Braab8,
You may have answered your own question. You've certainly hinted at an answer. If spending a certain sum for a certain item would cause you to feel stessed, guilty, financially stretched, etc. then that is too much for you to spend. Of course only you can weigh those emotional and financial factors.
Stringreen's advice is reasonable but perhaps premature. Listening to a "dream" setup that you ultimately decide you can't afford may not be the best move. Better to decide on a budget you can live with first, then listen to things that seem within reach.
We've had visits from several A'goners in the last year. Several of them ended up spending a great deal more money than they planned. One recent visitor came to hear a Teres table. He ended up buying a used Teres/Schroeder and he's very happy. Somewhat to his surprise, he has also ended up buying our cartridge, preamp, amp and even RCM! That little visit cost him $16-18K more than he'd planned, and that was with finding everything used.
So be careful what you audition, you might like it!
You may have answered your own question. You've certainly hinted at an answer. If spending a certain sum for a certain item would cause you to feel stessed, guilty, financially stretched, etc. then that is too much for you to spend. Of course only you can weigh those emotional and financial factors.
Stringreen's advice is reasonable but perhaps premature. Listening to a "dream" setup that you ultimately decide you can't afford may not be the best move. Better to decide on a budget you can live with first, then listen to things that seem within reach.
We've had visits from several A'goners in the last year. Several of them ended up spending a great deal more money than they planned. One recent visitor came to hear a Teres table. He ended up buying a used Teres/Schroeder and he's very happy. Somewhat to his surprise, he has also ended up buying our cartridge, preamp, amp and even RCM! That little visit cost him $16-18K more than he'd planned, and that was with finding everything used.
So be careful what you audition, you might like it!