How old is too old?


Quick but hopefully interesting story. I have been playing high end for 30+ years and I will be turning 65 in a few weeks. Not that long ago I had told my very understanding wife that I had pretty much reached the end of the obsessive journey. I had reached the point where replacing ANYTHING of significance was financial insanity. While I acknowledge that my hearing is no longer what it used to be, I still enjoyed listening. I took heart that many great conductors continue well into old age. So basically, my passion and the rest of my life had reached a peaceful balance. On the other hand I still searched Audiogon most days and have been thinking of a Marantz 10B lately. Old habits... Well, I still believed that something was missing but with the loss of all the Stereo stores, it is damned difficult to hear much of anything let alone compare products. Recently had a chance to hear the Chicago Sym do a rehersal and was reminded how good real music could sound. Without all the details, Wilson and ML are key parts of the system. My speaker cable was from a respected company and quite well thought of. Hadn't even thought about it in years, it was just there. Some fine gentleman was sellig the length of speaker cable I needed for $400 for a cable that retailed for $2200, partially because it had been run through the floor and left scuff marks. My set up runs throught the floor so per-scuffed seemed a fine deal. I hoped for some improvement.

I am enjoying my sound system again with more outright fun than I would have thought possible. Speaker cable! And at 65 years old. For $400. None of us ever get to the end of this hobby and who would want too? If there is a moral to this story besides that High End Stereo probably should have a diagnostic code in the DSM, you are never so old that this still can't be fun if you don't take yourself or your sound system more seriously than is reasonable. I still fine in humorous that after spending mega-bucks, $400 went from pretty good to real good.
kkurtis
Great post, thanks so much! To your comments about a need for DSM diagnosis...Oh, there is!....

B. Pathological personality traits in the following domains:
1. Compulsivity, characterized by:
a. Rigid perfectionism: Rigid insistence on everything being flawless, perfect, without errors or faults, including one‘s own and others‘ performance; sacrificing of timeliness to ensure correctness in every detail; believing that there is only one right way to do things; difficulty changing ideas and/or viewpoint; preoccupation with details, organization, and order.
2. Negative Affectivity, characterized by:
a. Perseveration: Persistence at tasks long after the behavior has ceased to be functional or effective; continuance of the same behavior despite repeated failures.
C. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual’s personality trait expression are relatively stable across time and consistent across situations.
D. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual’s personality trait expression are not better understood as normative for the individual’s developmental stage or socio-cultural environment.
E. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual’s personality trait expression are not solely due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., severe head trauma).
I am 68 and my ears may not be as good as they once were,
but I have learned to hear better. I have also learned to enjoy the music more.
You dont get too old to listen, you only get old if you stop listening.
Now if we had tone controls we could adjust for our hearing deficiencies. Oh wait, thats for the other post...
-John
"without music, life would be a mistake"--nietzsche.

so, stop listening when you stop breathing, and not a moment before.