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

[Chrispy]

Indeed. That's why my dollar amount in my current system is so low. Secondhand and DIY are distortions.

Yep have all that too. Oh well.

 

[Chrispy]

I started buying 45s in the late 60’s, LPs in the early-70’s, 8-tracks in the mid-70’s, CDs in the mid-80’s, SACDs, DVD-Audio and Blu-rays in the 2000s and digital audio in the 2010s. I don’t pay for a streaming service other than SiriusXM for the car. I have no idea how much I’ve spent but would estimate between 18 & 22k over 50 years.

I chose hardware because that’s what this site concerns itself with and it’s easier to calculate.

Martin

Yeah, similar time frame here for the most part (except for the 8 tracks, only had a few of those Use Spotify and Pandora mostly to find new music to buy (CD mostly, altho some SACD, DVD and Bluray too). I'm thinking somewhere around $25k on the music, more if I add in movies....

 

[Dan]

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger Dan.

Humm, I wonder if something was said to the dealers. Today I was pleasantly surprised by how moderate the levels were completely throughout the show?
But yea, way too much vinyl being demoed that shouldn't have been, more on that tomorrow.

Thank god I had the money. When I think about it though, I never fell for the cable and power conditioning nonsense. Just never made sense even to my uneducated self. Lots of money spent, though, on preamps and amps and looking for the magical tube sound. Vinyl is also an endless black hole and the only reason I keep a turntable is that I enjoy going to record shops and browsing. Brings me back to my Gen X childhood sorting through music at Tower records and the Record exchange in Princeton growing up. Nice memories.

 

[HansHolland]

Too much!

But the latest 10 years (I am in the hobby for more than 30 years) much less while the setup is still improving.

 

[Snarfie]

In the late 80ties i bought a JK acoustic refrence Gear for around 8.000 euro. Sold it in 2004 because i bought a new house with lousy acoustics. Around 2018 i bought a NAD C370 (170,-) topping D10 (85,-) IMF Compact II monitors (7,-) and Vandersteen model1B full range speakers (200,-) but most important I used Mathaudio Room EQ (0,-) Total 462,- euro An it sounds better than my old JK acoustic refrence set in the 80ties (without room correction). Regarding my previous owned vinyl an cd collection that's a Total different financiële figuren guess almost 16.000,- or more over 50 years.

 

[RayDunzl]

Maybe $20k over lifetime.

But my newer non-green gear prompted me to invest in the local electric utility for dividends to offset the bill.

Unexpeccted capital gain on shares exceeded expense on gear.

So, $20k or $0, depending on accounting method.

 

[digicidal]

Curious why we're just adding up gear rather than content? Content's my raison d'etre, generally largest expenditure overall and still an ongoing expenditure....plus several systems I use regularly so have no idea what numbers to come up with....

With the exception of younger, streaming only listeners... that's always going to be a big chunk of change. Sure there are those (like my parents) for whom a dozen albums are all they would ever need - but those types are also happy with a boom box on a table mostly.

Just in CD's if I estimated $8 ea (many were $14+ new but at least half were used or on sale) that would be over $15K. However, I still have and listen to CD's purchased in the late 80's... and other than one of my original Pioneer CD players... I don't have any of the gear I purchased that long ago.

 

[FrantzM]

I'd rather not get into specifics.
Let's just say that before discovering the light of Audio objectivism, I was claiming with pride that I would not invest in any single component costing over $20,000. At that time what I considered as the best combo that I heard, was a CD playing system was about $15,000 for the transport and as much for the DAC ... Of course It could be had for less than MSRP .. I also pride myself of never paying MSRP ...
I lusted for a speaker whose cabinet, was made of metal that cost $40,000...
I have invested quite bit in speakers, cables ( yes ), preamplifiers, amplifiers, DACs, headphones, One of the preamp I loved was less than $20K of course .. Same with the amp ... err ...amps...

Thing is, I have a remnant of those times, a headphone tube amplifier that cost multiple of the Atom I now use... Let's be charitable and say that the Atom wipe the floor with it, the tubed one couldn't drive the HifiMan HE560 well let alone the HE6. And my current DAC is the $99 Khadas Tne Board.. which likely would wipe the floor with the $15,000 DAC ... as it did with the Total Crap ....err .. DAC.
As for music buying , I spent a few years acquiring CDs .. Get to have a sizable collection .. Until I discovered Amazon used CDs... which made me buy more CDs.. thus I have more than 3000 CDs ... Then I discovered streaming. I now spend about $30 /month (Tidal and Spotify) to listen to several lifetimes of music ... If it weren't for the deep-seated audiophilia inside of me , I would drop Tidal too but ... It is fun to know that you are listening to lossless ... and one has to have some fun...

I do believe that sites such as ASR will revive the hobby, I noticed a 21 years old person introducing him or herself recently, on this forum. The message must be carried to these youths that it is possible to obtain accurate reproduction of the signal in one's room for a relatively modest cash outlay.... $500 can provide a headphone system of the highest level of accuracy... e.g Topping D10 + Atom + HifiMan He400i or even a good sounding if not full range speaker-based one ... Say something like a pair of JBL LSR 305 with some decent motherboard DAC ... or even smartphone ... Contrast this with websites calling $10,000 (wildly inaccurate speakers at that) "entry-level" ... If you were to browse these websites, webzines. magazines or fora.. You would come to think that good sound begins at $50,000 for the system.. Such is not the case as many of these $100,000 system can be surpassed by a carefully assembled $5000 system, let's not talk about a apir of Active speakers such as the D&D 8c, Kii, Genetec, JBL , etc ... Of course the JBL LSR 305 will sound even better with a $1000 power cord NOT!.. NOT! I'm joking

Peace and hope more youth join the hobby.

