jdandy
New member
- Thread Author
- #1
This past year has seen me purchase no audio gear and no audio tweaks. What's amused me the most is I have no desire to spend any additional money on audio gear. That's quite a change for me. I haven't lost interest in enjoying music and I still purchase new music but there isn't one audio component or tweak that has moved me to consider a purchase.
I think my state of mind takes into account several things. The first is I am completely satisfied with the audio performance of the systems I have assembled over the past four or five years. The various audio components and speakers that have graced my home during this time have been many. Each has been a fine performer during its time in my systems but my quest continued until I finally arrived at the gear mix I presently own. I am truly pleased with the two systems I enjoy daily.
The second thing that has impacted my audio purchase sabbatical has been my reflection on the diminishing returns delivered as one moves up the tiers of high-end equipment. It is extremely expensive to continuously search for some elusive advance in performance at ever increasing cost. The ratio of performance versus value grows tinier while prices approach stratospheric levels. I probably could have been equally as happy with previous systems and had considerably more savings had I settled down three or four years back. I certainly don't regret continuing my journey to this point but deciding exactly where the end zone is located seems like a worthy thing to consider, especially since we all know so well there is no real end to what is available and dangled before us in high-end audio.
And finally, I sat down with a list of gear I have owned during the past 45+ years since purchasing my first McIntosh MC30 mono amps in 1968 and put numbers to them. The total was a bit startling in that it exceeded $300K. That's a healthy number in anyone's book. Granted, I did not relinquish that amount all at once, more like sand through an hour glass, but it never really stopped until last year. I don't lament any purchase. The equipment was a pleasure to own, an education for me in many ways, and brought hours upon hours of enjoyment into my life. None the less, in retrospect I think I could have been pleased and entertained for far less expense throughout these years. Sometimes I have difficulty controlling my enthusiasm for something I enjoy. I have overindulged myself far more than necessary in a number of interests, not just audio.
I understand why some estates of those who have passed away include sound systems that have been in their families for a generation or more. Those owners built sound systems that pleased them and then simply stepped off the merry-go-round to enjoy what they had built. I have finally arrived at that same place. I won't say never because I don't know what the future holds, but for now I think I have discovered my audio journey's finish line.
I think my state of mind takes into account several things. The first is I am completely satisfied with the audio performance of the systems I have assembled over the past four or five years. The various audio components and speakers that have graced my home during this time have been many. Each has been a fine performer during its time in my systems but my quest continued until I finally arrived at the gear mix I presently own. I am truly pleased with the two systems I enjoy daily.
The second thing that has impacted my audio purchase sabbatical has been my reflection on the diminishing returns delivered as one moves up the tiers of high-end equipment. It is extremely expensive to continuously search for some elusive advance in performance at ever increasing cost. The ratio of performance versus value grows tinier while prices approach stratospheric levels. I probably could have been equally as happy with previous systems and had considerably more savings had I settled down three or four years back. I certainly don't regret continuing my journey to this point but deciding exactly where the end zone is located seems like a worthy thing to consider, especially since we all know so well there is no real end to what is available and dangled before us in high-end audio.
And finally, I sat down with a list of gear I have owned during the past 45+ years since purchasing my first McIntosh MC30 mono amps in 1968 and put numbers to them. The total was a bit startling in that it exceeded $300K. That's a healthy number in anyone's book. Granted, I did not relinquish that amount all at once, more like sand through an hour glass, but it never really stopped until last year. I don't lament any purchase. The equipment was a pleasure to own, an education for me in many ways, and brought hours upon hours of enjoyment into my life. None the less, in retrospect I think I could have been pleased and entertained for far less expense throughout these years. Sometimes I have difficulty controlling my enthusiasm for something I enjoy. I have overindulged myself far more than necessary in a number of interests, not just audio.
I understand why some estates of those who have passed away include sound systems that have been in their families for a generation or more. Those owners built sound systems that pleased them and then simply stepped off the merry-go-round to enjoy what they had built. I have finally arrived at that same place. I won't say never because I don't know what the future holds, but for now I think I have discovered my audio journey's finish line.
