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

[Ron Texas]

It's not how much you spend, but how much you enjoy it. I would add that if you spend enough to do financial damage to yourself, you are in a bad place.

 

[mhardy6647]

I have no idea.

 

[LTig]

With the exception of the AV processor (which I got for a third of the retail price) and my best headphone all equipment in my main system (2.1) is between 15 and 25 years old (active speakers, sub, CDP, vinyl player, cassette deck). Pickup, Tonearm and external PS for the vinyl player I got used at a local dealer.

All counting together the vinyl player as a whole was the highest investment - something I would not do again although I still use it from time to time when I'm in the mood. Speakers and sub are a very close second place, so I did not everything wrong.

 

[Koloth]

While I think the thread is fine, I dont like the use of the word 'invest'. Not just because it doesnt correspond to the market realities of hifi, where - the lone mystical Sony Qualia or leathery Audio Technica excluded - goods dont appreciate in value over time, but also because it puts a veneer of financial reasonableness on something that is deeply fetishistic and consumerist. Let's be honest here: We're spending money for aural pleasures (hopefully it's for that reason and not for more base and manipulated desires). In the best case I'll recoup a solid portion of the money I spend, when selling it later, but I certainly wont be turning a profit with consumer electronics goods.

 

[gikigill]

My spending is spread over a large array of devices. Stopped counting $$$ a while ago.

At least 50 Minidisc/DAPs, 200+ Headphones/IEMs, 20+ Amps and DACs, 1 set of Custom Electrostatic speakers, 1 set of Dali Speakers plus the Infrastructure to manage all these. The collection spans over 20 years though.

I blame my tech head Dad for getting me into all of this . He acts all surprised and fake-angry over my collection but will gladly take the occasional piece without a second thought

 

[Heeld]

Mac mini running iTunes ALAC/Tidal/Roon>Topping D10>Minidsp 4x10HD>Emotiva upa500/700>Linkwitz 521.
Total about $7500 USD and $500 pa in subscriptions (this will reduce when I finally decide on whether high res streaming makes a difference to my ageing ears. I won’t keep both iTunes and Tidal long term).
This system cured me of audio nervosa eight years ago and I have been listening happily ever since, apart from minor server and signal path changes. I think it was money well spent (even in AUD) as I am no longer an audiofool.

 

[raistlin65]

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

Now, not a good idea to ask that. If some of us think about how much money we have invested in the hobby, we might be discouraged from investing more.

Hey, but at least you didn't ask how much we have spent on the hobby in our lifetimes. That I definitely DO NOT want to think about. lol

 

[Wes]

What you actually spent. I purchased most of what I have on the second hand market: eBay, Audiogon, US Audio Mart, etc. My $11,000 system would have retailed for close to $25,000.

Martin

ok, done

"I am with you in Rockland..."

 

[MattHooper]

Well, given the company, this is an embarrassing question to answer. But since AMIR would also like to see people answer, I'll man up and answer it.

What I've spent on my system changes with time and, especially depending on my speakers at the time, can vary drastically.
And...do I count all the items I own or the ones in play in my system currently?

Note: Currency Canadian Dollars!

Currently in my system:

Thiel 2.7 speakers - $3,400 audiogon (to my mind one of the best bargains I've ever had).
Conrad Johnson Premier 12 monoblock amps. - $4,500 (I bought them late 90's so can't really remember, but that's a ballpark).
Conrad Johnson Premier 16 LS2 pre-amp - $3,500 (audiogon)
Benchmark DAC1 - $700 (audiogon)
Cables: $300 - mish mash of old interconnects, e.g. Kimber PBJ, and Blue Jeans speaker cable, so probably around $100 for speaker cable, likely paid couple hundred at least for all those old interconnects in the 90s.

^^^ That's a typical snap-shot of my system over the years. So it would be around $12,400 total.



BUT...I've recently bought new speakers AND within the last two years jumped heavily in to vinyl as well as buying subwoofer stuff.
So I can throw in:

Joseph Audio Perspective loudspeakers - $12,000 CDN (mint, fairly new dealer demo pair. Most I've ever spent by far on speakers! However I had several pair of small old speakers I've had around for a long time. I sold them off which helped pay for a bunch of the Josephs. And I'm lovin' them to bits!)

