A Thought about the actual cost of Buying equipment

Nightcleaner

Super Member
Hi

I was In My Local Hi Fi Shop. Richer Sounds The guys were praising the new About to be released In The UK "Cambridge Edge Amplifier". Salesman were saying its a very impressive piece of equipment. How They Never afford to buy one.

On My Bus ride Home. This had me thinking. Lets Run run through the most expensive things your ever buy in your life. For the ordinary working guy it be a mortgage on a house, Second thing would be maybe a new car.

You would happily go through the new car options and happily buy a new medium sized car. What would you happily pay?

What Happen Boys and girls. if you did not drive never had any interest in driving never owned a car. You happily spend if you did drive, a few thousand dollars in my case Pounds on a new car

So If you did not drive. what so wrong about spending £7000 ($9211.30) on your Amp? Imagine you only kept your car 3 years and resold it. (to get the best resale value back as Some people do here)

Why does the thought of spending 8 grand on a car appeal to us but scares the life out of us for a bit of HI Fi

Is it something to do with this side of the coin

There been many times in my life , where I bought some Hi Fi gear or similar luxury goods and beat myself up mentally black and blue about spending that mount. We are not even talking about Telephone number type amounts.

When you get it home in its box the best bit do you agree, is when its still NEW in its box sealed up, and that initial feeling, on getting the knife' to slit down the tape and open the box. Because its new and new paid out all that money. You have to justify to yourself the monies you laid out is all worth it, and tell your self its the best bit of gear on the initial switch on you ever heard agreed?

Anyone hear what i am asking am i right or am i thinking to far out the box.

Sources

https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/usa/en/products/edge

https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=£7000+to+Us+Dollars
 
You're a lonely voice WAY out on there on the tail end of a bell curve (doesn't much matter which side) calling to the large crowd closer to the middle. That never works out very well...
 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with spending £7000 on an amplifier, if you feel you're getting £7000 of value.

...Or £70,000 if you're getting £70,000 worth of value, for that matter.

I bought a brand new truck in 1995. It was the first and last new vehicle I ever bought. I spent about $30,000 CDN, as I was living in Canada at the time.

Afterward, I didn't feel I got $30,000 worth of value.

I live in the UK now. The most I've spent on a car, truck, or motorcycle since I moved to the UK is £4500. That's my personal value-for-wheels limit. It has nothing to do with living in the UK. I wouldn't spend more than that if I still lived in Canada or anywhere else.

I can afford more, but I don't want to. It's simply the most a car, truck, or motorcycle is worth to me. That and no more. I'd rather spend the rest of my money on other things.

I would also spend up to £4500 on an amplifier, because that's what an amplifier is worth to me. I'd spend more than that on speakers, but not much more, because that's what audio is worth to me.

That and no more. I'd rather spend the rest of my money on other things.

I've spent a lot more than that on my house, but that's because a house is worth a lot more to me than a car, truck, motorcycle, amplifier, or set of speakers. Also, it costs a lot to buy and maintain a house; there's not much choice in the matter.

But I can choose to buy cars, trucks, and motorcycles, amplifiers and speakers that are good enough for me for about £4500.

For some folks, that wouldn't buy anything near good enough. For others, that would be spending far too much.

The same applies to audio. For some, £7000 for an amplifier is about right. For others, it's way too much or way too little.

We've all got different financial perspectives and different financial limits. Do what feels comfortable to you.
 
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Wherever your passion lies. I’ve been addicted to quality music gear since I was s teenager.

I already had eight foot tall electrostats in ‘85 when I met my wife. She knew exactly what she was getting into.

One of her passions is playing her piano. :)
 
I buy stuff I enjoy. Sometimes I pay to much but I still enjoy. I sell stuff, sometimes I make a few pennies but most times not, so I accumulate stuff. It's just stuff and it comes and goes. I give it away if it makes my friends happy. It's reciprocal for the most part and I have several pieces I have zero $ invested in. I especially enjoy those. My goal is to enjoy the stuff I buy whether for a day or decade. And when I'm finished someone else gets to enjoy it. Win Win

In the end it's the only thing that gives money any value.

