I need help with my Equipment addiction


I can't leave well enough alone. My most disappointing days are days like today where I sit down to listen to my system, drink some wine, and unwind and... the system sounds great. I hate that. Nothing to tweak, everything is intergrating well: Clear highs, check. Fast, deep bass, check. Digital sound good with weight and impact, Check. Vinyl sound deep and well rounded with extended highs and excellent speed, check.

That's when the trouble starts. I start thinking, "What if changed cartridges?" "Well then I need a step up transformer, or a seperate MC phono stage", "Maybe I should just look at new preamps, even thbough I love mine now", "Then I need a separate phono preamp, I've always wanted an ARC preamp", then "Hey then I could buy an ARC tube amp for the high end of the Maggies and get bi-amp them"

Does it ever stop? How can I stop the cycle? I think I'm going to drink some more wine.
macdadtexas
I think a little isolation might be the solution.
You need to look with-in and discover why you have not been able to deal with............"Still my temporary rack, 4yrs now." I know, I know it's been difficult to confront this situation but the process is just what you need. A new direction that will improve the current equipment's performance with endless possibilities(tweaks)footers, shelves, etc, etc!!!!
This should allow you to at the least maintain your wine budget, keep your mind occupied for months thus avoiding depression untill your system's ready for new kit.
Then re-post this appeal!!
You know what? After all the years I been on Audiogon I'm proud to say I still have the same speakers, everything else has changed though. Prior to Audiogon it was me and my music, nothing else. I was running Adcom gear back then and I thought it was the best (ignorance is bliss) and looked forward to my next music purchase. Audiogon changed that for the next few years. I started out buying McCormack gear and thought wow this is much better than what I was listening to and as things progressed over time I became more involved with the gear, not the music. I even purhased some test CDs just to make sure everthing was operating as it should. Well the point here is I lost my personal relationship with my music and became obsessed with the gear. I'm happy to report that I have made great progress and have increasingly been more involved listening to my favorite tunes and enjoying them more than ever. Yes I still have purchased & sold some pieces but have slowed down considerably, at least with the more expensive purchases.

I noticed with some long-term Audiogon members they have never been involved in the forums. I think it is important because if were not talking here than your probably browsing & looking to buy. Hint, hint.
It's only money. Make sure to keep drinking too. If you're not buying gold, you may as well be buying equipment on a daily basis, since someday soon money won't buy anything good, like booze or equipment. Those who have not saved will have to sell their stuff cheap. They shudda listened.
Phaelon,
you have never been to Houston have you? If you had you would know that sadly we laugh at the Vegas gentlemen's clubs. They seem trite, and downright amatuerish compared to ours'.

As my wife always says, " I'm so proud Houston's not known for energy, medical, technology or NASA. Instead we are the strip club captial of the world."
Macdadtexas, since Houstin is known for its strip clubs, & the wine is flowing like water, surely these are the distractions you might need to avoid your addiction.