Spending big bucks on HiFi Audio

[Mart68]

My solution was simple - I paid the rent and all the bills, all her money was her own so no argument if I got a new amp or speakers or whatever (which was all the time ).

Yes I have spent quite a lot over the years but I have got a lot of equipment I could cash in.

I wouldn't buy anything beyond the price where there's no point. Just like I wouldn't pay fifty quid for a banana even if I was a millionaire - a banana just doesn't need to cost that much even if it's not a lot of money to you.

Pay extra for looks or build quality? Yes sometimes. But I'd rather not.

Social acceptability? - lol I couldn't care. I'm disgusted by people don't have a proper hi-fi when they could easily afford one. They're lower than drink drivers.

 

[amper42]

Audio is a hobby but listening to music is more than a hobby. Music is like air or sunshine to me. Over five decades I've spent thousands on equipment, perhaps as much as the cost of a new Honda Accord in total. That was only one-half the expense. How much have I spent on LP's and Cd's I wonder. Do many of you, like me, enjoy looking for used CD's at thrift stores and stores that stock and sell used media? At $16 per CD I won't take a risk on an unknown artist or music from an obscure part of the world, but for a few $'s I often do, and I have been rewarded doing that. How many LP's and CD's have I owned and played over the years? Maybe 500 LP's or more, and 1,500 Cd's. The cost isn't much if you think of music as being akin to food. It nurishes us. Maybe playing with the equipment does too. And it is play. I won't but I could write about getting the Thorens set up right, and the experience of first listening to memorable records (record is a term for LP which is a specific memory bank on an old-timer).

These days for $11 a month you can listen to just about every recording available. I don't buy CD's anymore unless I find myself playing it often on Qobuz first. That service is a major leap forward in reducing costs.

 

[Anton D]

Great post, kemmler3D.

 

[Overseas]

What is not acceptable is to pay big bucks and pretend that qualifies for some esoteric HIFI.
I'd rather keep my low cost quality system carefully arranged on a massive gold plaque than paying the extra to a slick vendor, for the same sound.

 

[napfkuchen]

My employer is the federal state, so I know the salary groups of most of my colleagues. When I look across the parking lot at work I see numerous vehicles that don't fit the owners' salary at all. Maybe it's a German thing that the car has an irrationally high value for many people. Literally translated, vehicle means “drive-thing” in German. In fact, most of the time it sits around and eats up money.
Thanks to ASR, we know that the Pareto optimum in the area of hi-fi can be achieved quickly, even with a smaller budget. But if someone has the money to splurge on their hobbies, why not? What gives me more pause is the development that more and more people with lower incomes are buying supposed luxury items as status symbols and financing them over a long period of time. I think this is less of a problem in the hi-fi sector.

 

[Vacceo]

Hegemonic modernity carries an amount of religious values that in turn, clashed centuries ago with the final result of a partial defeat in the world stage.

It should come as no surprise that those winning religious values are those of Calvinism in particular and Protestantism in general, an event that Max Weber explored in depth.

Wealth is this a symbol of social and even spiritual success. The use of wealth is thus, a complex performance where hegemonic and contra-hegemonic elements show up.

A car is, by nature, a public display of wealth, same as architecture or even clothing. Private and intimate displays of wealth get a certain scorn due to their very nature. In a sense, spending a lot in audio gear for your home has a connected element of derision similar to spending a lot on "vanguardist degenerate art" or in luxury lingerie: it implies selfish consumption that does not even work as a public display of success

 

[Anton D]

Hegemonic modernity carries an amount of religious values that in turn, clashed centuries ago with the final result of a partial defeat in the world stage.

It should come as no surprise that those winning religious values are those of Calvinism in particular and Protestantism in general, an event that Max Weber explored in depth.

Wealth is this a symbol of social and even spiritual success. The use of wealth is thus, a complex performance where hegemonic and contra-hegemonic elements show up.

A car is, by nature, a public display of wealth, same as architecture or even clothing. Private and intimate displays of wealth get a certain scorn due to their very nature. In a sense, spending a lot in audio gear for your home has a connected element of derision similar to spending a lot on "vanguardist degenerate art" or in luxury lingerie: it implies selfish consumption that does not even work as a public display of success

Or, sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.

 

[CleanSound]

A car is, by nature, a public display of wealth, same as architecture or even clothing. Private and intimate displays of wealth get a certain scorn due to their very nature. In a sense, spending a lot in audio gear for your home has a connected element of derision similar to spending a lot on "vanguardist degenerate art" or in luxury lingerie: it implies selfish consumption that does not even work as a public display of success

I think both cars and audio can be for self gluttonous consumption.

I really doubt most guys buy an expensive car that they don't enjoy driving.

 

[kemmler3D]

Private and intimate displays of wealth get a certain scorn due to their very nature. In a sense, spending a lot in audio gear for your home has a connected element of derision similar to spending a lot on "vanguardist degenerate art" or in luxury lingerie: it implies selfish consumption that does not even work as a public display of success

I think this is actually a pretty good analysis - although I still dispute the premise that people in general actually have a problem with expensive hi-fis more than they have a problem with any other type of luxury spending, public or private.

Which is not to say people don't mind it. I think spending $250K on a Ferrari or $250K on a stereo would get the same reaction from most people. "What's the point?" "Ridiculous and juvenile", "waste of money", "Think of all the normal XYZs you could buy for that", "Rich people are stupid and have too much money", others don't care, some think it's cool, etc.

