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How can anyone afford this ?

I consider myself a dedicated audiophile. I am 36(which I am guessing is a little younger than the average here) and single. I have been interested in high-end audio since I saw my uncle's Mcintosh and Threshold equipment for the first time when I was 5.
Since joining the workforce and saving a little I have always been trying to put together a nice system on a budget. I do OK financially(I am a systems engineer) but I do live in NYC which may put some of this into perspective.
Over the last 6 months I have struggled to buy(all used on Agon) a pair of Dynaudio Audience 42s and a Threshold CAS2 amp, Chang CLS3200, and cables(I haven't gone out[I don't have a girfriend], purchased anything else and really haven't eaten too much to be able to afford these and it is still a real stretch). I am using the amp with a direct connection from my CD/DVD player(Cambridge Audo Azur 540D...slightly modified[op amps, PS caps, bypass caps] that I have had for almost 10 years). A fellow has a Threshold FET2 series II(to match with the CAS2) he is holding for me but that seems like a pipe dream at this point along with a turntable.
A few years ago the analogue bug hit me.
I had a setup consisting of an Audio Analogue Settanta integrated and a Nottingham Horizon SE turntable with a Rega RB300 tonearm with the Incognto rewire and structural mod. This was not an expensive kit by any stretch but for me it almost put me in the poor house. I had to sell the entire rig to pay my bills and it hurt.
It seems over the last 10 years or so I have not been able to keep a kit for more than 6 months before I had to sell it. Whenever I don't have a rig I am constantly scanning the online Ads lusting for the next bargain to set up a system and cannot even listen to music on a mass market rig(I have been spoiled).
Anyway, I guess my question is how can anyone normal afford this hobby? What type of money do you have to be making to be able to enjoy this hobby.....$100,000/year? $500,000/year? Do you need to be worth millions? $5,000 barely gets you in the door(some interconnects cost more) and you could possibly spend millions. I am not looking to put together a $10,000 system(not even close...and that is modest in this hobby) but if I wanted to I don't see it ever being financially possible. If I had a girlfriend or a family(hopefully someday) I would not event be able to think about this hobby with a good conscience. I guess I am wondering if all these people in this hobby are millionaires? I am close to selling my rig again to pay the bills(the amp needed repair/recap and that was $450). Any advice for an audiophile who lusts to put together a nice rig but can't afford it? Should I get out and save for 5 or 10 years and then try again? Maybe I am in the wrong hobby but it is more addicting that crack to me(and more expensive). Maybe I should be a crackhead instead...that might be the only thing to make me forget about it. Thoughts?
adamd1205
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
The problem with the "hobby" is that the focus becomes the gear and not the music. Much as car geeks focus on the gear and not the trip. Music can be very enriching on a table radio. I know, I keep an old Sony in my kitchen and listen to it more than either of my three grown up systems.

Steven Mejias reviewed an inexpensive system in his new column in Stereophile. I think it was Wharfedale Diamond speakers, a bottom of the line Cambridge integrated and the Rega P1 turntable. Total cost, maybe a grand or so. At any rate, I was not there, but he said that it played music. And that's what we tend to lose sight of, the only purpose that this stuff has is to play music. The musicians don't play any better on a better stereo. Kenny G does not suddenly become 'trane. Diana Krall does not become Billie Holiday.

A bit of advice, there will always be someone with a better stereo, a flashier car, a bigger house, probably in a better neighborhood, with a bigger TV. Don't worry about it. It doesn't equate to a happier life. It doesn't equate to love and it doesn't have a thing to do with your character or your inner peace.

But definitely, stereo gear, cars and fancy restaurants are not things worth going into debt for. Enjoy your music on a modest rig and start focusing on the more important things in your young life.
mechans
2,999 posts
 
The story you tell is quite depressing. What breaks your bank besides ridiculous rent? literally starving to be an audiophile is dedicated. You can't live on the razor thin margin you speak of, it's absurd.
First I would sell the Chang Lightspeed and the amp in favor of an integrated and no power conditioning for now. The amp you do buy, should not be vintage unless you have a refurbishing bill of sale, of recent date, in your hands.
The other bits of advice are good.
If you can start dating someone who has a career that has the same earnings potential do it for more than just audio. It is true for the most part that 2 can live as cheaply as one. Living in NYC is next to insane if you can get a job elsewhere you might consider it. You will find that nothing is equal to a New York, Chicago, or San Fran but there are cheaper metropolitan areas. I lived in NYC then my career took me away then settled in Philly for a long while. Much less expensive and tamer commutes. How much for a modest system?
My guess for one person to save up 5 grand prolly about 75K per annum for two years but not in NYC. It can be close to a one time expense. You won't need to buy your Dynaudios again and integrated amps can last 20 years without a recap. It is likely you and I will be using a server of some sort as a front end soon enough. Even so a good TT lasts forever with good care and maintenance excepting stylus wear, a new belt once in a while.
Good Luck Chin Up
drdennis
165 posts
 
Time is what you need. Buy good used equipment on Audiogon, and slowly trade up. Don't overspend to the point that you have to sell at a loss to pay bills. I would think you may have spent many thousands, and don't have anything to show for it.

DG
cmalak
681 posts
 
A bit of advice, there will always be someone with a better stereo, a flashier car, a bigger house, probably in a better neighborhood, with a bigger TV. Don't worry about it. It doesn't equate to a happier life. It doesn't equate to love and it doesn't have a thing to do with your character or your inner peace.

Couldn't have said it better.
jj2468
280 posts
 
IMHO you are falling into the audio buying pattern that the audio industry wants you to fall in. Bigger power, more flash, new technology, shiny finishes, more drivers, bigger caginets, etc.. The industry, including the audio magazines, want you to equate the foregoing plus higher retail prices with better sound. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of gear, these attributes don't correlate well with better sound. Hence, the merry-go-round.

I'll say it again. Price does not correlate well with quality of sound.

My suggestion, and you know what free advice is worth, is:
a) focus on old gear enjoying giant reputations (klipsh, lenco, technics sp-10, audio research, altec, etc.). Simply, physics has not changed and many sound engineering issues were figured out years ago.
b) focus on less power and simple is good (complexity and power cost money and do not correlate with sound quality, unless you are filling an auditorium)(for a neutral sound buy an old kt88 or 6550 audio research tube amp; for a warm sound buy an old conrad johnson el34 tube amp; for klipsch style speakers buy a simple reputable 300b amp)
c) go back to analogue and buy a Lenco or Technics sp-10 turntable that works, since both are better than tables cost 10x more; and digital costs much more to better analogue
d)terminate your subscription to all audio magazines
e)it is quite possible to build a system for $5,000 that will better many modern systems costing many many times more
f) listen listen listen

Good luck. Jeff
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