Still lost at sea?

I am still on the ship and loving it. The boat is something one gets into when the ship is sinking.

For many the fun is the journey, not the destination.
It's an on going hobby.

Azaud,

Some good thoughts on the dues of the hobby. I have not faired so well in the $$$ area of my buying /selling.

Started out reading Stereophile and putting together the class A system. Then the class a components were lowered to class B and I was screwed. How can you have class B gear running in you system when you can have class A was my thinking.

Turning to vinyl was a whole new world. Digital sucks was my thoughts when I got the complete analog thing going! Soon the inability to keep the dam thing up and running and cleaning records was to much and I got out. Digital still sucks next to vinyl but for me the price was to high.

Moving to PC audio was the final resting place for me. Some my think that I got shipwrecked by doing so but the benefits of PC audio Vs. vinyl was worth it to me. Having a freiend that has zillions of cd's and letting me rip them @ no cost has built up my music library. My wife has filed all her music and can listen to it during the day when I am gone. She knows how to turn on a pre amp/amp. Having my vinyl set up was OFF limits to her having a ten foot rule in effect. Having the wife involved in my hobby has made the change from vinyl to PC worth it.

I took me about six years before I settled into the system that I continue to enjoy seven years and counting now. And, yes, if something happened to it I would seek to replace all the components to rebuild it just the way it is.

The thing is, part of the enjoyment, I'm quite sure, is leaving it alone and letting it settle in over time. Even my audio buddies concur that, over a couple of years, they too notice that it seems to have improved just by playing music.

Elizabeth is right on when she says that buying based on other's ears can be hazardous, and part of those six years while searching for the best complement of parts and pieces was an expensive lesson in how to trust my own ears and not be swayed by what others were telling me.

Trust your ears and your heart is the advice I would give if asked how to spend the least time getting into the bathtub.