Constantly replacing gear.

[respice finem]

I don't change much any more (OK I'm 58), unless I have to (like my UMIK-1 that "died" yesterday). About 10 years ago I switched from stereo to "poor man's Atmos", which was fun for a few years, but made the stereo gear partly obsolete (amp, DAC, a sub/sat loudspeaker combo), so an older relative got it as a gift. Later I moved from Germany back to my native Poland, selling the house with everything in it, including the "poor man's Atmos" system. Only one headphone+HPA was left, and a CD player. So I had to buy the rest of the stuff (see sig below).
Unless something unexpected happens, I'm "settled". My ears don't get upgrades either

 

[VMAT4]

Didn't know if many ASR members knew this, but, the NSPCC and the New York City SPCC are younger than the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). The NSPCC was founded in 1883. While the New York City SPCC was founded in1874. The ASPCA was founded in 1866. I don't know what all that says about people.

At least we are aware now of the needs of both children and animals. I suppose. Just something else to ponder about our myopia.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

It's incredibly unfortunate for those children and I feel for them and their families. At the same time, I'll keep contributing to my five grandchildren's college funds to help boost their odds of having prosperous and successful lives.

Certainly agree with supporting grandchildren. Our first has just graduated, her sister due to start uni this month. Financial support given to first, and started with the second! The third and fourth still very young.
I can still occasionally give a bob or two to the Shooting Star hospice. And, I have a great hifi, which will only be changed when it gives up the ghost.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

false moral dilemma argument - check.

Please explain?

 

[TTT15]

Just doubt the need for producing and selling lots of new models when they all sound the same and have ever increasing SINADs that I suspect would make no difference in blind testing. Objectively isn’t is just a different marketing model which is unnecessary is the same way as buying expense gear which doesn’t measure better or worse. Just that money is spent. on more models instead of a more expensive model for longer. If you accept the ASR objectivity premise then all these new models seem unnecessary.

 

[DanielT]

Even worse, add without getting rid of. But it can be fun. I had an opportunity to buy a number of speakers this spring from an older hifi enthusiast who was selling. He just wanted to get rid of the speakers. No high end, mostly budget speakers. Some ok budget speakers. I was interested in trying out the Kef Coda 7 so I bought them for $40. Then he said I could buy the rest for $10 a pair. I filled the whole car with speakers. It was a fun experiment with speakers in the cabin this summer.

It ended up that I now, as I also had last year, uses my Wharfedale Diamond 220 together with a subwoofer in the cabin. The Kef Coda 7 is quite ok but the Wharfedale Diamond 220 is better. The Infinity 1500e that can be seen in the upper left corner of the picture; eight inch bass drives together with Infinity's classic EMIT tweeter, is a bird that really shouldn't be able to fly but they are nice. A bit "hot" tweeter and no bass below 70 Hz but other than that surprisingly nice 1500e. I guess they fit well in the cottage with their placement in the room and my furniture. It just so happens that I like the reflections they give in the room. In the apartment in the city I might not have liked them at all.But they actually give the Wharfedale Diamond 220 a match here in the cabin.

I didn't buy all of them but four pairs of speakers. I couldn't fit more speakers in the car than that.

I will sell them later this autumn though. I might keep the Kef Coda 7 and or the 1500e speakers though.

Then you can ask yourself the question: What's the point of testing old budget speakers? Buy a really good pair of new ones and you're done. Of course there's something to that. Maybe even a lot, but it's damn fun to test too.

 

[Sokel]

Charity is the sole, one, greatest failure of our society.
It shouldn't exist, at all.

If we, the "rich", civilized part of the world cannot take care of our people in an organized fashion, I count that as a major flaw.
Regardless though, since stuff can't be ideal, why can't we do both?

I don't talk for myself, I rarely change unless it's calculated to make a meaningful difference and costs is always counted through time.
And I can't get people changing DACs for example, or other silly gear. But it's their wallet, so...

 

[Mart68]

Regardless though, since stuff can't be ideal, why can't we do both?

I suspect most of us do. Everywhere I've worked there was always someone doing a charity drive at least every other week. At FedEx there was an organised volunteer programme where we'd go out to children's homes and the like and re-paint and tidy up the grounds and so forth.

Not that I have much of a social conscience but I still did that. Someone said to me 'I'm surprised you're doing this!' which I thought was quite funny.

But if I want to buy some vintage receiver I'm never going to use then I will. Won't be morally blackmailed.

 

[DanielT]

Regarding vintage and speaking of replacing:

Some basic regarding vintage. Speakers with foam edges in the cone/diaphragm need to be replaced, not if but when. Here is one of the pair of speakers I bought, #26,Paradigm Atom. Now after playing this has happened:


It was expected. Worth $10 though. But with more expensive speakers, if you want to keep them, a re foam must be done.

Electronics that wear out. Even on well-built amplifiers like Accuphase. Either you have the knowledge and opportunity to solve it yourself or you just have to hand it in to a professional repairman who charges per hour. Can tick up a lot but it may be worth it to have a gem up and running.

On the other hand, just this morning, my E-202 developed a hum in the left channel only. The hum was not input specific: and it remained independent of volume. I turned the amplifier off and back on again and the hum disappeared.

A brief online search says this could be a bad capacitor in the amplifier.

Page 4, #62 in the thread:

'Using an Accuphase E-202 in today's age. Am I missing something?'

Aug 27, 2025

So I've been happily using a second hand Accuphase E-202 for the past 6 months. Besides cleaning out the inside, contact spray and replacing the VU Meter LED's, the amplifier didn't need any further repair. I haven't even bothered replacing the capacitors, as is commonly suggested in vintage gear circles. Why fix it if it ain't broken?

