How much gear do you own?


Do you have multiples of amps, preamps, speakers, cables, etc?

I do, and am starting to realize it's leaning hard toward a sickness rather than a passionate hobby.  Either that, or I'm getting up in age and tired of all the "stuff" I've acquired taking up so much space.

I went through a phase about ten years ago where I got tired of stereo gear and dumped most of it.  I really regretted it after a few years and acquired most (and then much more) back.

But this time it feels different somehow.  And I really think it has to do with my age...pushing 60.

Others go through this?

Thoughts?

128x128audiodwebe

I have, and listen to, four systems raging from very simple to quite complex.  I had issues with getting rid of gear I have enjoyed for a long time and tend to reconfigure it into a secondary (tertiary etc....) system both for a change in listening and as a source of backup gear if anything screws up in the main system.

I hate wasting anything, including space, so I guess I am lucky that when I see something that I don't use it irritates me until I get rid of it. Usually it is somewhere I don't look at it regularly. 

I disconnected my CD player 15+ years ago and it sat on a floor under a bunch of stuff so it didn't cross my mind until I had to get something on top of it and was reminded of it. For the hell of it, I turned it on and it didn't work. That day I dropped it off to Best Buy's recycling bin along with a couple of old laptops sitting on top of it (took out the hard drives first).

Now the only thing sitting around is a BluRay player that get plugged in when my wife wants to watch old videos that were transferred from tapes or produced on DVD with a pretty nice interconnect that I replaced with a better shorter one (taking the waste philosophy to an extreme). I can't stand the sight of it next to my stereo equipment, and even put the cable box on the ground below the cabinet out of sight (thank goodness it works via wifi with the remote).

1 turntable (interconnect to phono stage attached directly and comes with power supply/power cord)

1 phono stage

1 interconnect from Phono Stage to amp

2 cartridges (1 is never used, but is theoretically for emergencies)

1 integrated amp

1 set of speakers

1 set of speaker cables

1 power conditioner (came with a power cord)

2 power cords (1 for phono stage one for amp)

platforms under the speakers, turntable and amps that take up minimal space

That's it. I hate making decisions and if I had to think about which turntable, cartridge, system or whatever to use in different situations I'd be wasting WAY too much time and mental energy.

Same with records - if I don't play it, I move it out of the selection area to the end because I can't stand looking at it, and once I  need that space, I'll sell or donate them.

I guess I am a reverse hoarder, and yet my wife doesn't throw out empty pill bottles and I get anxiety whenever I have to get something out of one of her "junk" drawers.

4 operating systems in a two bedroom townhouse (living room, bedroom, office and dining room) plus some bits and pieces I've collected over the years that are not all hooked up. I'm saving for a bigger house next.

I'm envious of those with the minimilist lifestyle.  

I currently own 28 pairs of speakers.  Twenty-nine if I count the desktop AudioEngines.  And most of them are mid to higher end stuff, and they all sound pretty good in my room.

I think my treated, smallish (12x16) listening room makes damn near anything I throw at it sound good.  So whenever I've attempted to pick a winner in an attempt to select gear to keep it's been a pain.

2022 I'm doing it, though.  Goal:  Just one of everything, with a backup.

 

Way too much gear.  But have 3 operating systems in 3 different rooms that all sound really good to me.  Lots of unused gear but I often take in unwanted pieces, test them to make sure they are working OK, and give them away to people setting up new systems/rooms.