Audiophile spending

i think question 2 (what's the retail value ratio of your software collection vs. your equipment?) is far more important than question 1 ( at what ratio do you spend -monthly, yearly, etc.- for software vs. hardware). the former measures a lifetime's experience, while the latter mere "current trends." like garfish, i tend to buy in binges. in the last 30 days, i've bought about 50 cd's and have been given 30 or 40 more by my older son (he's a consultant to fm radio stations). that's way more than an average month's purchase of software, which usually runs 5-10 pieces. the only hardware purchased in the last 30 days was on my nascent video sytem, a loewe aconda 16:9 crt. my audio only system is worth quite a bit at retail, but so is my music collection, which includes around 1,500 "collectable," and 3,500 other lp's and somewhere between 1,500-2,000 cd's. based on "replacement cost" values, i'd guess my audio hardware's worth about 125% of the value of my software. this represents >30 years' experience in this hobby. -kelly

Our spending on music is limited by our time. My wife and I have been at this for a little over thirty years and the cummulative software at this point is in the 10,000 range. We buy about 10 or 15 cd's per week. We also go to three plus live classical symphony, opera or ballet performances a month. Even not including those where we traveled to another city specifically to hear the performance, our total music expenditures are greater than our rather expensive audio systems. I don't really get any charge out of the gear itself eventhough I have Physic and EE degrees. We are nuts about music and try for as close to the live concert hall sound as possible. We will pay for equipment that gets us closer to that experience.

70 pursent equiptment 42 pursent music

Kublakhan.........audiophile math! I love it! Cheers. Craig

What an interesting question. I guess I want to take a little different spin on the Ratios.

The number of high-end equipment buys I have done in the last year for my audio system was 7. The number of software buys I did I can't even count, must be at least 30, probably more. Each equipment buy was high-dollar and single piece, the cheapest thing I got was a couple of hundred dollars. Software buys have been anywhere from 1 CD to about 80, usually in the $8 to S30 range.

For me, this is all about the music. The equipment is stuff you need to make the music sound best. I think I am done with my main system for a while now, I have it sounding the way I want it to sound. The last batch of upgrades was done after I moved last May, new house == new system... Next project is the second system, for my new 'home away from home' on the west coast. Probably, I will end up bringing one of the east coast systems... ok, with a few upgrades :)

I have almost exclusively CD's. I have more money in CD's than in equipment, and that probably will not change. I get much more pleassure out of finding a new disc I like than I do out of getting a new amp. On the other end, when I do get a new 'toy', it is awesome to go back through thousands of CD's to hear some of the great stuff you haven't heard in a while.

My spending on music is limited by one thing only: Self control. My wife claims I have little self control, she is right. I have, at last count, 100 or so CD's that have not even been opened yet. Yet I buy more. The 100 or so will eventually get listened to, when I am in the mood to hear them. It is sometimes a bit painful to spend half a paycheck on music, which has been known to happen. For me, it is the thing that keeps me sane, balanced and happy, so it's worth it.

And that brings me to the other ratios I am interested in: How does your spending on equipment and music relate to: Car payment? House payment or rent? Food? Clothing? Heck, what percentage of your paycheck goes in to this hobby, both to music and to gear? Last year, I spend nearly 10% of my income on music, another 10% or so on toys... I never thought of it that way before!

Niels.