New Music vs. New Equipment

The way I look at it is there is no problem with your expenditure on gear being much higher than on software, and that it is not necessarily a trade-off decision. Over the last 20 years my income and stereo have improved a lot, but the rate at which I buy software has not. I have always bought somewhere between one and two albums a week. Realistically, buying at any greater rate is silly - unless you are a collector or if you have a lot of time to listen to music. I don't believe you can do justice to your software purchases if you try to consume at a faster rate than this. You could of course buy three or four a week and discard two or three after the third listen, but that is still maybe six hours or more of listening on the discarded ones, let alone the one or two you keep, let alone the albums you bought the week before that, and the week before that, etc. So my point is that I reckon you should be setting your level of consumption in line with how much time you have to listen and how much you like to explore new albums as opposed to your existing collection. If what money is left over only allows you to buy a $5,000 system, then so be it. But if what is left over allows you a $100,000 system then so be it too - no need to waste money on albums you will never do justice to.

redkiwi, i couldn't agree more. i can't think of a time in my 30+ years in this hobby when i've ever been faced with a decision such as that posed by onhwy61. indeed, tho i've sometimes spent several hundreds of USD on software at a time, i've never purchased anything like 1000 or 2500 UDS' worth in one fell swoop. my purchases of equipment demand very different considerations from my software purchases. but for collector lps, of which i own many, my software is close to being disposable. i certainly can't say that of my hardware. in my experience, when i've upgraded my system in a major way, i'm driven not only to play my favorite recordinds but to buy more than usual. if you stick with this hobby for as long as i have, you will eventually assemble a sizable software collection buying as does redkiwi and do i.

Hi Onhwy; I've asked myself this question many times, and glad to see it brought up here. I can identify with your concern, and also the thoughts of the above posts. I have about 1,000 CDs (est. cost $15K), but I have about $30K in my primary system. I listen 3-5 hours every night and still cannot cycle through all my CDs in any reasonable length of time (months). What happens is that I listen to a dozen or two CDs for several days or weeks before moving on to a new group. Also, I've found that every time I make a significant change in my gear, almost every CD sounds different-- so it's like starting over. Quite frankly, I go in "fits and spurts" between buying music and upgrading my system-- I like doing both. BTW, I do not keep CDs I don't like or those that don't have potential, so to accumulate 1,000., I've probably purchased 1,500. Unlike Redkiwi, I buy CDs in binges-- maybe 30-40 in some months, but them go 2-3 months and only purchase a few, but I do agree with Redk that there is no problem with having your system cost more than your music. It would take me a long time to listen to and enjoy 2500 albums as you have. FWIW, some years ago, JA of Stereophile mag. said he would not hire a reviewer who had more money in his equipment than in his music. That position, IMO, is ridiculous because some systems are LP based, and LPs can be found pretty cheaply in many cases. Put another way (extreme) would you rather have $10K in music and $500 in gear or the other way around? IMO, both are would be way out of balance. I look for a balance that I am comfortable with-- right now, I need to be buying music. Cheer. Craig.

I am lucky in that I live in an area where used CD's are available in the $1 to $8 price range. Most of what I purchase is in the $1 to $3 range and I purchase on an average average, at the least, 20 CD's per month. They come from a local flea market (at our high school) as well as the local thrift shops. I also trade and purchase as a local record store that I traded/purchased vinyl from in the 70's. The selection can be a bit odd, but considering the price, I don't worry about it and am exposed to a great deal of music that I would never find at the record clubs or on Amazon. Music, to me, is the reason for all of this madness in the first place and has always been my first priority. I have also always been interested in non-mainstream music (especially local live talent when I was younger) and this purchasing scheme suits my taste as well as my budget.

I am also lucky to live in an area where I have been able to clean up on LP's others have found outdated. But after realising that I have more than I can reasonably listen to and still have time for my old favorites, I have focused on making sure my equipment is up to the task: a new cartridge, new caps, extra tubes, better cables. It's good to remember that it is not only a question of trying out better components, but being able to maintain those that you like. I do like listening to new music as well as hearing what I already know sound better. I still buy new music when a favorite group releases something on vinyl but I don't worry about keeping up with the latest CD's because I figure that once it is digital, it will be around for a while.