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

[Selcuk Turkoglu]

Music Server (standard PC running Windows 10, streamlined) £300
SMSL M8 DAC £100
Counterpoint Natural Progression Mono amps £1000
Nakamichi Soundspace 10 (currently used just as a pre-amp) £500
Aurum Cantus F6600 floorstanding speakers £600
Total £2500

 

[Sal1950]

Public Service Announcement: Remember, kids, if it depreciates and doesn't send you a check every month, it's not an investment!

Sure it is, it just wasn't a wise investment. LOL

 

[Tartaruga]

Guys how would you suggest to split the budget for audio equipment for stereo?
I have great speakers IMO, and omni directional microphone, nothing else.
Want to spend around 2K$ for dac, pre and amp, not sure how much to invest in each.
I will use a pc as a source if that matter.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

investments don't necessarily have to be financial in nature. Money spent on a hobby that brings one joy could be considered an investment in mental health.

 

[snapsc]

Some comments based on the survey results so far....and having just gone to the Florida Audio Show yesterday...

1. Those of you in the under $2500 group....better stick to the headphone rooms only...many of the wires and almost all of the speakers are beyond your budget...let alone the whole system

2. Those under $5k....affordable speaker rooms...Maggies .7 @$1400....the SMS room at $1700....and for unbelievably good sound for $2500, the Fyne 502s at $2500...and I probably missed a few.

3. For those under $10...a few more speaker choices that sounded good including the Spatials and small Legacy

4. For those under $15k...lots of speaker choices but then not much left over for the rest of the system

5. For those up around $25k....lots of good sounding speaker choices...and enough budget for the rest of the system

Special mentions:

a. tons of vinyl....probably 80% of the rooms

b. way too loud....probably 80% of the rooms at over 90db

c. great people willing to spend a lot of time with you

d. of course the MBLs sound good...but man, those Vaughn Speakers with the 4" line array and plasma tweeter...really nice sounding

e. as were the Daedalus Apollos...and the Carver Amazing Line Source

f. and then there is the VAC Statement 450iq integrated amp for $150k...what else can I say

 

[SIY]

Speakers- $500. Concrete to mod them, miscellaneous small parts, $20
Amplifiers- $0. Reviewer's Privilege.
USB-to-SPDIF/optical converter, $30.

Now, to be fair, I have an RME ADI-2FS on the way (gift from Jan Didden) which will skew the numbers a bit. And I may be pulling the trigger on a streamer/amplifier/room correction combo which will likewise skew things...

 

[Dan]

Most of my system invested in the speakers, avantgarde zero 1 pro which are the speaker, DAC, and amps rolled into one. Also have a VPI turntable and Sonos port. Headphones are the Sony z1r.
I’m disgusted when I think about how much I spent before I knew any better on speakers, amps, preamps etc. I was a salesman’s dream and a sucker.

 

[maxxevv]

My requirements for audio are rather modest, mostly because of living in a small apartment., with limited options for room treatment and not agitating the rest of the family. And of course lots of other hobbies to divert the funds to.

Its about 1/5 of what I have spent on photography over the years and about 1/15 of what I have spent on my other hobbies (outside of these 2 combined) over the last 25 years.

 

[Matias]

Current system is around 30k spent, but many items were bought used for a fraction of the price, otherwise would have reached the 50k category. I have been around 10 years buying and upgrading to reach this point, with audio being very high on my spending priorities.
Don't tell my wife!

 

[RickSanchez]

Decided to flip back through my ebay/Amazon/etc. orders and emails to actually figure this out, kind of an interesting exercise. I'll state that I represent the very budget end of the equipment spectrum. Not embarrassed about that, I enjoy the pieces that I have. But do hope to upgrade a few things in the future.

Everything below is in USD and includes tax + shipping. All in I'm around US $2,000.


Home Theater (this is my "main" system, although it's only for TV/movies and rarely music):
1) Polk S15 speakers (pair): $120 new
2) Polk S35 center speaker: $130 new
3) Elac Debut S8 subwoofers (pair): $170 new
4) NHT Atmos Mini add-ons (pair): $80 used
5) Denon AVR-S705H: $325 new
6) Monoprice banana plugs: $20 new
7) Monoprice 12 AWG speaker wire: $15 new

TOTAL: $860


Stereo:
1) Harman Kardon hk670 integrated amp: $225 used
2) KLH Model Six speakers (pair): $185 used
3) Rega RP1 turntable (w/ "Perf Pack" upgrade): $325 new

TOTAL: $735


Headphones:
1) HiFiMan HE400i headphones: $130 open box
2) Sony WH-H900N Bluetooth NC headphones: $150 new

TOTAL: $280


Home office (nearfield listening):
1) Swans HiVi M10 2.1 speaker system: $75 new
2) Speaker stands: $50 used
3) Massdrop x Grace Design SDAC: $79 new

TOTAL: $204

 

[MattHooper]

I voted already. There was no requirement for detailing every item.

Ah. Silly me. I didn't even recognize it was a poll! I just saw others detailing individual gear and prices and followed suit.

 

[MattHooper]

a. tons of vinyl....probably 80% of the rooms

b. way too loud....probably 80% of the rooms at over 90db

Both of those factors drive me nuts. I dislike when Vinyl is used as a source. It's so wonky, has inherent limitations and you never know how it was set up or the colorations of the cartridge etc. That's why I always want to hear a digital source, preferably my own music or music I know.