Either way I think the point that spending on hi-fis is misaligned with the cultural norm of extraverted / ostentatious luxury is an interesting one.

 

[Overseas]

Hegemonic modernity carries an amount of religious values that in turn, clashed centuries ago with the final result of a partial defeat in the world stage.

It should come as no surprise that those winning religious values are those of Calvinism in particular and Protestantism in general, an event that Max Weber explored in depth.

Wealth is this a symbol of social and even spiritual success. The use of wealth is thus, a complex performance where hegemonic and contra-hegemonic elements show up.

A car is, by nature, a public display of wealth, same as architecture or even clothing. Private and intimate displays of wealth get a certain scorn due to their very nature. In a sense, spending a lot in audio gear for your home has a connected element of derision similar to spending a lot on "vanguardist degenerate art" or in luxury lingerie: it implies selfish consumption that does not even work as a public display of success

Then portable luxury boomboxes are the thing of HIFI future, is this what you are saying?

 

[kemmler3D]

Then portable luxury boomboxes are the thing of HIFI future, is this what you are saying?

The future? This little hockey puck is $300 at Neiman Marcus and has been out for years... https://www.neimanmarcus.com/p/bang...speaker-gray-prod234900003?pimId=401123528493

You'll note that the "point" of this thing isn't good sound, but showing off that you can afford a $300 bluetooth speaker when you can get something very similar from JBL for about $30.

 

[Chrispy]

Don't know about society or wives in general (never married and no society pressure one way or the other). If you can afford it, go for it. Don't see the need to drop $75k on a system otoh, let alone any desire to do so on my part. My main reason for having audio/video gear is to play content. Content I've spent quite a bit on over the years, as well as gear....but it'd take me a while to put numbers to it but combined not likely it exceeds 75k either.

 

[Vacceo]

I think both cars and audio can be for self gluttonous consumption.

I really doubt most guys buy an expensive car that they don't enjoy driving.

Enjoyment and conspicuous consumption are not necessarily components of what I said, even if present.

Then portable luxury boomboxes are the thing of HIFI future, is this what you are saying?

No. I have talked about what is, not what will be or should be.

 

[Shadrach]

I don't spend huge amounts of money on stereo equipment because I haven't got huge amounts of money.
What spare money I do have I spend of these feathered nutters and growing food.

 

[Vacceo]

Or, sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.

To many users? Absolutely! The problem is, as usual, the others. Sartre famously said that hell is other people.

ClearSound has wondered what cultural mechanisms make spending a wad of money on a pair of speakers "worse" than getting, let's say, a Dodge Demon. I gave him an answer of the potential mechanism.

 

[Theta]

I think a big divide comes from what people think it should cost. For instance, show a couple people a picture of the Focal Grande Utopia EM Evo and I’d wager most people won’t guess over $5k despite it retailing for $280k. Even going more realistic and sane, if you show them a Revel F208 they’ll probably guess around $700 and not $4000.

People don’t have exposure to audio product prices, they have a giant exposure to car prices. Thus if you tell them $5000 they almost can’t fathom what you could have purchased.

I think this is actually a pretty good analysis - although I still dispute the premise that people in general actually have a problem with expensive hi-fis more than they have a problem with any other type of luxury spending, public or private.

Which is not to say people don't mind it. I think spending $250K on a Ferrari or $250K on a stereo would get the same reaction from most people. "What's the point?" "Ridiculous and juvenile", "waste of money", "Think of all the normal XYZs you could buy for that", "Rich people are stupid and have too much money", others don't care, some think it's cool, etc.

Either way I think the point that spending on hi-fis is misaligned with the cultural norm of extraverted / ostentatious luxury is an interesting one. not forget

 

[Justdafactsmaam]

This topic came up few time on other threads.

Why is it not acceptable by our society (and wives) to spend big bucks on HiFi audio (or any other lesser practiced hobbies) when it is acceptable to spend $75k on a new car or have second car as a hobby car?

Is it because HiFi is an obscure luxury? Is it because societal standards brained washed us? Is it because the hobby has been tainted with snake oil?

How much have you spent on this HiFi hobby over your life time? How much do you spend on average a year? Will you ever reach your end game and stop upgrading? How do you deal with your wife/gf/partner when it comes to HiFi spending?

Personally I don’t accept the unacceptably of spending big bucks on audio. I have no interest in wasting big bucks on snake oil. But I don’t see it as a waste to spend money on things that make a difference

 

[DWPress]

Well, I drive a Subaru wagon and my equipment list is in the footer. My car is perfectly adequate, anything nicer would get trashed on the gravel roads...

My gear isn't extravagant but ultimately functional and I'm at my "end game" place with not much else that would add any benefit to the sound, a few more room treatment tweaks and that's it really - But I keep looking at gear lol.

Everyone has a hobby or passion (or they should) where surplus funds can be spent. As someone else said, as long as the bills are paid and the kids aren't starving....

 

[Theta]

One major diference is that exotic car and watches can be an investment or at least retain value. Most high end audio gear is a tough resale with a big loss. Snake oil is one reason over enginering is another.

 

[Vacceo]

Acceptability or not of spending habits is not rational, so do not try to rationalize it.

If you enjoy your BDSM gear packed in a Rolls Royce equipped with custom Genelec speakers and can afford it, on my side you'll only get a go for it and have fun!

Oh, and send pics, because that combo is all sort of amazing.