And yeah,...........listening to some killer blues:music:
 
Generally, I agree, as long as it's worth it to you. It's all about priorities and how much disposable income is available.

Personally, rather than buy a nice luxury car, I'd split that same cost between a good mid-level car and a really nice pair of speakers. I'd happily drive a Ford (like I am now) and have a pair of KEF Blades or something, rather than drive a BMW. Again, it's all about priorities. There are, of course, other expenses and financing resources that get in the way of such things...
 
I drive a 2005 Jeep Wrangler that I bought used. It has manual everything like crank down windows and a real key that unlocks the doors - almost all analog. That kind of reflects the HiFi choices I have made over the last ten years since I am always on a budget. Most choices are made on "Can I fix it myself?" "Can I resell it and get my money back?" and "Is there still someone out there that can service it if I can't?" Also, I am married, and with respect to my family and their needs the budget I impose on myself is much greater than if I were single.
 
Jeff Bezos could spend $100,000,000 on an audio system and not think twice about it. Would he enjoy it more than I do mine? I doubt it.

Buy what you can afford and be happy comfy with it. Folks put waaaaaaaayyyyyy too much into the $/:banana:ratio. Best system I ever had cost less than a cuppa coffee at Starbucks today.
 
I like to think of it this way... some people have hobbies that aren't hifi related. For example some people like to drag race, ride motorcycles on the weekend, some own a boat or an atv. I never seem to hear any outrage over the money people spend on those things, but plug the price off one of those things into the price of your hifi, and to some it seems ridiculously expensive.
 
I like to think of it this way... some people have hobbies that aren't hifi related. For example some people like to drag race, ride motorcycles on the weekend, some own a boat or an atv. I never seem to hear any outrage over the money people spend on those things, but plug the price off one of those things into the price of your hifi, and to some it seems ridiculously expensive.
When comparing hifi to other hobbies, the problem is that for most hobbies, differences in price result in obvious differences in speed, appearance, or desirable size. A really expensive boat is big and fast and pretty and can hold a bunch of people. A cheap boat is a leaky canoe. A really expensive motorcycle is towed around on a special trailer, sounds like an angry demon, spits fire, and goes a quarter mile in the time it takes to blink. A cheap motorcycle is the neighbour kid's rusty 50cc monkey bike. Everyone knows the difference between a new Ferrari and a ratty Toyota.

For most hobbies, the difference between cheap and expensive is obvious.

However, for folks who aren't into audio, the only perceivable difference between an expensive rig and a cheap rig is that the expensive rig is irritatingly loud and ugly, only appears to be able to play the same three dull 1970's albums (DSOTM, Aja, and that awful Bitches Brew), and takes up room space that would be better used to hold a bigger TV.

The difference in sound quality is largely lost on folks who find earbuds, mobile phones, bluetooth speakers, and discrete table-top speakers preferable because they're modern, portable, discrete, and play all the current hits.
 
As long as I can comfortably afford something I buy it, whether it be a car, hifi gear or whatever else strikes my fancy. Some people get it, some people dont. A lot of folks look at me like I have two heads when they find out what I paid for my dogs, but they bring me a great deal of pleasure so I don't care about the money. It's the same with the stereo gear.
 
Ah this is the age old angst that can be highlighted on boards like Audiokarma. It happens on other boards of course, but at a lesser extent it seems. But not always. the question of how much should a person spend before they wander into crazy land? The corollary being that how little can I spend to be a hard core value hunter or cheapskate?
There really is no good answer, unless you delve into the world of tweaks, wire, and accessories....then a large percentage will consider you crazy. And maybe they are right.

