as the one who has taken home entertainment to the "extreme." My question is, where'd they get that idea? Generally speaking: the average upper-middle-class yupster walks into a car dealer and plops down $???$ without thinking twice. Next they slice the price into monthly payments, add interest and insure it, all for the low, low, price of what...say, $35k (for arguments sake). Now throw another in for the wife. Where are we now, $70k in cars? The point. This sort of average behavior is thought of as completely reasonable and rational in most circumstances.

On the other hand, a guy like me (or we) who throw(s) down anything approaching (or even half) the total amount of the car, much less both cars, on home entertainment stuff, is a nutcase (or bunch of them if all of you are still on board) with out of whack priorities. What is with this? I enjoy my HT system way more than I enjoy my car. I spend more time at home with my HT system, or at least try to. All else equal I would rather drive a junker pick-up and come home to a plasma flatscreen, than any other, another way around. For me, this is true, even if it's just to watch the news. (The real point, as you may have guessed--I am talking myself into spending more). I NEED that flatscreen. I do.

When are we going to start thinking of home entertainment the same as we do cars? As it is for most, high dollar home entertainment is still thought of as a guilty pleasure.
j_thunders
kennyt's avatar
kennyt
1,226 posts
 
I also can see the sense here. You guys mised the 'single side' to this. I you keep them as girlfriends, you can easily afford both the car and the HT! I seem to be exactly on this line, with about equal money in both the HT and car, and interesting enough, ~$35K each, so I guess my 'wife's' car is just convienently parked in my living room! Now if the girlfriend reads this, I'm going to be in an acute 'jewelry deficit' situation!

As for which one brings me more pleasure, that's a tough call, the HT looks great, sounds phenomenal, but doesn't do 155 mph. Then again, upgrades cost more than tires.......
bmpnyc
713 posts
 
I'm with you JT. The Animals had it right,"I'm just a soul who's intentions are good, oh lord, please don't let me be misunderstood". The looks I get when buying yet another piece of "unnecessary" equipment are not easily forgotten. Funny though, I don't hear any complaints when I turn on my widescreen TV, crank up the sub, pop in a DVD, and let the neighbors wonder "what's he doing in there" (Tom Waits). 3chihuahuas is on to something about status symbols. Let's not forget that when we listen to a great recording, or watch an engaging movie that we are appreciating ART. Not everyone gets it, so a car is like a big tattoo for them. Not that have anything against a nice car, it's just that the time I spend listening to music, watching a movie or catching an interesting television program (there are a few) far outweigh the time spent driving, so I would think it rational to spend more on the devices that I use most frequently. Great post JT.
garfish
1,840 posts
 
While I agree with Jt, one important difference between the car and the stereo is that in our society, regrettably, the car is pretty much essential to our way of life, eg to get to work, make a living etc., while (and this may be heresy on this site) but the stereo/HT system is not essential-- to most. I see the "thunder" clouds forming and can feel the lightning ready to strike as I type ;>)

My stereo cost 4-5 times what both my P.U. and wife's car are worth, but damnit, we still need cars. But you can see MY priorities regarding spending money. My neighbor, who helps me pack/unpack heavy amps, speakers etc. just shakes his head in wonder at the amount of $$$ I have in stereo equipment. He thinks I'm basically harmless though.

As to what amps with what speakers? Well, there are always (hopefully) new people getting this affliction. Cheers. Craig
slawney
242 posts
 
J, I completely agree. And, what is more, for this very reason, I do not have a car. I take the train or subway--I live in a big European city, it's easy--or I drive my wife's FIAT (but this happens only once a year). To put the household economy in perspective: there is one IC in my system that retails at more than we paid for her FIAT. BTW, the yuppies around here want it all: the Mercedes and the home entertainment system (but they inevitably buy Bang & Olufsen).
j_thunders OP
173 posts
 
It's not really fair tabling this in front of this group, you all got it as bad as me, or worse. Of course you (fellow nutcases really less crazy than the average shmoe) will agree with me. We got our priorities straight, the rest are who is brainwashed.

I used the car thing because it is convenient to make the point. Anything else works too, like boats or a new kitchen or something. A guy got me to thinking though, when he asked me just last night, "What % of my take-home do you think is the most I should give in making a car payment?"--like a car payment is a fact of life. I admit I'm diseased, but I immediately thought NONE?!?!, what kind of crazy question is that? The payment cuts into any amount you can spend on cool stuff like, well, you know what cool stuff.

Thanks for the responses though, nice to know if I am really not normal, I am thought of as normal at least somewhere.
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