While it’s good food for thought going forwards for anyone it really doesn’t help the OP as they can’t turn the clock back and there are assumptions that they didn’t do things you’d recommend, they may or may not have done so.
While I sense from this post you’re not trying to be critical I think it may come across as such.
Many of us will also have built up systems and upgraded over many decades slowly rather than just dropping 40k on an extravagant purchase we could ill afford.
Welcome back! Glad the changes worked for you..see you have same speaker and subwoofer set up as me!
I have built up my Naim /Linn system over a 9 year period. I spent alot of money 2 years ago when I was in a really bad way health wise. It was my salvation. It gave me hope when there was none. I found more hope on here than my personal life in many ways. And my system helped me through the darkest times. It was the constant!
For me those boxes represent my battle with cancer and coming through to a brighter future! To sell them would be sacrilege!
But that’s me. My favourites are my LP12, Sopra 2 speakers and 500DR! I love the whole set up including Fraim, 552DR, ND555 and 2 x 555PSDRs. All of it. I have spent a fortune, more than most! Most is used or ex demo. With the Naim stuff I have paid 35% of retail price. The Linn LP12 about £18k instead of £27k.
I am not wealthy at all. I have chosen to prioritise my spends on HiFi equipment.
Yes, I like nice things. I work hard for what I have. Things have not come easy for me.
Other things to consider are adjusting lifestyle and building other income streams…
Can’t fault your approach Dan as your threads in the face of adversity have been inspirational.
Great to see posts about the positives of keeping things that really help you deal with life’s adversities.
A few years ago I’d have never considered selling hi-fi stuff I’ve acquired over 35 years or more, but more recently I’ve often considered ditching old stuff and starting from scratch to reduce box count primarily, also realising I’m probably not going to get a huge amount selling things which cost a lot but were affordable.
Like you, my hi-fi, music and AV kit have been essential elements supporting my general well-being for decades - simply as I enjoy them in many ways when other things really don’t inspire or interest me.
Getting older though so some simplification might be interesting. Still haven’t unboxed the Nait 50 as I dread having to figure out connections even to briefly swap to A/B with the active system.
For many of us finances can take unexpected twists which are out our control, but I think I could still downgrade hi-fi and really enjoy my music.
I think it was a visit to a pal’s house who’d had his Heybrook HB1 speakers and Muscial Fidlity amp serviced, both from the late 80s, that made me realise that it had energy which I really liked that may not be inherent in more expensive systems.
Great thread, thank you for posting this. I find it quite courageous and shows the trust between people on this forum. I was in a similar situation when I moved to a different country mid-covid with no job, a home renovation underway and a family to support. I did end up selling quite a few items, it was more about me feeling I couldn’t justify owning very expensive things that only benefitted me. I also sold the car and we drove around in a 20+ yo BMW for 3 years. What it taught me is that I can live without a decent car and restaurants but not without proper sound. Reading your story @Dan_M felt very powerful, I can’t imagine the adversity you’ve had to face and the fact that your music (setup) was so important for you is a testament to this hobby being more than just collecting boxes, it is about striving to get the most out of what you are passionate about. And that was what I couldn’t live without.
@Stu299 I hope your fortune will turn, if it’s any consolation, downsizing ended up being a blessing for me. I bought an 18 yo Supernait 1 as a placeholder until my situation changed and that ended up being the piece that really got the sound from my speakers I had always looked for. I’ve built back up around the humble SN1 and could not be happier, look for the silver lining!
I doubt many would want to on most other forums, but there is such a supportive community here for those who need to share some thoughts or just get a bit of advice, it’s pretty unique in my experience.
I don’t do “social media” apart from Naim forum. Great people on here. Made many friends. It’s a tight community that support each other and share ideas and talk about a whole host of subjects. There is alot on here to get your teeth into!
You get to know people and the regulars, over years. Just got my 7th anniversary badge. And I remember all the early advice from @HungryHalibut and the jesting from the @frenchrooster. I looked upto these guys and I still do!
Would agree with this.
Most people have ‘got each others’ backs’ if that makes sense.
