Spending big bucks on HiFi Audio

[Robin L]

I really don't think most people think about this at all. To begin with, there are few people who are as "spendy" with audio as they are with automobiles or other luxury items. Us at ASR are more likely to be conscious of overpriced audio because we are aware of where money should be spent in order to get good sound, and we are also conscious of how and why Stereophile, Audio Planet, Absolute Sound and other publications push overpriced audio gear. That gives the illusion that there are lots of people buying Wilson Audio floor standing speakers. There aren't. But your average Joe doesn't think about these issues nearly as much as we do. I know I spent too much on LPs and CDs over the years considering my income, but these days the recordings I want are cheap and anyway, I'm running out of room to store them. I'm glad I no longer collect LPs. That game has become too pricey and considering the sonic advantages of CDs, at least as regards Classical music, there's no advantage to collecting LPs. I've got a good sounding audio system in a small room and don't blast the levels, so I'm good for the foreseeable future. Somebody who spends too much money on audio is probably deaf anyway.

 

[Ron Texas]

I've got to jump on that one, Ron... I'll bet you do somewhere, sometime! If you have kids, ask them. They'll let you know where & when!

Nope. My kids have been out of the house for a long time.

 

[Alexanderc]

A couple of people have mentioned unfamiliarity as the reason people balk at the high price of audio equipment, and I have an anecdote to share. Apologies if this seems self-indulgent--I only intend for it to be educational.

I got into this hobby by accident. When I was working on my doctorate (in music of all things) I had a $150 HTIB. One speaker stopped working and I wanted to replace it. I didn't know if I could use any speaker, or if I needed one with some specific attributes, or if I needed an identical speaker. I couldn't find an answer anywhere and nobody I asked could tell me. And I was asking people who I thought ought to know (the guy who ran the performing arts center for example). The average person really has no idea.

Eventually I stumbled onto some equipment review website (I don't remember which one) and discovered that speakers could cost over a thousand dollars! I was shocked. I saw a review of the top of the line Mordaunt-short floorstanders with the tweeter that stuck out the back for something like $9,000 and thought that must be about the most expensive a speaker could get (HA!).

Edit: it was the Mordaunt-Short Performance 6 and it was more like $7000 a pair.

 

[aschen]

Tangentially related: Its a shame younger folks arnt into decent music reproduction, because there has never been a better time.

Can get pretty great sound for a few hundred 2024 bux. In college in the 90s it seems like a decent stereo was at least 5-700 1995 dollars, and most of the cheaper stuff was severly compromised.

 

[Mart68]

Tangentially related: Its a shame younger folks arnt into decent music reproduction, because there has never been a better time.

This is true but they probably wouldn't guess that from looking at a hi-fi mag or in a dealer's window where 'entry level' is at least £1K per component.

Amazon has some good products but how to distinguish from the sea of tat if you don't know anything? Forums are either too specialised and therefore too daunting, or too mystical ('First, buy your power cables').

I don't see that there's any easy way in for them, that's maybe part of the problem?

 

[DLS79]

I'm Gen X, but something worth noting is that it was way easier to find audio gear when I was a kid than it is today.

When I was in 2nd grade, my parents got me a stereo system. It had a turntable, an AM/FM receiver, and dual cassette players (I remember being able to make mix tapes). It was all black and looked something like below. Considering my parents didn't make much at the time I'm sure it wasn't anything special. It was probably something they picked up on sale from Sears, JCPenney, or Montgomery Ward. But it was all mine and I loved it.

I don't think millennials or Gen Zs had access to anything even close to this, so it's not to hard to understand why speakers and higher end audio is foreign to them.

 

[mhardy6647]

Listening is a verb.

True, but I think it's an intransitive verb*.
That might or might not be a profound observation.
_____________
* well -- like most things in these days of instant access to a wealth of knowledge (and made-up knowledge), the bottom line on my absolutist statement appears to be slightly more nuanced.

Why is "listen" always followed by "to" in the command voice?

When I say, read it or drink it or take me, there is no to in-between. Why is it that when I use the verb listen, I have to say listen to me or listen to it?

english.stackexchange.com

 

[Mart68]

I'm Gen X, but something worth noting is that it was way easier to find audio gear when I was a kid than it is today.

When I was in 2nd grade, my parents got me a stereo system. It had a turntable, an AM/FM receiver, and dual cassette players (I remember being able to make mix tapes). It was all black and looked something like below. Considering my parents didn't make much at the time I'm sure it wasn't anything special. It was probably something they picked up on sale from Sears, JCPenney, or Montgomery Ward. But it was all mine and I loved it.

I don't think millennials or Gen Zs had access to anything even close to this, so it's not to hard to understand why speakers and higher end audio is foreign to them.


View attachment 360909

You did well there, I had an Aiwa very close to this one:



Although that appears to have speakers with real tweeters - mine were single driver, the design on the grilles made it look like there were tweeters - but there weren't.

 

[kemmler3D]

Its a shame younger folks arnt into decent music reproduction,

I don't think this is true, they're just (to my eye) interested in IEMs first, headphones second, speakers third, largely for price/performance reasons. If you check reddit.com/r/budgetaudiophile, I think you'll notice the crowd skews a lot younger than here. It's also got 245K subscribers, depending on how you measure it, a larger audience than ASR.

There are also a lot of younger (30+) people who buy a Sonos system and don't involve themselves with the space further. Sonos isn't the pinnacle of hi-fi, but it's still arguably hi-fi today, and most of their products would put most LS3/5a units to shame. Certainly they'd beat anything Aiwa ever made in the 80s and wouldn't be a joke compared even to lower-end floorstanders from that era.

