members and their systems

Where do folks who don’t spend money on audio equipment get their money.  After all you can’t take it with you....

And I make money by advising people on priorities and resources allocation. 

@birdscantrow:  I get your question and I think it is a common one.  When I came to this forum a year ago, I was totally unfamiliar with the audiophile-level equipment and brands, and I too thought, “Who can spend $100,000 on stereo equipment?”  I certainly couldn’t. But you learn that a number of the members on sites like this one are/were professional people with high incomes, and some can and do build or tweak their own equipment, thus getting better equipment and sound at lower cost, which was mentioned above.
 
Also, some of these folks have been at this hobby for 20, 30 or more years, so they have had a lot of time to sample equipment and trade up to what they have now.  They didn’t start out with the Ferrari system; they worked up to it.

I also have seen that some members appear sensitive to questions like, “Why did you even want to put so much money into something like stereo equipment?”  I figured it’s probably a judgment that they heard expressed by family or friends, or acquaintances, over years and it irked them then as it irks them now.  It would be like someone here saying to me, “If you are going to settle for mediocre equipment, why bother?”  We each have our own priorities and our own spending limits.  I still enjoy hearing how other members are sampling new equipment that I will probably never hear.  Some things are still to be enjoyed vicariously.  😁

bob540

I concur. I have been in this Hobby since 1985. Most of us have had the (very) good fortune in working up to a Reference system.
Tip: buy demo/used as much as possible.

Happy Listening!

Of course you didn't. Instead, he told you a lot of stuff about his personal economic situation (which may or may not be true, and which neither you nor I nor anyone else cares about), then blamed you for asking.  

LOL!!

Its called debt! However, it is smart managed debt. Meaning that the remaining debt i do have, used to establish my system of today, is financed at "zero" percent. It is gradually paid off, usually no more than 24-36 months. Also, some things are sold either on here or on ebay to finance a new purchase, if say that something just was not doing it for me. The only thing left to pay off is my latest turntable acquisition ....I’ll most likely use part of the stimulus check to wipe that out. In the end I’m left with Tannoy legacy eatons $5500 (not counting stands or material to fill them), sugden a21 se $3250, a Marantz pm14s1, six turntables, four tuners, three cd players and a transport, two dacs, two extra pairs of speakers (wharefdales), three cassettes decks, two headphone amps, ten pairs of headphones, countless interconnects and power chords, ten cartridges...on and on and on...and all mine, all paid for!!...except the aforementioned turntable. You ask how is most of this debt paid off? Through lots and lots of hard work and OT. Was it all worth it? Hell yeah! I do not regret anything. Yes, got a mortgage, car payment, kids, utilities, CC debt, etc etc....however, its all getting paid and I still save money in bank. I will tell you that we as a family do not spend a fortune on trips or eat in the fanciest restaurants.