The answer really is what do you enjoy? if you enjoy a Harley, then buy one if you can afford it. If buying a used one makes it more affordable to you, then by all means do so. Same with a bass boat. Same with high fashion clothes, but probably not a good idea to buy that underwear used. Unless you have an odd disposition I suppose. Travel, eat at exotic of fine dining locations, buy that $500 bottle of wine.

Money itself has no intrinsic value. It is a societal construct, and it is based on what we can trade it for. Trade your money for what makes your life possible, such as food, shelter, transportation, and medical care. If you got extra trade it for stuff that makes your life comfortable, or hobbies you enjoy. Don't worry about what others think about your money trading choices, and don't worry about theirs. When you spend it you make the economy go around. And you can't take it with you....well you can but it won't do you any good.

Cheers
Mister Pig
 
Not sure. I don't listen to salesmen.
Never drivin anything but my 86 4-Runner
Never had any other stereo (at home)

There is nothing at all wrong with spending 10K on an amp. One for 500 should do the "same" thing, let's say 2% worse to not trigger the high end dudes.

If you like pretty and a brand name, go for it.

Did you know that a Breitling Watch that sells for 7K has an ETA made Swiss movement that costs about 160 USD on Ebay? (inb4 Swatch group discussion)
Food for thought.
 
I buy used cars for much the same reasons I buy vintage audio equipment. 1) I get more value for the money. Let some other sucker lose a quarter of the value of his car or audio equipment the moment he gets it home. 2) there are some classic designs that I cannot get when I buy new.. My first car was an MG-TF. I currently drive a 2003 Honda S2000. Both acquired used. Among my gear can be found Thorens TD-160 and a TD-125, Braun CAV 520, Yamaha CR-2020 and CA-1010, Advent, A/D/S L710 and Braun L715 speakers, etc. See a pattern here? It has to be beautiful, work well AND be good value.
 
Compared to a luxury car, it would appear that you get more value and utility out of a stereo that costs the same amount of money. It'll last longer and require less maintenance and upkeep.

Now that truck sales have exploded to include folks who don't really need them, I'd say spending comparable money on a hobby is a much better value than a pickup truck, but only if you're using that truck for commuting as opposed to working. Where I live, the majority of trucks on the road spend their lives in rush hour traffic with one texting occupant .
 
For a good number of years in my 20's-30's I lived on the "east side" of Milwaukee. I was within walking distance of a large University with a fine Music Dept.
Stores, Bars, Banks, Record Stores all within walking distance. I knew people who lived close by that didn't own cars. If only it wasn't so crowded LOL
I expect that most major metropolitan areas have locals where owning a car is optional.
I have owned new cars. What I won't do is spend $2000(or more) for a bike. I've got a used Trek that cost me $400 off of CL, the same place where I get most of my Vintage Audio.
My wife was wondering if we could just have one car between us when I retire. I'll have to bring that subject up again and say SURE As long as I can spend more on my hobbies.
 
