Did a satisfaction threshold exist under 1000 bucks ?


Is there a minimal/optimal subjective and also objective threshold of minimal satisfaction ?
 
If so, many upgrade chasing may seems like a dog chasing his tail....😁
 
I just live through one of this upgrading  event...
 
My system is very good, and when i tried to upgrade it , it was more a curiosity about the new amplifier than a real need...
 
But keep in mind that my system is 700 bucks for all components... My upgrade trying cost 1000 bucks...😁
 
Anyway i myself think that there is objective acoustic factors that define good sound, and when these factors are there on this threshold line , most upgrade are a change not always for the better  not an improvement...
 
Am i alone who live throught this ? am i alone to be satisfied by under 1000 bucks system, headphone and speakers dac and amplifier included ?😁
 
For sure i listen alone... Many had wife and friends listening with them... This implicate costlier system able to accomodate a room , not headphone or small speakers for one in an acoustic corner for one ...
Anyway am i alone in acoustic bliss with under 1000 bucks system ?
 
 
128x128mahgister

$100 to $200 Pioneer portable dsd player and a pair of $100 to $200 Sony studio monitor headphones and I would be very happy.

The gear listed in my system (sans cables, tubes, power conditioning, surge protection, the rack and custom shelves) was purchased for around $1300.

Love this system and have been using it for 20 years now.

The mini system I use @ the computer (Sharp SD-EX111/Polk RT15i) was purchased for $88.50.

$75 for the Sharp on closeout (had been $500) and $13.50 for the speakers @ a local thrift ($15 less my senior discount;-).

I owned/drove a Citroen DS-19 for 8-9 years and the cost of doing so (including the purchase price, annual insurance/registration fees and maintenance) came in @ around $10K.

When I compare that car to an equipment rack or a cable selling for around the same price ($10K) things become both more confused and more clear @ the same time.

I find it difficult to judge anything by its cost as we all have our different takes on "value".

The following link shows a DIY system that definitely cost more the the $88.50 I spent on the mini-system.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DHGjFdnGT_Q

 

DeKay

 

I wonder if anyone has sought to downgrade their system, not to save money or because they needed the money, but because of the idea that living more simply will force them to focus more on the music.

This would be the Henry David Thoreau approach to audio -- to make it more meaningful by abandoning the quest for better sound. 

Because if I could focus just on the music, then why would I want to go back to thinking of ways it could be better? Just for myself, this is what I think about.

@hilde45

I was reading Walden Pond a few years ago and shocked at what a ridiculous book it was to me. I am an adventurer and outdoors enthusiast… but that was silly to me. The idea of taking all the incredible effort and investment I have put in my system and going backwards is completely anathema to me, as was the silly little book. Now Anna Karenina, that’s a book.