@stuartk @mahgister
My broad philosophy after all these years on earth is that it is stupid to spend money on something you won't use or enjoy. I don't go out to places where you wear expensive clothes (if they exist anymore--people wear shorts to the LA Phil). I won't wear them.
Both my wife and I have old cars. We don't really need new, nice ones. We've had new nice ones and they didn't make any difference in our lives.
Now, when it comes to audio, I listen to it every day. I always have it on when I'm writing on this forum. I have never purchased a piece of audio I couldn't afford or appreciate. I had a pair of Apogee Slant Eights (think long ribbons and a woofer) which were demos I bought for half price. When they blew, I found a pair of Goldenear speakers I could afford. I didn't look out of my price range.
I came into a large inheritance this year. I sent my daughter and granddaughters to Italy. That was important to me, and it obviously deducted from my audio budget. But I had enough extra left for a nice pair of Sonus Faber speakers and a relatively inexpensive streamer. I had avoided a streamer because I could run an old computer through a D/A converter. I used it, but it was kind of a pain.
I am an audiophile. That's where I spend my "hobby" money. When music sounds better, I enjoy it more. I think @frogman has made that point a few times. That is not to say I don't enjoy it when it comes through a less expensive system. I didn't really start upgrading my system until I was in my forties, and then only modestly. And I have listened to and enjoyed music with a $500 system, as I have told you before. If I had nothing else, I'd listen on the iPhone.
I just got an opportunity to buy a ticket to see Aknhatan by Phillip Glass at the LA opera. Would @mahgister tell me not to do that? Would he say, I can listen on youtube. I'll answer for him. Hell no! He'd say snap that ticket up. There is a difference between life and recorded music, and there is a difference between youtube over a phone or computer and a nice streamer.
My advice is at least look into streamers. If you have dealers around, listen to a few. I don't know if you buy used equipment, but I thought my streamer was a deal at $4K, and you can buy it used for $1500. If that's too much, then you can stream over your computer. Unless you plan on dying in the next year or two, streaming is the way music will be delivered in the future.
If you can't afford a streamer, then you can listen to youtube on your computer over an inexpensive D/A converter on headphones. For somebody who loves music, it makes absolutely no sense to me not to do it. Although, I must admit, I was like you for many years. I would have nothing to do with streamers. I had my CDa and records. And, to be honsest, I was old, and stubborn, and dumb.