Ditto. The hifi has always been central to my well-being. It is where I can be grounded; reset; remind myself who I am in this Janus-inducing world and saves me from introversion. It is integral to my whole being; outlook; and regulates my emotions. Without it I am lost. It is worth every penny. In hard times I have not downgraded, but scrimped elsewhere. The ‘previously enjoyed’ market has been my way of achieving audio nirvana on a modest salary (gods have to rely on uneven offerings, and the lack of fervent believers these days is dispiriting to say the least!). When I lost my job and Loki-son had to have major surgery simultaneously, listening to well-produced recorded music was my saving grace and helped me to pull through. Loki-wife buried herself in soaps, which is why the main system and AV systems are in different rooms! Oh, and I watched the Matrix 75 times.
Listen to your doubts, accept the obvious and sell your Naim box and set yourself free. You know you deserve it.
.sjb
Indeed, I think that is by far more the norm - however for those with sufficient disposable income to buy 500 series kit new or comparable level full range speakers new would be spending that order of magnitude on each single item purchase.
Thanks Dan_M, I hear you. The problem with my manufacturing business is the high fixed/capital costs, and it’s incredibly difficult to reduce them quickly when demand falls. Cash losses accumulate very fast. On the flipside, when demand increases unexpectedly, then profits increase exponentially. I always viewed my business as recession-proof, but the cost of living squeeze is now starting to hit things we viewed as staples less than a decade ago.
We haven’t lost any customers, and we’ve significantly grown our exports in recent years. But the pie we’re competing for just keeps getting smaller.
Nothing has happened yet, but it’s getting close. I haven’t given up, far from it, I’m hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.
Looking at the positives, there’s a lot I probably wouldn’t miss about running a business for the last 20 years or so!
Yup. People used to joke that if you want to stay employed, become a barber or an undertaker. But when costs first started going up in Covid and the cost of a trim doubled me, and a lot of people, started cutting their hair at home. A lot of barbers simply went out of business. Nothing is a dead cert anymore.
In my industry, we’ve seen the stripping out of huge swathes of people very specialised skill sets that take decades to hone. Yes, these people can start again but after a certain age there isn’t enough time left on the clock to get to the same level of proficiency in a new field and rebuild the same earning potential.
I think everyone experiences ‘tough times’ at some point in their lives. The key is how you deal with them. I often tell my kids that you need to learn how to adapt to certain situations as this makes you resilient to life. Live in the moment and enjoy what you have as it can disappear very quickly. I’m often reminded that some of the best times in my life have been when I’ve had the least money as it makes you appreciate things an awful lot more!
My dad use to tell me “always buy German cars, Italian shoes and British hifi and you won’t go too far wrong in life son”. Well, he wasn’t too wrong. I’ve always bought British hifi, I tend to wear Nike more than my Italian shoes but I do still drive a German car.
I come with a design background and have to say that a lot of my choices are driven by how things look. They don’t need to be expensive but they just have to look right to me. I can actually enjoy something just because of the way it looks. Slightly crazy I know but that’s me. It’s a form and function thing, so my 500 kit is not only about the sound it’s also about the ‘rear end’ shape of a 500 amp. Those lovely curves! Please don’t get me started on the Statement as I know I will own one someday! Upsizing but not by choice!
I so hope that everything works out for you. If you have to downsize it really isn’t the end of the world, and you still have your lovely second system that is truly excellent on any level. Years ago I had a CDS2/555PS, 552/300 and SL2s and downsized for financial reasons. These days I have just my little Atom HE and some active PMCs and I enjoy it just as much. Being happy and content is so much more important.
Not at all. Modern life is driven by numbers. But some of us are visual and put feelings more to the fore.
Being more visually stimulated and putting (having) feelings to the fore are notrelated - you can have feelings to the fore with and be visually indifferent.
And one can pick holes in what people write when it’s totally unnecessary. It’s this sort of thing that gets people arguing and puts them off contributing to discussions.
Indeed, having a reasonable second system may be a significant factor in acceptability of system disposal. For those with only the one system, and enjoyment of music on it a key part of their lives, disposing of it and replacing with something far lesser in sound quality could be a major wrench and a step too far unless the value realised is sufficiently great as to prevent something even worse.
And to a light comment expressing empathy for something @Geko wrote, and a minor thread diversion, your comment takes Naim forum pedantry to new heights. Not much of a pleasure coming here. And we wonder why people are leaving. I’m bloody sick of it.