You have to balance cost against performance, against time and dependability. I started when tubes were the only choice, with. Knight Kits Dyna kits, Fisher and Scott. And I learned pretty fast they all had issues. Most of them couldn't last a year with out needing to go to the shop. And none of them met specs, they were lying to the consumer. So I bit the bullet and bought a Mcintosh MA 230 and a MR-67. I was very happy with them but when I bought my Bozaks as kits and help build from scratch I wanted more Power so the 230 and 67 were traded on a 71, C-22 and MC 240 and then another 240 was added. When I up graded again I went with 275's. When I bi amped to save money I bought two 2100's and as I had a 2505 which replaced my MC 60's for remote speakers and my Electrostatic headphones. I figured two meters were enough and that I didn't need 6. Well I have my 2505 still. Its 50 years old, less than Ten Dollars a year. Over the log hall. I figure my Hifi Video system HT system costs me about 50 cents an hour, not including TV watch time. Figure about 20 to 50 hours a week. Figure about $1200 a year.... for 60 years. $72000. What keeps the price down is the high trade in value on pre-owned Mac, knowing the product and having worked for a Mac dealer. I have had very few repairs over the years. Helps too. But Now that our shop has closed, I use our chief Service Tech for non Mac repairs and for Mac repairs where he has had a lot of experience, but Audio Classics is where I go for serious issues. My MR-80 and MPI-4 for instance. The C-34 had a switch fail that was no longer available and had to be rebuilt by an experience hand. Thank You Ryan and Steve. My professional life was spent trouble shooting and repairing others equipment. So the last thing I want to do is repair my own. or have my system down with no sounds. Oh I replace my own lamps and clean controls and connectors etc. I could rebuild my 2505 if I had the correct parts, too. But its just easier to have Ryan send a call tag return the unit and have it come back as good as new. I have only had 4 Mac repairs in 60 years for over 50 pieces. No repairs on 10 pairs of speakers. Except for replacing a few caps and one super tweeter diaphragm. I have trashed my share of TT styli, until I got my Rabco with semi auto operation. Screwing up a MC cartridge can be expensive. Only one so far. Stanton Styli hold better than Shure. Haven't bent a Dynavector yet. Tube R2R were always needing servicing. Lubing, brake bands or pads, controls, switches. capstan rollers scrape filters glass guides, tubes, transistors and capacitors. But thats what I learned to repair first at the radio station . work study, and at the shop when the techs were behind the 8-ball I took up the slack. If there was brand that gave me issues, it was Crown and DBX, they just don't hold up and is why I went back to Mac amps. The Crowns all needed to be totally rebuilt every 10 years. So anything I gained by buying Crown at the time was lost do to down time and service issues. I bought Crown because they were direct coupled controlling my woofers better than Mac with transformers or Autoformers. But after the MC 7200 came along I knew I would return to Mac some day and I did with 2 MC 207's and a MC 206. So now I have 11 meters to look at. My comfortable listening level is 2 watts with an occasional 5 to 10 watt peak, thanks to Telarc, Sheffield and Mobile Fidelity. Another product I have had no issues with is UREi, crossovers, equalizers, and limiters. Thorens, need a motor mounts, idlers belts and lubrication. Though my TD 125 has had no issues other than a few drops oil every 1000 years or so, not really more like 5 yers. Pioneer Elite and Pioneer have been dependable as my few marantz an one JVC piece. Pioneer laser discs were a pain with the early models. My 919 is still going strong.
 
There's nothing wrong with spending whatever you want on your hobbies provided that you can comfortably swing it. Comparing audio purchases to cars is not really valid for most people in the USA. Public transportation isn't what it is in other places, cars are a necessity for most Americans.

Without a car, it is very difficult to hold down a job to make the money you need to live. A lot of businesses won't hire someone without reliable transportation. Shopping for groceries would be a major time suck without a car, keeping appointments, getting your kids to where they need to be would be problematic. Nobody has hours to spend walking to a bus stop, waiting for the bus, transferring to another bus, and walking to your destination, and doing it all over again to get home.

With that being said, if you have all of your finances in order and aren't over reaching financially to fund your hobby then spend what you want. The key is, it has to be done with disposible income. What would make me feel bad would be to create a situation where I found myself struggling to cover basic necessities because I overextended myself on something I didn't absolutely need.
 
Where crazyland begins depends on your income, of which I don't have a lot. Gotta have a car to get to work here, but I've got an inexpensive used one. Still had to finance it. I don't look at things like most people. I'm a pretty good machinist. I'm a pretty good circuit designer. I couldn't build a car for anywhere near what I could buy one for, plus it would take forever. OTOH, I can build preamps and power amps for very little money, far less than most better ones cost new. I can fix 'em too. So it doesn't make any sense to me to spend a fortune on audio equipment. The arguments for high end are unconvincing to me, especially as hearing deteriorates with age. I can build or repair as high end as I care to. Spending a lot of money for me is something like placing a Digikey order over a hundred bucks. Or buying an LP for more than 50.
 
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