Too loud. I have sensitive hearing which can fatigue quickly so I always have to be careful as to which rooms I enter. Some are just stupid loud.
But then, they are all sort of competing for attention to get you out of the hallway in to the room. Thankfully in my home town at the Toronto show there were numerous vendors who were really good at doing demos at requested sound levels with requested source material.

 

[Biblob]

Speakers- $500. Concrete to mod them, miscellaneous small parts, $20
Amplifiers- $0. Reviewer's Privilege.
USB-to-SPDIF/optical converter, $30.

Now, to be fair, I have an RME ADI-2FS on the way (gift from Jan Didden) which will skew the numbers a bit. And I may be pulling the trigger on a streamer/amplifier/room correction combo which will likewise skew things...

What speakers you got?

 

[Frank Dernie]

I bought my first component in 1968 when I left home. It was a turntable which I plugged into my (mono reel-to-reel) tape recorder to listen to my LPs.
I have had 7 systems since then.
I have always spent more on my hifi than a car but hate evaluating kit and so at the peak(ish) of my earning power in the mid 1990s had a cost no object search for the best speakers I could find. I already had ones I liked but wanted to never have to change again.
I had been impressed by Wilson Watts and a dealer had built a room to demonstrate their new Grand Slamm and I quite liked that. He had sold a set (there are 4 boxes) of Wilson WAMMs to a client who wanted to change them so were available used for not much more than the Grand Slamm so I went to hear them. In the huge room he demonstrated them in he also had a pair of Goldmund Apologues and Goldmund Analogs which I hadn't heard (Goldmund were known for their turntables and amplifiers in the UK because the imported didn't import the speakers back then) I was much, much more impressed by them than the WAMM, instrumental timbre is the key parameter for me and they were way better for me.
In the end my shortlist boiled down to Goldmund Epilog (the Apologue and Analog were replaced by the Epilog) and the B&W Nautilus and chose the Goldmunds which I am still using 25 years(ish) later.
I had a matching "stack" of monoblocks, preamp, DAC and transport from Goldmund (They are made to stack so take up much less space). One of the Goldmund power amps developed a fault and was expensive to repair and once I saw a Devialet amp I liked it and its features and have used one ever since.
I still use the Goldmund CD transport and Reference turntable though.
By contrast my speaker cables cost £30 on ebay.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Public Service Announcement: Remember, kids, if it depreciates and doesn't send you a check every month, it's not an investment!

Well, only if you think money is the only thing an investment brings.
My investment returns pleasure every day, money certainly hasn't been the bartering token it originated as for a very long time.

 

[MattHooper]

Well, only if you think money is the only thing an investment brings.
My investment returns pleasure every day, money certainly hasn't been the bartering token it originated as for a very long time.

Agreed.

Also, while I certainly wouldn't consider audio gear to be a wise investment in money terms, I've been able to sell almost all my gear for what I paid or sometimes more.

 

[digicidal]

I included the closet contents so that put me over the $15K mark... but that's a bit misleading considering I could have about 12 working 2-ch setups and a couple 5.1's as well if they were all currently in use. I've given a few things away, but I've still got AVRs from back in the "component video is the best" era. They still work, so I don't want to get rid of them - but they likely wouldn't even fetch $10 at a yard sale.

If I hadn't discovered discount active studio monitors... it would be much higher for sure.
Cheapest in use ($450):
$200 Cambridge Audio DACMagic (v1)
$50 Emotiva Control Freak (passive XLR pot)
$200 JBL 305P (Mk1)

Priciest in use ($10,300):
$4800 Aperion Grand Verus 5-ch
$700 Emotiva 3ch amp
$450 Emotiva Monos (2)
$3200 Marantz 8801A
$350 Emotiva Sub12's (2)

I shudder to think what it might be if I added in the displays and sound treatments, etc. However, if I started doing that, then I'd have to include the computers... and I've got way more "invested" in those over the same time period (and they have even worse depreciation than the AVRs). I've had most of my audio gear for more than 8 years (some >20)... but I replace something major in at least one of my computers every 3 months - often sooner. You want to talk about diminishing returns...

 

[SIY]

What speakers you got?

They started as NHT 3.3, but have mutated along the way. Same drivers and outer cabinets, changes in the internal volumes and crossovers for optimum multiamping.

 

[Old Listener]

I'm in the 1000-2500 bracket for my main system not counting the Intel NUC that I've used as the (only) source for music.

Dynaudio LYD48 monitors - $ 2300
Balanced SDAC - $ 150
12' balanced cable - $ 12

The NUC with Windows, 8 GB Ram and a 256 GB SSD probably cost ~ $ 500-600.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Only counting the main system here, not the bedroom or computer audio.

Pioneer 60” plasma TV - $350
Yamaha RX-Z9 receiver - $800
Yamaha YDP2006 equalizers - ~$125 (x 3)
AudioControl R-130 RTA - $400
Pioneer BDP23 blu-ray - $150
AC Infinity Aircom T10 cooling component - $120
Adcom ACE-515 power management - $125 (x2)
Canton Karat 920 main L/R speakers - $450
Canton Plus D rear surrounds (pair) - $150
Human QT-2 center channel speaker - $125
ParadigmDSP-3100 subwoofer - $125
Total - $3300

List price total for the above - $22,400

Don't ask about my bass guitars and associated equipment! My poor wife is the picture of kindness and tolerance (although truth be told she uses the HT system way more than I do!).

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt