Hi Fi Spending Smarter Than Car Spending?

[watchnerd]

So was looking at upgrading my car recently for no real good reason other than wanting a new toy.

But as stupid as hi fi prices can be, compared to luxury cars:

-No monthly insurance costs for hi fi
-No annual vehicle registration / vehicle tax costs for hi fi
-Low to zero maintenance costs for hi fi
-Depreciation is not as steep
-Used products a better value because they don't easily wear out (exception for cartridges)
-Except for digital / wireless side, innovation is slower, so "SOTA" products can still be very good 10+ years later

So, in summary, buying gently used hi fi is a better use of funds than buying a new Tesla or Porsche.



Any big car lovers disagree?

 

[Hypnotoad]

And you don't have to fill the tank all the time.

 

[watchnerd]

And you don't have to fill the tank all the time.

I left out gas costs because, conceivably, nutso hi fi gear might drive up your electrical bill in a significant way if you're using Class A SS amps or tubes.

But..otherwise, yes!

 

[Hypnotoad]

Another thing about audio systems is the ease of changing out components, you can't run out and swap out the suspension, gearbox, engine etc in your car easily but you can swap out components in your systems in minutes or in the case of speakers seconds.

 

[restorer-john]

So, in summary, buying gently used hi fi is a better use of funds than buying a new Tesla or Porsche.

I get what you're saying, but with only those two brand choices, I'd take the used HiFi too.

 

[watchnerd]

I get what you're saying, but with only those two brand choices, I'd take the used HiFi too.

If it was a Holden, would your answer be different?

 

[watchnerd]

Another thing about audio systems is the ease of changing out components, you can't run out and swap out the suspension, gearbox, engine etc in your car easily but you can swap out components in your systems in minutes or in the case of speakers seconds.

I think I can swap cartridges even quicker than speakers, given I have removable headshells.

And they're both transducers!

*Okay....aligning it and balancing it takes a bit longer, but, hey, sound will still come out no matter what.

 

[renaudrenaud]

I have no car. Chosen my camp. I hope it is less pollution, because every year cars kill 500000 persons in Europe.

 

[watchnerd]

I have no car. Chosen my camp. I hope it is less pollution, because every year cars kill 500000 persons in Europe.

Are you talking about death from car accidents or pollution related deaths? Car deaths seems too high (US is 32k car accident deaths per year).

I haven't seen any numbers on hi fi deaths.

 

[restorer-john]

I hope it is less pollution, because every year cars kill 500000 persons in Europe.

And that's just the Volkswagens...

 

[Ron Texas]

Where I live not having a car is a hardship. Best deals budget wise are 3 year old cars coming off lease.

 

[Dialectic]

So was looking at upgrading my car recently for no real good reason other than wanting a new toy.

But as stupid as hi fi prices can be, compared to luxury cars:

-No monthly insurance costs for hi fi
-No annual vehicle registration / vehicle tax costs for hi fi
-Low to zero maintenance costs for hi fi
-Depreciation is not as steep
-Used products a better value because they don't easily wear out (exception for cartridges)
-Except for digital / wireless side, innovation is slower, so "SOTA" products can still be very good 10+ years later

So, in summary, buying gently used hi fi is a better use of funds than buying a new Tesla or Porsche.



Any big car lovers disagree?

No disagreement whatsoever. However, my hifi gear did cause an increase in our homeowner's insurance payment.

I hate luxury cars, and I can't stand driving the Lexus in our garage.

 

[AnalogSteph]

You can't really say "cars kill x amount of people" (save for direct traffic death stats, which would have to be a whole lot lower if it's only 2300 and change for Germany with its ~80 million people) if you don't have an alternative scenario without them to compare with. It's not like smoking or something, where you can just assume everyone could just quit without any real major consequences.

Anyway, I'd argue that "gently used" is the smarter option in both fields, but arguably more so for cars - a new car has pretty much lost 1/4 of its (not insignificant) value the time it rolls off the dealer's lot. So if you can really spare the money for a new car no problem and absolutely need the latest and greatest - great, let someone else enjoy your (probably not too) old hand-me-down. Most people, especially those in the "buy things you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't like" camp, should probably think at least twice. Work vehicles are a bit of a different story.

From what I can tell, car enthusiasts seem to be all over the map, from luxury and supercar lovers to hooptie city, from having their cars worked on to wrenching themselves. And as someone who watches a range of car channels on YT, I generally don't find the posh supercar department all that interesting, and some of the best ones are operating on pretty much a shoestring budget. (I mean, c'mon - Aging Wheels? HubNut? Lawrie's Mechanical Marvels even? Hoovie's Garage usually is about as posh as I'd go.)

Perhaps that's a parallel to the hi-fi world - you can enjoy yourself over a wide range of budgets. You could buy an ADI-2 DAC, or an ODAC with an Atom, or maybe just an Audigy FX or a used X-Fi - all valid options despite being separated by about an order of magnitude each, and probably not even all the different-sounding if all you've got is some HD650s or similar (as an example for cans that are relatively high impedance and still rather easy to drive), depending on what kind of levels you need that is. Likewise, you might have inexpensive 5" monitors at your computer, or kilobuck speakers in the living room.

