Where do you draw the line with audio gear purchasing?

If you were to re-word your initial question to "Where do WE ( as with the SO on board) draw the line..." one comes closer to the truth the matter. :) IMHO

In most cases the most important variable in the equation of buying.


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There has to be something in place that keeps purchases in check.
It will cost a ton of money to better what I have, so it's not just pocket change to bring something else home.
If I have really nice expensive gear it takes some thinking to buy.


For me the best way to draw the line is to quit looking. No lookeee no buyeee!

And this^^^
But the record store gets me sometimes. Every once in a while I see something there that's high end good equipment that will be needing me to open my wallet.
 
The only thing I am on the look out for is a decent integrated amplifier from the mid 90's or newer. If I don't find anything in the next year or so will start looking at new stuff in the 4 bills or less category because that's what I can afford. I do have my eye on the First Watt class A kit that Pass Labs designed over at DIY Audio.
 
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My rules on buying gear:
* It must be North American made. Example - McIntosh, ARC, Bryston, etc.
* I prefer products that are refined over many years. Example - Vandersteen speakers
* I have leaned towards SS in recent years. If buying a tube amp - auto bias is strongly preferred. Otherwise, I find myself with an OCD like drive to constantly check for bias drift.
* Simple minimalist designs. Example - crossover-less speakers
* Not an all out rule but a strong preference that speakers should be time and phase coherent, utilizing a 1st order crossover or be crossover-less.
 
I went through a life simplification process several years ago, finding new homes for a lot of things (not just audio related) that I just didn't feel I needed, and what keeps things in check for me with hifi is having just one system and not buying new gear unless something needs to be replaced in the system I've got. Old gear goes out if new gear comes in.
I'd like to ask a secondary question: Do everyone e-cycle their old gear?
 
I'd like to ask a secondary question: Do everyone e-cycle their old gear?

If it's spare parts or something that's broken I would toss it up in Barter town either super cheap or just for the cost of shipping.
 
I've set a goal for myself. I want very good audio playback and I want to keep it simple. My sources are CD and records. Although I did by an inexpensive lil' box so I can stream music from the internet and no, I'm not going down that rabbit hole to max out SQ from that source. So, it's a receiver, a TT with a good cart, a CD/DVD player, an amp and speakers and it'll cost substantially more to upgrade.
Aside from a few tweaks here and there, my money will go for more media. So for now my "upgradeitis" is in remission.
 
"The line must be drawn he-ah." (Said with a Jean-Luc Picard accent from Star Trek: First Contact.)

I mostly swore off collecting for collecting's sake years ago. I do allow myself just one brand to collect still, SAE. Otherwise, purchases are made only to satisfy a need that's been identified. If I am to consider a purchase, I've got a few rules to narrow the candidates:
1- must be rack mountable, this really limits purchases more and more as time goes by
2- must be a standard height, it must be a really exceptional device if it meets #1 and fails #2

With just those two rules, I can eliminate a huge amount of gear. In reality I cannot always satisfy these rules, and I must compromise my standards to get what I want. For example, I don't know of any rack mountable VCRs and DVD players, and yet I have a bunch of them.
 
There's a LINE?! :eek:
There has to be, for most people I believe.

Nobody wants to admit they hoard....so don't believe up-front those that say they don't.

There was a Realistic STA2000 that I really liked and was very close to buying.

There was a Sansui G7000 that I was very close to buying.

Buuuuuut, I ultimately passed on both because they don't meet my 100wpc or greater rule.

That is only TWO recent examples. If there was no line I would be loaded to the brim with gear that did not really have a place in any of my systems.

I came close to buying a pair of HPM150. Did not meet my criteria for being a large bookshelf speaker. I classified if as a floor standing speaker. So, yeah.
 
For me the best way to draw the line is to quit looking. No lookeee no buyeee!

Not viable. Sometimes opportunity knocks on you without you looking for it.

And even still, ebay and cl are at your fingertips. Any audio guru will want to peruse the listings.
 
Myself.....solid state only. 100wpc and up, stereo only. Early 70s, through early 80s (other than my cdp). CDs are my only source. Good service manuals must be available. If this criteria is not met, consideration for purchase will not be given.

Speakers....."west coast" only. Vented cabinets only. Large bookshelf only. Cast aluminum basketed drivers only. No horns. This criteria must br met for me to consider buying.

