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Does anyone really need to spend 10k on power

Conditioning. I was on another website and they were discussing Intimately about a power conditioner set up that cost 10k. In the 10k I am not Including power cords. They went on and on about it being the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I read this 2 days ago and it's been haunting me ever since. I'm not saying power conditioning doesn't help. I'm sure in some cases it does. But it being the greatest thing since sliced. I think that is ridiculous. I really believe that in today's market a person could buy used gear on Audiogon and come up with a first rate system for 10 to 15k.

I think in this hobby people get crazy and spend obscene amounts of money because they can. I think they would be better off getting young people into this hobby before it dies. Hell, If they want to piss away money set up a college fund for people that play music or want to learn music theory. (Actually that's not pissing away money) Spending 10k on power conditioning is pissing away money.
taters
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Vhiner, nice! There's no substitute for good reasoning and common sense.
zydo's avatar
zydo
242 posts
 
Need has nothing to do with. People buy what they want. All of our homes are filled with things we don't "need"
tonywinsc
583 posts
 
Vhiner, you made a good point. You don't perceive a difference between your old cheap cars and your friends $70k cars. You seem to be a practical person, not buying mid-priced cars just to have them and yet you see value in your $5k power conditioner. I'm certain many would take exception to your comment about cars when some are sensitive even to a type of shock absorber or brake pad. And $70k for a car is not so expensive these days. A new Chevy P/U loaded, stickers close to that now. The motivations for what we do are very complex and sometimes we don't understand ourselves why we do things. I'll admit something here. I bought my current CD player based on brand just so it would match my preamp. I knew it would sound good; but I skipped right over my obsessive research and comparison process when I made the purchase. Luckily, I have been very happy with it; but the me of 10 or 15 years ago would never have settled for brand or looks first over sound. Does that make me a shallow person now? I think we all let how a component looks as well as sound affect our decision- even if it goes the other way to make sure it is as ugly or industrial looking as it can be.
vhiner
544 posts
 
Tonywinsc,

Good story. The world would be a more peaceful place if we ALL admitted the varied and sometimes irrational motivations behind our decisions. I'm glad you can enjoy your "shallow" decision as much as I do mine! LOL
tonywinsc
583 posts
 
btw- I hit the double nickel this year. I'm trying to focus on retiring in the next half decade or so. Because of that, I am trying to live by the axiom, "be happy with what you got"- as in save, not spend. $10k power conditioners and $70k cars are not in my near future plans. The hardest part is reading about someone's new preamp, amp or turntable and not jumping on board the upgrade train. What I have found to compensate is making small tweaks to my system. I have become intimately familiar with my system since I have kept all of my components for a good while. So the smallest changes are very noticeable to me.
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