How often do you upgrade your other passions?

I'd have to say I've done more audio upgrades than anything. I was using my 21 year old Canon F-1 today & realized the camera system has stayed the same for a good 7 or 8 years. I was taking photos of my audio system for an insurance upgrade. Second place for upgrades goes to the garage (hand tools, power tools, assorted garage accessories).

Twl, your project car sounds great. Although I like to build cars/trucks, I've taken the sleeper approach (all the work on the inside, nothing cosmetic).

Audioman, I've never leased a car & everybody I know (family, friends, etc.) has purchased their vehicles. Even my good friend who has leased a Ford Explorer for the last 8 or 9 years decided to buy one. I've have never spent more on a vehicle than my stereo. Except for my Kenworth.

Funny thing about clothes-I won't hesitate to spend money for a good pair of shoes (ordering some Birkenstocks tomorrow) but really dislike buying clothes. I guess I just don't like breaking them in.

If only my girlfriend could
get..... Well that would be a great upgrade.

Skis need upgrading about every 3-4 years. Boots should be done as often but I rarely do. Ski clothing--if it's not ripped it doesn't need upgrading.

I work with computers at my job (Systems Administrator), and don't touch my home computers unless they break, or someone else upgrades and things get swapped around. Audio, on the other hand... I am always trying something new.

This is an excellent question. My passions, besides family, include drag racing/street rodding, flyfishing, photography and audio. In each one of these endeavors I had a mentor. This has saved me a boatload of money. Each time I researched what it was I wanted to accomplish and did a fairly good job of "stepping up to the pump" and doing it right the first time. In each case I bought more than I needed and eventually parted with the more unused items. The car thing is the biggest money pit and I have put this on hold since the last audio upgrade path. This was probably the best decision I have made in years. I have been rewarded through the audio upgrade this time around more than any other of my 35+ years in this hobby. This is because I found the great community surrounding this post.

Maybe it's an age thing but I have been removing clutter for the last few years. I'm down to to the basic maintenance supplies needed for the cars having sold my last spare motor last night. Three fly rods serve all my needs now and since I continue to fish in the same spots I only need the same flies. I can fit all my fly tying materials into a briefcase instead of a whole room. Whereas I had up to five cameras hanging from my shoulders in the past, I'm down to the trusty Nikon F1, 4 lenses, a Nikon Cool pix 950 and three lenses and my current audio system which is going to stick around for the next 10 years at least. When I was younger I pondered why older folks gave stuff away and figured they were getting bored with life or preparing to die. Wrong. Consider me in the groove. It's that simple.

Twl, where do you get real lacquer? I haven't been able to buy any for years and just last year the government outlawed lacquer primer.

The one thing that has remained constant the entire time is the accumulation of more vinyl although I must admit that for my taste in music parts of the 70's and most of th 80's were a difficult time.

I suppose this is as good a time as any to enlighten the readers as to my system. I'm not all that enamored with the "system" feature at this site having enjoyed the previous design more. Besides, I can hear the groans from afar about what I listen to. Here goes.

Linn LP12/Ittok/Cirkus/Valhalla/various cartridges
Wakona with phono stage
Genki
LK100's
Keilidh Aktiv
Linn interconnects and cables

Happy listening,
Patrick