... Let's face it, gear is addictive.

Excellent topic for a thread, z-adamson. My criteria are quite similar to yours:

1.) 100 watts per channel and up, no compromise.
2.) Solid state separates (preamp, amplifier). No receivers.
3.) Digital files served via an ethernet-enabled Windows "box" as the only source.
4.) The loudspeakers must be floorstanders with at least a 12-inch bass driver.
5.) Since my cash flow does not yet permit the purchase of freestanding speakers that can plumb the depths down to 20 Hz and potentially below, at least two (2) 100+ watt powered subwoofers bearing a minimum of a 12" driver.

I have a similar setup in my living room as we "speak." It sounds great to my ear and allows me and my wife to access our music anywhere in the house via the LAN or anywhere the internet is available while away from home. The total price for the aforementioned would range from several hundred dollars used to ~ a couple of thousand for new for non-boutique/upper strata gear.
 
When everyone was dumping tube for SS I had a finished attic full of TOTL tube equipment and speakers, allot of it was just given to me so I hooked up my friends. But my friends had to help me work on the cars I was building for quite some time, worked out great and my friends ended building their own cars. I also think it’s best to own the best sounding equipment you can possibly own instead of allot of stuff that doesn’t sound as good. The designed point of stereo equipment is listening to sound and not owning the equipment, so getting better sounding equipment and dumping the lesser equipment makes sense.
 
There has to be, for most people I believe.

Nobody wants to admit they hoard....so don't believe up-front those that say they don't.

There was a Realistic STA2000 that I really liked and was very close to buying.

There was a Sansui G7000 that I was very close to buying.

Buuuuuut, I ultimately passed on both because they don't meet my 100wpc or greater rule.

That is only TWO recent examples. If there was no line I would be loaded to the brim with gear that did not really have a place in any of my systems.

I came close to buying a pair of HPM150. Did not meet my criteria for being a large bookshelf speaker. I classified if as a floor standing speaker. So, yeah.
Just kidding really, your post has great merit. I think that we all often stumble into "opportunities" that tempt us but we really need to take a step back and consider whether the acquisition makes any sense. Just because it might be a great deal for the item in question, we have to think about it's usefulness in our current system/living arrangement. Just because we want it and it is a good deal does not mean we need it. Really we don't need any of this stuff, it is just a hobby to take our minds away from the day to day grind for a short while.

Sometimes I will grab a piece because it is something I have always been interested in trying out and after refurbishment/repair I can pass it along if it doesn't make me happier than what I currently have. Often this enables me to learn something in the process and I can also use the money made to acquire something that will benefit my current system more. This way it's sort of a one in, one out sort of thing where you aren't accumulating too much stuff that you can never hope to use. It also helps to self fund the hobby to an extent so that you don't have to spend a lot of discretionary income on your system.
 
The simple answer is to buy once and to buy right. I buy only the devices that I desire, and everything bought new or used must be in excellent condition.

I love the myriad of vintage HiFi equipment out there in the market, but the rule that has worked for me is the following:

1. In terms of amplifiers, I will only buy new. If I am buying a secondary or spare system (which could happen) I may consider used.
2. In terms of speakers, I will only buy new. I already have a fairly good supply of quality used speakers, and the day may come that I might restore those examples; Thus I would not buy an additional pair of used speakers.
3. Turntables: I will strictly buy vintage. I deem the risk of buying a vintage turntable as acceptable, because the chances of repairing a vintage table to like- new condition are very good. Additionally, IMO there seems to be a lack of quality new TTs on the market that are reasonably priced. Another good reasoning behind vintage turntables: There is a very large (huge) market for buying virtually any vintage table that one may have liked in the past.
4. CD Player: I will only buy new. There still exists a large market of new and good quality cd players available.
5. Cassette: None. I would normally buy a vintage cassette deck, but I already have a very good vintage deck in my possession.
 
If we buy whatever catches the eye, we become neck deep in gear with just a few devices in use.
So there must be a line that is drawn to minimize the potential candidates. There has to be something in place that keeps purchases in check.

I am in fact neck deep in gear with just a few devices in use, save me, help me, I need help. Is there a 12 step meeting for this? My name is kvining, and I'm an audioholic. Tubes, solid state, vintage, the latest Atmos rig, it doesn't matter, I'll buy it. I will be surrounded by it when I'm living under a bridge.
 
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