The essential theme of this post has been raised, in one way or another, a number of times over the past two years, and I find myself thinking that it takes a lot of temerity and a considerable lack of good taste to repeatedly ask this question. My response is not meant as a personal attack on you, Husk01, but I -- and I imagine others -- find it offensive to be asked how much we spent on our system, what our annual income is, etc.
A question for you, Husk01: why do you want to know how many weeks of income it took to buy one's audio system? Do you need some monetary gauge to decide if you spent "enough" for your system to qualify as truly high-end, or do you gauge the value of a system solely on its price tag? Does someone with a modest income that spends 20% of their annual income on their audio hobby constitute a "truer audiophile" than someone who makes $250K a year but only spent 10% of their annual income on their system?
There seems to be a small but persistent group of (mostly) younger audiophiles that evaluate things based almost solely on price and/or perceived prestige. The whole notion of "checkbook audiophilia" misses the point of why TRUE audiophiles pursue this hobby in the first place. In your book, does one have to spend some given percentage of their annual income to be a REAL audiophile? Do you fret about whether other men have larger genitalia than you? Is that what's bothering you, bunky?
Other readers may -- obviously -- disagree with my take on this whole subject, and think that a public discussion of one's income and spending habits is entirely appropriate on an Internet forum. But speaking for myself, I think your question is inherently impolite and distasteful. I wouldn't tell a good friend how much of my annual income is spent on my beloved hobby, much less a total stranger.
