How long have you had the SAME GEAR?

I just upgraded a 15 year old system. This is my main system and I'll keep the new one for a long time too. I have a second system in my office that I'm allowing myself to futz with and experiment with high-quality, inexpensive components. My grandfather still has his 1970s McIntosh gear.

I have the same Denon receiver I bought in 1990. I kept the same system Denon 1025/Sonographe cd/vandersteen 2c for ten years until going on a major upgrade binge.

Right now, The ARC vt100m2, quattro-fil ic's and Audio Physic Avanti's are probably the most stable components in my system. I've had the ARC for about 1.5 years and the avanti's for about a year. I'm thinking of selling the sony scd-1 sacd player (I listen to mostly vinyl), and upgrading the phono stage and/or turntable (I have a rega 25).

I too have found that once my system reached a certain place 'where I wanted it to be', I have not really been searching around for anything better. I like the combination of warmth and detail I get from my ph3/vk-5i/vt100 combination. I've had my system with more bass (vandersteen 5's), higher detail level (pass labs pre/amp), and even more warmth (sonic frontiers sfm-160's). In the last two years, I've owned 9 different amplifiers, 5 preamps, 7 sets of speakers, and three cd players. I cannot accurately count the number of cables.

I am now more into finding great vinyl. In a lot of ways I prefer vinyl to SACD. There is something very relaxing about it when played on an all-tube system. I completely agree about the minimalist advances in audio systems. I KNOW that I've gotten more enjoyment from my turntable than my SACD player. It's fun 'discovering' old artists on vinyl. I consider a turntable to be the most essential of playback systems.

About three nights, I find variety the spice of life.

Oh, I thought you said "Same Girl" ...

...Sorry.

in your dreams, jd, in your dreams.

-cfb

gear

I upgrade slowly and almost always buy used
then my old pieces make it to the bedroom and office systems
I can't bear to give away anything
and what's funny is a sytem that was my main sytem 5 years ago is now my bedroom hand me downs

speakers 2 years VOn Schweikert VOrtex Screens
may upgrade to a friend's 4 MK II's soon
bedroom set 4 years old B&W Matrix 2's
gave old DCM time windows to brother, B&W 302's in office

preamp - 3 months ARC LS5, before that 2 years Arc LS2
(I plan on keeping this baby a long long time)
10 year old integrated NAD 3400 runs bedroom system
3 year old nad 7100 receiver in the office setup

amp - ARC d300 solid state - no plans to upgrade
had 1 year

tape deck Nakamichi Lx 5 bought in 1984
still works like a charm, only do tapes in car
don't want to scratch cds
Nak bx2 in bedroom setup, sometimes used to dub tapes

cd transport - teac (wadia base) is a new purchase here
evs millenium ii dac - will not part with it!
Cal audio labs - Icon - 3 years old and moving to bedroom
old Nakamichi oms5 (13 years)in office
old Cal aria 5 years (tube analog) may sell or shift to bedroom

bang and olufsen turntable 1984 - hardly ever use
in bedroom system

cables - upgrade the main system
the older stuff goes to the bedroom setup

I won't spare you vcr and dvd player swapping
my girlfriend gets the old stuff