2. analog
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How can anyone afford this ?

I consider myself a dedicated audiophile. I am 36(which I am guessing is a little younger than the average here) and single. I have been interested in high-end audio since I saw my uncle's Mcintosh and Threshold equipment for the first time when I was 5.
Since joining the workforce and saving a little I have always been trying to put together a nice system on a budget. I do OK financially(I am a systems engineer) but I do live in NYC which may put some of this into perspective.
Over the last 6 months I have struggled to buy(all used on Agon) a pair of Dynaudio Audience 42s and a Threshold CAS2 amp, Chang CLS3200, and cables(I haven't gone out[I don't have a girfriend], purchased anything else and really haven't eaten too much to be able to afford these and it is still a real stretch). I am using the amp with a direct connection from my CD/DVD player(Cambridge Audo Azur 540D...slightly modified[op amps, PS caps, bypass caps] that I have had for almost 10 years). A fellow has a Threshold FET2 series II(to match with the CAS2) he is holding for me but that seems like a pipe dream at this point along with a turntable.
A few years ago the analogue bug hit me.
I had a setup consisting of an Audio Analogue Settanta integrated and a Nottingham Horizon SE turntable with a Rega RB300 tonearm with the Incognto rewire and structural mod. This was not an expensive kit by any stretch but for me it almost put me in the poor house. I had to sell the entire rig to pay my bills and it hurt.
It seems over the last 10 years or so I have not been able to keep a kit for more than 6 months before I had to sell it. Whenever I don't have a rig I am constantly scanning the online Ads lusting for the next bargain to set up a system and cannot even listen to music on a mass market rig(I have been spoiled).
Anyway, I guess my question is how can anyone normal afford this hobby? What type of money do you have to be making to be able to enjoy this hobby.....$100,000/year? $500,000/year? Do you need to be worth millions? $5,000 barely gets you in the door(some interconnects cost more) and you could possibly spend millions. I am not looking to put together a $10,000 system(not even close...and that is modest in this hobby) but if I wanted to I don't see it ever being financially possible. If I had a girlfriend or a family(hopefully someday) I would not event be able to think about this hobby with a good conscience. I guess I am wondering if all these people in this hobby are millionaires? I am close to selling my rig again to pay the bills(the amp needed repair/recap and that was $450). Any advice for an audiophile who lusts to put together a nice rig but can't afford it? Should I get out and save for 5 or 10 years and then try again? Maybe I am in the wrong hobby but it is more addicting that crack to me(and more expensive). Maybe I should be a crackhead instead...that might be the only thing to make me forget about it. Thoughts?
adamd1205
manitunc
795 posts
 
Satisfaction in this hobby can come from understanding quality vs quantity. Price is rarely an indicator of the former, after a certain point. There are savings to be had from mass production, even in the high end, while one-off items or low volume will necessarily be more expensive. A PSB Synchrony One is a speaker that will compare favorable with almost anything under 20K because PSB has the use of state of the art facilities at the government anechoic chamber in Ottawa Canada and builds its speakers in China by the boatload. Same goes for B&W and probably KEF. Magico, on the other hand, builds far fewer speakers and must make a greater percentage on each one, as well as probably taking more time to build per unit, with more costly materials and labor costs. Doesnt make them better than a PSB, although they probably are, but it does make them more expensive.

Look around, read and most importantly listen, and you can put together a fine system for less than 5k, especially on the used market.
mceljo
1,357 posts
 
Manitunc - What you're describing is somewhat how Focal is using an in-house automated production to manufacture the Chorus line of speakers. They share some of the technology of the more expensive lines, but you are not paying for them to be hand built. Their manufacturing capability also allows them to build new speakers quickly from start to finsh making the fine tuning of a final product easier. Focal wanted to maintain control of their products while reducing the production costs.
ckoffend
684 posts
 
To say trickle down economics hasn't worked in the US is a bit naive. The perfect example that it has worked is by looking at the poor in our country - those that get by and plan to live off the government. These, the poorest of the poor in our wonderful country, have a standard of livings many 10s of times better than the "working class" in many other countries. Here in the US we do not know and understand what being poor truly is. The truth of the matter is, even the poor in our country throw away and waste more money than the world's truly poor make in a year. This is a sad statistic on both sides of the proverbial ocean.

We should all be thankful for ending up in a modern society, in a country that does take care of its poor and has enough left over to try to assist other parts of the world. Countries and individuals that strive to be as well off as our poorest citizens.
paperw8
165 posts
 

02-09-11: Ckoffend
To say trickle down economics hasn't worked in the US is a bit naive. The perfect example that it has worked is by looking at the poor in our country - those that get by and plan to live off the government. These, the poorest of the poor in our wonderful country, have a standard of livings many 10s of times better than the "working class" in many other countries. Here in the US we do not know and understand what being poor truly is. The truth of the matter is, even the poor in our country throw away and waste more money than the world's truly poor make in a year. This is a sad statistic on both sides of the proverbial ocean.
but to say that trickle down *has* worked is simply stupid. the past 30 years has seen a massive shift in wealth to the top 5% of the population. at the same time the middle class has declined and the population of the poor has increased. no sensible interpretation of economics can take a concentration of wealth as evidence of a "trickle down" effect.
raymonda
855 posts
 
Paperw8, your statement is overly simplified, off the mark and just plan wrong.
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