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

Spent around $15,000 for the gear I currently own. Now it is starting to be more of an obsession.

 

[stevenswall]

$0 invested since it's not an appreciating asset.

~$8000 spent on currently owned gear.

 

[Frank Dernie]

$0 invested since it's not an appreciating asset.

Not all investments

 

[Tks]

Contrast this with websites calling $10,000 (wildly inaccurate speakers at that) "entry-level" ... If you were to browse these websites, webzines. magazines or fora.. You would come to think that good sound begins at $50,000 for the system..

Well that's why it's entry level. Because it performs not so accurately. Setting expectations by showing even at 10k, you're not safe from garbage, but then saying at 50k you're safe from bad stuff, but you're not getting anything exceptional, and at 100k, you are taking sound serious.

I enjoyed your post btw, thank you for sharing.

Peace and hope more youth join the hobby.

EDIT, if by youth you mean mid to late twenties, I'm here :}

 

[stevenswall]

Not all investments

By definition, it's not an investment if there is no profit or tangible benefit. If we're saying not all investments appreciate all the time, sure. If we're saying entertainment is an investment rather than an expense, guess I disagree and it's just semantics so no hard feelings.

 

[tuga]

My budget has been split as follows:

Computer..........11.0% (used)
Software.............4.0% (new)
DAC....................9.0% (used)
Amplifier............21.0% (custom made)
Speakers..........54.0% (used)
Cables................1.0% (IC-used/LC-new)

 

[617]

DIY makes this impossible to assess. I just bought a can of 3M Super 90 spray adhesive to finish a pair of speakers I'm building, do I include that? I also bought a crimping tool and a bunch of terminal blocks. This stuff adds up. Paint. Wire. Bondo. Fasteners. Wood. Veneer. Solder. Saws. Microphones. Audio interfaces. Amps for testing. Measurement platforms. Acoustic foam. Bituminous damping. Glues. Wood filler. Port tubes. Drivers. Terminals. Op amps. Capacitors. Inductors. Containers to put everything in. Software.

I'll say this; I'm looking forward to reaching some kind of endgame. I have a TV system which is more than adequate and a monitor set up for hifi music/recording which is better than anything I can build or afford at present.

 

[wje]

There's one pair of speakers that I keep seeing on the used market that appear to have appreciated in value. The B&W Nautilus 805. I believe the initially sold for about $1,400 a pair. Now, I'm seeing them in the range of $1,600 - $1,900 a pair. Though, it's been years since I've heard them and my sound memory isn't good. Not sure how they'd stand up to some of today's offerings in the $500 - $750 range of speakers though.

 

[JimB]

My current main stereo system hardware (not music) that I actively use, with main set of headphones = $23K with significant DIY. Without the DIY savings, it would have been about $32K, so I've voted in the $25-50K band. This system was built up over about 12 years.

(Please don't tell, anyone!)

 

[Alexanderc]

I’ll give this a shot…
Speakers $0 (3 way towers from a church’s electronic organ—when they got a new organ the old speakers were going to the landfill if nobody wanted them. I know nothing about them)

“Integrated amp” c. $180 (an old AVR bought refurbished that got replaced in the living room)

CD player $120 (bottom of the line Onkyo that was given to me as a gift)

Turn table c. $100? (bottom of the line 30 or 40 year old Technics gift from my wife. I don’t know exactly what she paid but it came out of my account)

Phono preamp $140 (schiit mani—the only gear I have personally purchased for this system)

Spin clean record cleaner $80 (ridiculously overpriced for what it is)

Cables c. $50 total (most of that is one audioquest interconnect from before I joined this forum)

Rack c. $100 in parts (made my own butcher block shelves with a friend’s help—I didn’t do a great job, but I’m really proud of it!)

I didn’t count the AVR or the CD player in my total since I didn’t pay for the CD player and the AVR I bought for another use (and I have two others in a closet that were given to me by friends).

Now that I’ve become a convert, I’m eager to get some better equipment. I’m hoping to be able to save up for speakers in the $2k-$3k range (used) and amplification with room correction in the next year. Maybe $5k-$6 total.

 

[NoMoFoNo]

My basic answer is TOO DAMNED MUCH, and that doesn't include the hundreds of new and used records I've bought, few of which can approach the sound of good quality digital streaming.

The good news is that I've stopped acquiring gear in the search for 'the magical', and I've stopped taking in the supporting conversations and admonitions of the 'audiophile' golden-ears in other relevant forums. My next step will be reduce the clutter, the phono gadgetry, all of the stuff that goes with, and will get to simple, effective and inexpensive streaming set-ups.

I'm pretty sure that my wife will think I'm crazy for acquiring and then getting rid of so much gear and I will hate myself if I ever truly account, for myself, for how many dollars I've blown on the audio chase. Investment! Ha!

There is some poor schmuck out there who will surely love to acquire one of my several Discwashers, my SpinClean, my RCM, one of my too-many turntables, one of numerous phono pres, cartridges, etc, and I'll be very happy to get rid of most of this stuff.

 

[JimB]

... There is some poor schmuck out there who will surely love to acquire one of my several Discwashers, my SpinClean, my RCM, one of my too-many turntables, one of numerous phono pres, cartridges, etc, ...

Did someone call me?