How much money do you have invested in this "hobby?"

[paddycrow]

I made an estimate based on MSRP of my two channel system (rather than my HT system).

 

[Putter]

I put down $1000-$2500 It's hard to put a value because most is 2nd hand at thrifts and Craigslist. I have multiple systems which might total > $5000 esp. if unused pieces are considered, but here goes. This is the cost of my desktop system which is the most listened to.

Denon AVR-1610 AV Receiver $40 used with no cord.
Denon DVD-1930CI DVD player $20 Has a useful display, a rarity on DVD/Blu Ray players.
SONY UBX-800 Blu Ray $5 (Yes, $5 because it had a defective display, well not really but Sony cheaped out on the display. You can barely tell it's on.)
Sansui TU-S77AMX Tuner $20
Technics SL-L2 Turntable $50 Rarely play records
NAD 7240PE $20 Power amp doesn't work. Used for phonograph input.
Compaq Desktop Computer $500? Inherited form sister in law.
JBL E20 $30 Yes, they're small speakers, but have the best imaging of various speakers used.
Infinity Modulus Home Theater Speakers - Center and Surrounds $150
Def Tech Pro 80 Sub $100
Asus MZ279 27 inch Monitor $200

I get $1135 total including the monitor.

 

[Killingbeans]

I'm talking about how much all the components currently in use in your main system cost you.

All of my old trusty gear has been in storage for the last 6 months or so. My "main system" at the moment is this:

Topping MX3 -$130(?)
Samson SR850 - $50

The original plan for the MX3 was to use it as amp for a pair og DIY desktop speakers using Scan-Speak 5F/8422T01. I bought the drivers, but never got around to building the damn things... and I probably never will. Then the headphone output on my PC died, and I started using the MX3 as an emergency substitute... that then became permanent

 

[Ken1951]

I tried to figure this out but went with the total of my two systems. I got a good deal on the Paradigm Signatures and Sunfire sub, but they still inflate the number. But I do really like them and do not foresee changing. The Adcom I bought ages ago and used with my Magnepan MG-2Bs and it's still going strong. So I went with the $10-15K range. I din't count the TVs.

 

[Nebbermind]

Much much less than I did 25 yrs ago.
These days I'm more interested in buying cheap chi-fi and start tweaking them... Trying my best to turn my Geely into a Ferrari... Furlali...

 

[North_Sky]

 

[anon2k2]

I think another interesting question is how much gear has rotated in and out of your setups over the years. For me it's been this climb up the mountain and down the other side.

When I was a teenager I saved up my money and my very first system was a Yamaha R3 receiver, Technics Turntable, and an entry level Nakamichi cassette deck. I got some Infinity speakers as a "hand-me-down" from my uncle. I think that system would have been about $700 back then, minus the speakers, which probably were something like $400.

Over the years as I got out of college and started earning pretty good money I did the "upgrade cycle" going through electronics from Adcom, Aragon, Bryston, Krell, Levinson, and speakers from Klipsch, Spendor, Dunlavy, ProAc, among many others. I bought some stuff new, some stuff used.

Now, I'm old and through moves and lack of time to listen, things have toned down a lot. I just got tired of packing up giant amps and giant speakers whenever I got transferred to a new office. As of this spring I had two main systems, one in my bedroom and one in my "man cave." The bedroom system was a Peachtree Decco, Cambridge 540C CD Player, Rega Planar 1, and Q Acoustic Concept 40. The Man Cave is ProAc Response 5, Musical Fidelity Integrated, Cambridge 640C CD Player, and my trusty Linn Sondek from 1991.

I found AudioScienceReview back in the spring when COVID lockdown started, thinking that I'd have more time to listen to music, and I'm really glad (mostly) that I did. I say mostly because my pocketbook has been draining. I've been on quite a gear acquisition tear.

Since April I have purchased 3 Topping DACs, 3 Topping HP amps, an SMSL M400, and a JDS Labs Atom stack and headphones from Audeze, Dan Clark, HifiMan, and Sennheiser.

I figure I've gone through almost $100,000 worth of gear in my life, lost about half that in trade-in or sales. I don't see myself going back to $10,000 amplifiers anytime soon, but it has been a seriously fun hobby.

 

[BillG]

~$2,500USD retail value currently, but I didn't pay retail for any of it due to very careful shopping except for one class D mini amp and one pair of headphones. It's all newer equipment, save the headphones which I've had for 20 years, and sounds fantastic.

As a bonus, I can merge the two systems I own into one pseudo-surround one via Chromecast grouping for added enjoyment - my neighbors probably don't enjoy it as much as I do, though...

Main:

4x Infinity Reference 152/62 speakers
2x integrated amps

Streamer:

2x Chromecast

Head-Fi:

4x IEM
1x headphone

Remote control and display:

1x smartphone
1x tablet
1x 42" plasma screen television

Source:

1x desktop computer as player/server
1x smartphone (occasional)
1x tablet (occasional)

P. S. There's nothing "mid-fi" about it as I've seen the performance measurements for each and every component involved and they all meet the minimum threshold for transparency. It's amazing how little one has to spend for high fidelity reproduction if one knows exactly what to look for. I could sit on this gear for the remainder of my life and be quite happy with it.

 

[AnalogSteph]

It's amazing how little one has to spend for high fidelity reproduction if one knows exactly what to look for.

You bet.

I could sit on this gear for the remainder of my life and be quite happy with it.

I suppose (deep) bass output isn't overly high on your list of priorities?

It would be interesting if those who posted their specs also mentioned how much they've got into music (and other media).

I think I've gotten a hair over the 1000€ mark this year... music, probably 5000-8000 at least over the years.

 

[BillG]

I suppose (deep) bass output isn't overly high on your list of priorities?

Let's just say that I listen to a lot of Dubstep and Drum & Bass and with corner loading of the speakers I don't feel that I'm missing out on anything. I frequent nightclubs that play these genres and my at-home experience isn't lacking in comparison. For the head-fi gear, sub-bass frequencies aren't an issue either.

 

[Bear123]

~$2,500USD retail value currently, but I didn't pay retail for any of it due to very careful shopping except for one class D mini amp and one pair of headphones. It's all newer equipment, save the headphones which I've had for 20 years, and sounds fantastic.

As a bonus, I can merge the two systems I own into one pseudo-surround one via Chromecast grouping for added enjoyment - my neighbors probably don't enjoy it as much as I do, though...

Main:

4x Infinity Reference 152/62 speakers
2x integrated amps

Streamer:

2x Chromecast

Head-Fi:

4x IEM
1x headphone

Remote control and display:

1x smartphone
1x tablet
1x 42" plasma screen television

Source:

1x desktop computer as player/server
1x smartphone (occasional)
1x tablet (occasional)

P. S. There's nothing "mid-fi" about it as I've seen the performance measurements for each and every component involved and they all meet the minimum threshold for transparency. It's amazing how little one has to spend for high fidelity reproduction if one knows exactly what to look for. I could sit on this gear for the remainder of my life and be quite happy with it.

What are you using for eq and bass? Whoops, NVM, somehow missed the answer you just provided. Having experienced good quality subs that extend response to cover the entire audible spectrum, while drastically improving sound quality, I don't think I would want to do without subs and eq for high fidelity. Even in my low budget secondary system in my workout room, I would not want to operate without a sub. Just too much missing otherwise

 

[Sebastijanovski]

I think I fit quite well in the average here. My current system cost me about 7500 €, I buy used gear if I can:
Bowers & Wilkins 803 D2 - 4800 €
DIY Purifi Evali1 ~ 1000 € (no idea how much it ended up being in the end)
Schiit Saga - 200 €
Topping D90 - 910 € (got shafted on the customs in Germany... but it was a learning experience)
Marantz CD6005 - 250 €
Raspberry Pi 3+ with HiFiBerry Digi+ and accessories ~ 100 €
Cables and stuff...

If I think of all the stuff I went through over the years I'm also probably in the 50 k expenditure on the hobby, but you make up for that on the back end when you sell it on again, as many have pointed out already. I always buy things used if I can help it, have my fun and sell them on again, it's almost like renting really, the good stuff doesn't depreciate much if you take care of it.

I do think I'm converging to a stable solution now. ASR probably saved me from getting swallowed by the "audiophile" abyss, I was eyeing PS audio transports before I found this site, so thank you Amir! I'd like to replace the Saga for a Freya at some point and put some VU meters on the Purifi, after that, the rest is there for vanity. That's ok though, nothing wrong with being vane from time to time.

 

[nimar]

Much more than actual dollars and cents amount I think the spread is also very interesting. Somewhere else, there were a bunch of old school audiophiles talking about there $30K > systems and how speakers only made up 20% of the spend, which blew my tiny little mind at the time. I was curious to find more data on this but never did, but I imagine you could quickly tell an old school (all subjective) vs a new school (subjective/objective mixed) person simply based on this ratio.

For myself the split is,

60% Speakers
30 % Amps
9% DAC
1% Cables, source, power, etc

 

[stevenswall]

~$6,000 or so at this point. Now I need 4x that much for a surround sound processor that does everything I want!

$5000 Genelec 8260 pair
$300 MiniDSP
$300 Bluetooth Speaker
$300 Hivi DIY 3.1 w/ScottS Perfectionist Crossover

 

[Aerith Gainsborough]

Hmm..
Speakers + Stands: 600€
Dirac Live: 500€
AVR: 230€
ADI2: 960€
DT880: 230€
Focal Clear professional: 1450€

So, around 4K€ right now. If I finish my multichannel setup, that might go up another 3K. :S

 

[shal]

Speaker JBL 4430 : 1900€
Amplifier: Yamaha PC2002: 150€+100€ of new pieces (essentially capacitors)
DAC: Lavry DA11: 290€
Cable: 50€ (XLR, speaker cables)
2590€ , so around 3000$

I have bought item at good price . I can resell them at upper price So it's not a lost of money but a fun investissement

 

[onion]

I have 7 subwoofers now, five bought after joining this site. I blame Geddes, Toole and a few ASR members too

 

[AdamG]

Well worded thread title. As this hobby/life style/past time can very much be an Investment. As a person who is no longer mobile. My home is my life. My system is on and running for at least 14 hours a day 365. Either just Music using headphones or stand speaker to watching tv in Living room or Bedroom. I have multiple set up’s with 75 Sony in bed room and 85 in living room with full range (07 hz to-20k hz) capabilities of a 9.2.6 Speaker system. Have I spent more than the average person? Certainly, but I don’t go out, rarely drive and have almost zero entertainment costs outside. I’m not complaining about this but it’s important for context. All my enjoyment/entertainment comes from Music first and then Movies/Tv second. My wife is incredibly supportive and understanding about what I have spent building my Audio/Video systems.

Therefore this is a constant moving number and a number I don’t think I really want to define. How do you put a price on sanity and well-being? A wild ass guess speculation is more than I wish to recognize. Denial is a defense system.

 

[dfuller]

It's a little different for me because I earn a bunch of it back (it's work), but a jaw-droppingly large amount.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

I bumped myself up a step to the 2500-5000 category. My primary loudspeaker set up is under $2000cdn including the source laptop, but then my headphone gear totals up to probably another $1000, plus I have a couple other sets of budget speakers I intend to sell at some point...another $500 total. Then, a few bluetooth speakers as well...another $300 or so.