In another system I use at home, I have a much more modern Accuphase E-250. Apart from the cosmetics, the only difference I can "hear" (no measurements) is that the E-250 is much more neutral. The E-202 likes to pump bass, and my guess is that it's...

• aamwgm
• accuphase e-202 hifi vintage vintage amp
• Replies: 79
• Forum: Amplifiers, Phono preamp, and Analog Audio Review

• 

 

[respice finem]

Good gear is worthy to be preserved, but nothing will last forever.

 

[mhardy6647]

Just doubt the need for producing and selling lots of new models when they all sound the same and have ever increasing SINADs that I suspect would make no difference in blind testing. Objectively isn’t is just a different marketing model which is unnecessary is the same way as buying expense gear which doesn’t measure better or worse. Just that money is spent. on more models instead of a more expensive model for longer. If you accept the ASR objectivity premise then all these new models seem unnecessary.

The short survival time (MTBF) of (anecdotally) the lower-priced, smallest equipment, plus (especially in the, umm, multichannel space) the inexorable cavalcade of new formats and/or standards insures a steady revenue stream for the producers of much modern equipment.

... and, yes, I am old and cynical.

Standards

xkcd.com

 

[TTT15]

Indeed, it just looks like a different business model using measurements, high volume and direct distribution to market the products. You can choose which marketing model you subscribe to but ultimately you are making a subjective decision about which marketing model you subscribe to.

 

[Groove01]

Please explain?

isn’t it obvious?

Locally, there is the Shooting Star Hospice, which is a charity for terminally ill children.
How does your post work for them?

Purchase gear (use one’s money as one wishes) at the expense of suffering children. That’s our choice?

The assumption that one is at the expense of the other, or that one’s individual choices are the cause of the other = classic false moral dilemma.

Typical example in animal rescue: “If you buy a pure bred from a breeder, you’re killing a dog in the shelter”.

There should be no place for those types of arguments in intelligent discourse.

 

[egellings]

The dog in the shelter will die either way. Your buying something won't influence what a shelter does to a dog, unless you rescue the dog from the shelter.

 

[JeffS7444]

I admit that I'm reluctant to contribute to many causes, because it's often unclear to me whether a lack of money is the real problem. For example, the national head of a nonprofit organization which frequently canvases my area receives annual compensation in the 7-figure range: Is that individual really effective, or has the organization simply become top-heavy? I don't know.

I've gotten most of my recent audio toys cheaply because they came from thrift stores, and some were of the "restorable wreck" variety. And I am no stranger to trash-picking; it's really amazing what some people simply discard.

 

[krabapple]

Sorry guys. In all sorts of threads members refer to frequently replacing HiFi gear, almost just for the hell of it!

I'm not one of those sad mofos. But I'll happily buy their perfectly fine used gear at a massive discount, if I ever need it.

Their business, I know. I am not as remotely good at giving to charity as I should be, but, surely, the money spent on constant change would be better given to a good cause?
Only saying. NSPCC, just as an instance.

Our giving these days is going to public media, and to journalism that still aims to be true, things which are under fierce attack by the new regime.

 

[Groove01]

The dog in the shelter will die either way. Your buying something won't influence what a shelter does to a dog, unless you rescue the dog from the shelter.

 

[kemmler3D]

Leaving aside the ethics of consumption (a topic that could fill an entire forum this size with no detours into talk of Hi-Fi), I think if someone is constantly replacing gear, (as opposed to collecting) there's a problem somewhere.

Either: 1) their selection process doesn't properly line up their preferences and the actual performance of the gear, necessitating frequent "upgrades" that lead nowhere, 2) They're buying tiny upgrades frequently instead of saving up for "endgame" or maybe "halftime" gear they can enjoy for a while, or 3) they're just addicted to buying stuff and audio happens to be their category.

When I moved to a new house my buying sped up a lot and now has slowed down a ton. I've got at least "halftime" gear.

Aside from all that I think buying and selling secondhand takes a lot of the financial and ethical edge off buying audio gear. The net cost of ownership is vastly lower and you slow down the process of turning natural resources into garbage proportionally. I tell everyone in "what should I buy" threads to consider it. If you have to compulsively buy audio gear at least don't pay retail.

 

[respice finem]

Leaving aside the ethics of consumption (a topic that could fill an entire forum this size with no detours into talk of Hi-Fi), I think if someone is constantly replacing gear, (as opposed to collecting) there's a problem somewhere.

Either: 1) their selection process doesn't properly line up their preferences and the actual performance of the gear, necessitating frequent "upgrades" that lead nowhere, 2) They're buying tiny upgrades frequently instead of saving up for "endgame" or maybe "halftime" gear they can enjoy for a while, or 3) they're just addicted to buying stuff and audio happens to be their category.

When I moved to a new house my buying sped up a lot and now has slowed down a ton. I've got at least "halftime" gear.

Aside from all that I think buying and selling secondhand takes a lot of the financial and ethical edge off buying audio gear. The net cost of ownership is vastly lower and you slow down the process of turning natural resources into garbage proportionally. I tell everyone in "what should I buy" threads to consider it. If you have to compulsively buy audio gear at least don't pay retail.

Plus, speaking of cost, it's good to keep an eye on the cost of subscriptions. I still tend to buy CDs and Blurays, preferably used. For the "selective consumer" it's cheaper, and you can't be remotely blocked from stuff you've paid for.

 

[Archguy]

I don't change much any more (OK I'm 58), unless I have to

Same here, unless something cool & nifty is introduced. With a house bursting at the seams with audio gear, I really should stop. And I have stopped, until maybe next week.