Has Your Hobby Changed?

@secretguy: Ya beat me to it ;-) It may just be a case of semantics.

secretguy

I will never understand how anyone could consider this stuff a "hobby".

What would you call it, @secretguy ?

For me, audio is part of a way of life, part of a music lifestyle.

moonwatcher, re:

 After I add about $5K in new speakers, a streamer and a DAC, and a 2M Blue cartridge, I’ll be done and ready to just enjoy the music. Yeah, I’m sure there is better sound out there, but can my 65-year-old ears really hear it? Not sure. I still love knowing what great gear is out there and what people get out of it.

I'm with you. I guard my hearing like crazy, but think about how much to invest since I too have 65-year-old ears. I can hear up to 12KHZ well, and I hope that holds. I know someone who helped assemble a million dollar system for an 80 year old man. He says the guy's philosophy is he can't take the $$ with him, and though he can only hear to 8KHZ, it is a glorious 8KHZ!

My system is also modest, like yours, but sounds pretty darn good to me. Of course, I would have a much grander system if I won the lotto jackpot! It really is fun to see what other people are doing with their systems, though frustrating because I would love to listen to them in person. 

The biggest improvement I made several years ago was to switch to ROON for streaming. I have discovered so much more new music and so many artists that I never would have found without it. I can't recommend it enough. Every time i listen it's like a treasure hunt, exploring new music. I get lost in it for hours.

Cheers

Much the same here too. I have converted from analog to digital over the years, mostly for convenience. My Oracle turntable has been replaced by an Apple Airport Express streaming lossless, and I love it. The DAC's are so much better than the ones from the 80's. I find I'm listening to the music now and not the equipment IYKWIM. Loving my system!

Congratulations on the retirement, it may take a bit to slow down, it took me a few months just to get my stride. Been retired for a few years now, still work sometimes but that has slowed as well. I have re-investing in my music hobby since my retirement (the need to work sometimes to pay for it!) and am reasonably happy with my system now as reconfigured, mostly tubed system, my need for better quality was apparent as my listening sessions (2 to 3 hours per session, usually daily), showed I had some deficiencies.  I enjoy both digital and my vinyl (but lean to the vinyl as having that holistic quality). Before I retired my system was 40 years old and was mostly used in the background. The guitars and banjo's have also been in regular use in retirement. Music is a major part of my life in retirement and I couldn't be happier! Enjoy!