I think people in general are still interested in good sound, broadly speaking - but they're not interested in pursuing audio knowledge as a hobby. They want something decent in the house and then they want to go back to their normal lives.

 

[DLS79]

I don't think this is true, they're just (to my eye) interested in IEMs first, headphones second, speakers third, largely for price/performance reasons. If you check reddit.com/r/budgetaudiophile, I think you'll notice the crowd skews a lot younger than here. It's also got 245K subscribers, depending on how you measure it, a larger audience than ASR.

There are also a lot of younger (30+) people who buy a Sonos system and don't involve themselves with the space further. Sonos isn't the pinnacle of hi-fi, but it's still arguably hi-fi today, and most of their products would put most LS3/5a units to shame. Certainly they'd beat anything Aiwa ever made in the 80s and wouldn't be a joke compared even to lower-end floorstanders from that era.

I think people in general are still interested in good sound, broadly speaking


I think people in general are still interested in good sound, broadly speaking - but they're not interested in pursuing audio knowledge as a hobby. They want something decent in the house and then they want to go back to their normal lives.

I wonder how well a stereo "system" would sell today.

 

[egellings]

I don't spend huge amounts of money on stereo equipment because I haven't got huge amounts of money.
What spare money I do have I spend of these feathered nutters and growing food.
View attachment 360687View attachment 360688

Bedawk!

 

[muslhead]

I don't care what's acceptable to "society". (As long as your children are getting fed, etc.). I'm a free-market guy and you can do with your money what you wish.

What's between husbands and wives and family finances is none of my business.

I've probably spent the most money on music, mostly CDs. I've got almost 20,000 songs on my computer (mostly ripped from CDs) so that's probably $15-$20,000 USD. I've probably have spent $20K over my lifetime on hardware (I'm in my 60s) especially if you include car audio. My most "extravagant" purchase was a CD burner for $1000 when they were 1st available and blank CDs were $12. At the same time, I upgraded 2 car stereos to CD. My main left & right speakers are DIY and the surround speakers were donated/inherited (so nothing properly matches.)

My "latest" upgrades were going to 5.1 surround several years, and a pair of 15-inch DIY subs a few years ago. I don't need feel the need to upgrade at the moment.

I wish i could give more than one like

 

[amper42]

Today's young people want a phone more than anything and it starts earlier and earlier. Some have phones as six year olds. Everything they do is related to the phone. Hifi isn't part of that circle. Earbuds are along with social media, texting and calls to friends. Nothing else gets as close to their world as their phone. It's a bit scary.

 

[Svet Angelov]

You did well there, I had an Aiwa very close to this one:



Although that appears to have speakers with real tweeters - mine were single driver, the design on the grilles made it look like there were tweeters - but there weren't.

The good old "fake it till you make it"

 

[DLS79]

Today's young people want a phone more than anything and it starts earlier and earlier. Some have phones as six year olds. Everything they do is related to the phone. Hifi isn't part of that circle. Earbuds are along with social media, texting and calls to friends. Nothing else gets as close to their world as their phone. It's a bit scary.

I don't agree with that. I have a 5 year old and he loves music. He has an echo dot in his room that he plays music through all the time. I've been looking at adding BT speakers to it.

 

[kemmler3D]

I wonder how well a stereo "system" would sell today.

The modern "stereo system" is arguably a Sonos 5 or similar. AFAIK they sell better than almost anything featured on ASR...

 

[Mr. Widget]

3) More millennials and Gen Z'ers just prefer experiences than tangible things. Going to a concert, rather than listening to a recording, traveling, etc.

I am a Boomer and have had some truly amazing experiences... unfortunately I have forgotten most of them.

To the focus of this thread, I would say the arrival of my DD66000s was an experience. Enjoyed them for a number of years and then sold them at a profit, so in effect I was paid to own them.

 

[Sal1950]

This topic came up few time on other threads.

Why is it not acceptable by our society (and wives) to spend big bucks on HiFi audio (or any other lesser practiced hobbies) when it is acceptable to spend $75k on a new car or have second car as a hobby car?

Is it because HiFi is an obscure luxury? Is it because societal standards brained washed us? Is it because the hobby has been tainted with snake oil?

How much have you spent on this HiFi hobby over your life time? How much do you spend on average an year? Will you ever reach your end game and stop upgrading? How do you deal with your wife/gf/partner when it comes to HiFi spending?

Interesting thoughts.
I think we all spend more than we should on whatever it is that flips our switches.
For so many it's the most obvious things that will shout the loudest about the size of their wallets, the wife's live best with those very well. From big houses and cars to loud gold jewelry, watches, and diamonds, the need to impress others is most important.
I've had a couple dollar devils in my life, mainly motorcycles and Hi Fi. I'm an adrenaline junkie and the need for speed always loomed large. I never could afford the really fast cars, so very fast bikes were always a lot cheaper.
I wouldn't want to guess on my lifetime investment in HiFi gear but it's always been way more money than my income could justify. Believe me, I heard about that plenty from the house mice that have come and gone over the decades. LOL

 

[DLS79]

The modern "stereo system" is arguably a Sonos 5 or similar. AFAIK they sell better than almost anything featured on ASR...

Ugh, glorified BT speakers that cost $988 for a set!

you could get 2 Adam T5V's and a matching T10s sub, plus a Topping D50 iii to drive them for like $40 more!

 

[Doodski]

I am a Boomer and have had some truly amazing experiences... unfortunately I have forgotten most of them.

To the focus of this thread, I would say the arrival of my DD66000s was an experience. Enjoyed them for a number of years and then sold them at a profit, so in effect I was paid to own them.

View attachment 360947

I admire you! LoL... Those speakers are soo cooL!