Transrotor Fat Bob S with acoustic solid arm and Benz Micro Ebony L cartridge - $6,000 (gulp! And that was getting a "great deal" used! But I'm happy).

JL Audio 110E subwoofers X2 $1,500 each (IIRC)
JL Audio CR-1 Crossover - $1,800 (used)
DSpeaker Anti-Mode 2 - $750 (used)

I don't even wanna add that up!

To my double-embarrassment, I have not even used the above subwoofer stuff yet! It's just such a mind-bending hassle that I can't get around to fully implementing them yet, and I just rarely feel the need for it. But I just can't sell it off until I finally give it a real try.

 

[MattHooper]

How about amir?

 

[UCrazyKid]

There are three types of pricing:
1. MSRP
2. What you paid
3. What you tell your wife

 

[Sal1950]

What you actually spent. I purchased most of what I have on the second hand market: eBay, Audiogon, US Audio Mart, etc. My $11,000 system would have retailed for close to $25,000.

Martin

Same here, all my amps were purchased used 25+ years old. Most gear bought new was gotten on end-of-year blowouts with very heavy discounts. As I total what's sitting here right now I come up around $12K or so out of pocket. New MSRP would be double that or more. Yea that's quite a bit of money, specially on my current retired income, but AFAIC it's worth every penny for the pleasure it brings me. Everyone has their things; cars, motorcycles, and electronic gear have always been mine. I've rolled back on the hot rods and my health doesn't allow me to ride anymore so I'll just get what I want in HiFi now. Just let me at that Tampa audio show tomorrow. You can't take it with you.

 

[DWPress]

I don't even want to think about it really but cumulatively, probably around 10k + and a lot of it is DIY. 25 years deep into it though.

 

[Martin]

Same here, all my amps were purchased used 25+ years old. Most gear bought new was gotten on end-of-year blowouts with very heavy discounts. As I total what's sitting here right now I come up around $12K or so out of pocket. New MSRP would be double that or more. Yea that's quite a bit of money, specially on my current retired income, but AFAIC it's worth every penny for the pleasure it brings me. Everyone has their things; cars, motorcycles, and electronic gear have always been mine. I've rolled back on the hot rods and my health doesn't allow me to ride anymore so I'll just get what I want in HiFi now. Just let me at that Tampa audio show tomorrow. You can't take it with you.

I’ll be there, too.

Martin

 

[pozz]

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

Now, not a good idea to ask that. If some of us think about how much money we have invested in the hobby, we might be discouraged from investing more.

Hey, but at least you didn't ask how much we have spent on the hobby in our lifetimes. That I definitely DO NOT want to think about. lol

I keep strict track of it, for better or for worse. Only way I can live with myself.

 

[majingotan]

~ 7K USD ever since I started the hobby. About 7K USD for my photography gear as well

 

[HammerSandwich]

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

 

[Alobar]

My Modded triamped JBL L200 system is $6750, about $2500 of which was 1974 dollars when I bought it (L200's and Kenwood 700 separates) new. The rest is mostly digital stuff like a minidsp 4X10HD , new JBL 2216Nd1 LF drivers, JBL 077 tweeters, a pair of Yamaha as 301's for the mid and HF drivers. Rounds out with Nas drive, JRiver, various other things including 150 feet of speaker wire.

 

[amirm]

How about amir?

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

 

[JeffS7444]

Audio Technica AT-LP120USB turntable: $300
Ortofon 2M Red cartridge: $100
Revo Superconnect "radio": $350
Benchmark DAC2 HGC: $2000
Behringer DEQ2496: $200
Fostex T50RP II headphones: $150
Linkwitz Pluto speakers: I don't recall, but well under $1000 not including labor, built the wood portion from scraps already on hand.
Intel NUC PC or Raspberry Pi (depending on my mood): Let's say $400 for the works to be on the safe side

So somewhere under 4600 USD.

Every iteration seems to get cheaper: Once upon a time, it was Mark Levinson, Audio Research, Linn and McIntosh. I hope to someday reach a state of enlightenment whereby I realize sonic bliss for the cost of a handful of Bazooka Joe bubblegum comics plus an old Circuit City gift card found at the bottom of a junk drawer, and total power consumption is so low that simply walking across the carpet to generate static electricity, and touching it provides enough juice to power it for years.