How often do you swap out equipment in general

Hardly ever - maybe every two years. I will not swap stuff unless I can audition first. And I've hardly ever auditioned something I prefer over my current set up. That is why I no longer consider my self an audiophile. Turns out I am just a musicphile in search of gear to improve my enjoyment of music - all music, not just audiophile grade recordings. My gear is just a hammer to nail the music.

i guess i'll make that appointment for
me and dpac.
:)

I get the upgrade itch about 1.5 to 2 years;I always buy used and try to move up in a audible improvement; its a lot of fun and you don't loose a ton of money especially if you can move your used gear on audiogon.

I usually know what I want and I'm rarely in a hurry to get it. I'll typically start looking several months in advance of the purchase, and I almost always buy used. I put together my entire system, except the HDTV, from items purchased off Audiogon.

I did, however, just purchase an Oppo 983 brand new from Oppo. It will be interesting to see if it bests the Denon 3910 I just sold. Boy did I ever have seller's remorse over that piece! I sure hope the Oppo justifies that sale...

-RW-

I'll make impulse purchases just to try out the latest thing; most recently a pair of Usher S-520s, a Bel Canto dac2 and an Oppo 980. I listened to the Ushers for a while just for a change and sold them at very little loss. The Oppo and dac2 will stay until I need to sell them for some other interesting piece. This is part of the hobby for me but most of the mainstays in my system are a couple years old now. I have no desire to change them out as they are very musically satisfying to me.