One year down, two to go. What's the longest you have saved for one component?


I've just reached my first anniversary. One year of my payment plan down, two to go.
What's the longest you have saved for an individual component? 

My beloved Boulder 2060 has had a troubled existence. A previous owner's partner had spilt (poured?) a drink over it, leading to some recurring issues and two visits to Boulder UK. But i found i could leave it powered up and it ran just fine. On the second visit Boulder had rebuilt it with many components from 2160, including the main board, which gave a significant increase in quality ; it was as if my room had been treated,  with all the hard surfaces softened and such wonderful texture. I was in bliss

So my cat had adopted it as a warm perch, despite my best efforts including adding spike strips designed to keep birds off buildings,  Samira found a way to conform to the gaps i had left above the vents. Then one day i fed the cats, then set out hillwalking with my dogs. Returned to find my amp in shutdown mode, a funny smell, and blown sub bass drive unit on one of my Stella Utopia.....and a trail of dried cat vomit on top of my amp, across the air vents

So one dead amp. Pit of depression.
Then Boulder took pity on me. My amp had been such a problem child they felt badly toward me, and it was now beyond repair. Then they made me an offer I couldn't refuse on a new 2160.
I did still procrastinate for a couple of months, it was still a huge sum of money. Then after considering my other options to be unpalatable, i committed to the purchase; half my income after housing costs, every month for three years

So, one year down, two to go
What's the longest you've ever saved, and what was the component? 
128x128gavman
I share this not as a harsh, unkind comment, but as a clear analysis in the hopes that the OP, or someone else who might struggle with such things can gain some direction: 

It is not "saving up" to go into a payment plan; quite the opposite. It's going into debt, obtaining an item on anticipated income, which can be quite dangerous fiscally. The depreciation on such a thing as an amp is enormous, so making payments on it is not advantageous. Especially if you have the power of compounded interest working against you, payment plans are to be avoided, especially for non-necessities. 

I will never forget my father telling me, "Every dollar spent is a two dollar decision." (Every dollar spent is a dollar less that you have to invest.)

Even as a reviewer, I recommend no one needs to go into a payment plan for an audio component. The only exception might be on zero percent interest, and at a very modest amount relative to one's income, perhaps 1-2% of gross income. Even at that, you are turning potential opportunities against yourself by the opportunity cost associated with expending the money that could have been invested. 

I strongly recommend that under normal circumstances no one spend half of their income monthly on audio - for any component. Imo, In a balanced lifestyle the expenditure of audio should fall well below 10% of income, and as a percentage much below that after house payment. 

Frankly, the financial indicator that one is spending quite disproportionately on audio can be a "wake up call" that major changes are needed in life. Usually, where there is an extreme imbalance in finances, there can be imbalances in other areas of life. I am trying not to be judgmental of the OP in this regard, as I do not know all of the particulars. It is, however, shocking to consider any audiophile expending such an enormous percentage of income on gear. Maybe the OP's income is so terrifically high, and lifestyle so ascetic, that they can pull it off. We do have people with alternative lifestyle choices who live like misers daily in order to achieve extreme goals. Hopefully, that is at work here. But, still, it's an imbalanced fiscal lifestyle. Three years of saving would theoretically achieve a similar purpose, and without the associated risks. It seems there is little wiggle room now for the OP in consideration of the potential challenges that appear occasionally.  :(

In all sincerity, I hope the OP does not get financially buried by their own zeal for the finer things in life.  :(
This is exactly why we don't build our components with circuit boards. Not sure how much you are willing to spend or what the amp you have costs but there are plenty of good options out there.

Happy Listening.
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