(Have I ever mentioned that I cannot and quite probably will never be able to drive a car, with a correspondingly low probability of ever owning a vehicle no matter how much I like them? Story of my life.)

 

[watchnerd]

No disagreement whatsoever. However, my hifi gear did cause an increase in our homeowner's insurance payment.

I hate luxury cars, and I can't stand driving my wife's Lexus. I'm looking at buying a beater car (maybe an early 2000s Accord or an even older Toyota pickup), in part because it seems to be a major social norm violation in Westchester County to drive anything other than a new-ish luxury vehicle.

Subaru is the "anti statement" car in the winery + lacrosse + horse farms + dressage arena area I live in.

But, really, as long as you don't buy a Range Rover and have people laugh at your $75k-$100k dysfunctional lemon that breaks down if you try to pull a horse trailer or it fails bad weather (which defeats the whole purpose of having AWD).

 

[restorer-john]

You can't really say "cars kill x amount of people" (save for direct traffic death stats, which would have to be a whole lot lower if it's only 2300 and change for Germany with its ~80 million people) if you don't have an alternative scenario without them to compare with. It's not like smoking or something, where you can just assume everyone could just quit without any real major consequences.

You can very safely say diesel cars do kill people. Older diesels particularly.

The European Environment Agency found that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from diesel fumes had caused around 71,000 premature deaths across the continent in a single year. It said the UK experienced 11,940 annual premature deaths from NO2, the second highest in Europe behind Italy. The World Health Organisation declared diesel exhaust a carcinogenic, a cause of lung cancer in the same category as asbestos and mustard gas.

 

[watchnerd]

And that's just the Volkswagens...

And the SEATs and the Skodas....

 

[restorer-john]

And the SEATs and the Skodas....

I know. And the Audis...

 

[Blumlein 88]

You also left out that you likely spend more hours listening to your hifi rig than you spend with your car. Plus it is all for enjoyment. Much car use is from necessity.

 

[watchnerd]

You can't really say "cars kill x amount of people" (save for direct traffic death stats, which would have to be a whole lot lower if it's only 2300 and change for Germany with its ~80 million people) if you don't have an alternative scenario without them to compare with. It's not like smoking or something, where you can just assume everyone could just quit without any real major consequences.

Anyway, I'd argue that "gently used" is the smarter option in both fields, but arguably more so for cars - a new car has pretty much lost 1/4 of its (not insignificant) value the time it rolls off the dealer's lot. So if you can really spare the money for a new car no problem and absolutely need the latest and greatest - great, let someone else enjoy your (probably not too) old hand-me-down. Most people, especially those in the "buy things you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't like" camp, should probably think at least twice. Work vehicles are a bit of a different story.

From what I can tell, car enthusiasts seem to be all over the map, from luxury and supercar lovers to hooptie city, from having their cars worked on to wrenching themselves. And as someone who watches a range of car channels on YT, I generally don't find the posh supercar department all that interesting, and some of the best ones are operating on pretty much a shoestring budget. (I mean, c'mon - Aging Wheels? HubNut? Lawrie's Mechanical Marvels even? Hoovie's Garage usually is about as posh as I'd go.)

Perhaps that's a parallel to the hi-fi world - you can enjoy yourself over a wide range of budgets. You could buy an ADI-2 DAC, or an ODAC with an Atom, or maybe just an Audigy FX or a used X-Fi - all valid options despite being separated by about an order of magnitude each, and probably not even all the different-sounding if all you've got is some HD650s or similar (as an example for cans that are relatively high impedance and still rather easy to drive), depending on what kind of levels you need that is. Likewise, you might have inexpensive 5" monitors at your computer, or kilobuck speakers in the living room.

(Have I ever mentioned that I cannot and quite probably will never be able to drive a car, with a correspondingly low probability of ever owning a vehicle no matter how much I like them? Story of my life.)

I was going to say the analogy breaks down at the more economical end of the hi fi scale.

But then I realized for the price of what I use in my office (RME ADI-2 Pro ($1499) + Dynaudio Lyd 5 monitors ($1200 pair) + iMac 4K ($1299) + Roon Lifetime ($499) + Sennheiser HD6XX ($195) = $4692), you can actually buy a high mileage, 10 year old car.

 

[gikigill]

Where I live not having a car is a hardship. Best deals budget wise are 3 year old cars coming off lease.

Same in Aus. V6 twin turbo E-Class wagon for $130k. The best all rounder car in my opinion.
Spacious, well appointed, safe, 5.2s to 63mph, makes a good noise,not that thirsty and its not an SUV so it handles like a proper car.

Same car 2 years used, 30000 km, single executive owner with full Mercedes warranty of 5 years is 70k.