How much have you spent buying hifi?

Tight arse.

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Not a thread that a Full Statement owner would have started IMO :roll_eyes:

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I , and probably many here, have lost a lot of money with each upgrades. In UK it’s much easier to buy second hand or ex demo.
In France, I had to buy most new, then sell it 40% less and buy the better source or amp new, and so on.
I went from Rega integrated, to 112/150, to 292/200, 282/200, 252/250, and so on.
Same for sources, be it turntables or cd players.
Some items I bought were ex demo, but a little proportion.
I prefer not to count all the money I lost since 23 years. But I accept it, it’s a passion and hobby. Much more expensive for those living outside UK or Germany.

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If It gives you enjoyment, does it matter ?

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No, it doesn’t matter. But it responds a bit to this topic.

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If I sat down and could remember all the equipment I have owned from my first proper system over the last 45 years, I dare say it would be a small fortune, I have been lucky to have owned equipment from Mission, Meridian, Quad, Linn, Audio Research, Kell and many more including a full Naim 500 system. Also like many others on this forum, I realised, Less Is more, if I couldn’t afford it, I didn’t buy it, but I’ve enjoyed listening to it. Simple as that really.

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I know I’ve spent < £10k on cars in 30 years of motoring, off the top of my head it’s probably at least double that on hifi over the same period. My current system is worth c.£15k and car about £1k so I have my priorities straight!

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I think that’s how much I spent on my first A60.

I sat and thought about this a bit. But it’s impossible. I’ve bought hifi on three continents over more than 30 years at different exchange rates then versus now, so even ignoring inflation, the answer to the question now would be wildly different to the answer a decade ago for the same gear. Between 1993 and 2001 I was able to buy it all at cost, and to 2013 at still a steep discount. And then with favourable exchange rates at that time, I probably bought my current main Naim system factory new for about half what the inc VAT retail was in the UK at the time. It’s more accurate to say:

  • I’ve never spent more than I could afford at the time as an outright cash purchase.
  • I could never afford it again today. Even half of it.
  • Big Bang upgrades (entire system bought at same time balanced and matched), rather than the continual gradual upgrade wheel with a forever unbalanced system, has saved me loads of money.
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Way too much :joy:

Your post resonates with me! I have always had a rule that my Hi-Fi exceeds my car, latest vehicle worth around £1k, to replace my current Hi Fi system, got to be 40K plus.

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I spend on hi-fi and get a return on my investment back via the happiness and contentment my system brings me. The only flaw to to this is that the better my system gets, the more music I buy but this investment also gives me pleasure, so I and the musicians/bands I buy benefit. In fact, the only losers are the shareholders of the financial institutions where I keep my savings before spending them.

Well, this is my rationale and as they say, you can’t take it with you, so beyond a rainy day next egg, spend on what makes your life better is my view.

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As a married man with a joint account I congratulate myself on spending exactly half of what I might have spent if single.

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Excellent, cars are just A-B to me and the old ones run fine if maintained. I am quite excited that my 3 series is about to hit 300k miles though. Anyway back to thinking about the next system upgrade…

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My current system cost more than my first house did in 1986.

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That’s an interesting parallel. My current system also cost me more than my first house, but more meaningfully my first house in 1975 cost about 160x my first hifi system from 1969, but about 30-40x the cost of the system I had at that point.
Interestingly my current house value now is also probably about 30-40x the amount my present system cost me, or close to 12x its new value.

In my first house, hifi took pride of place: furniture was sparse, entire furnishing from jumble sales and cast-offs, only bedding bought new, in total less cost than the hifi. Music was king!

Spent more on cigarettes and cars :smile:

Sorry to hear that

Seriously, never have I spent more than I could afford or felt comfortable with spending. Sure, I lusted after equipment that was and still is, out of reach, thinking, “Wow, would I love that!” but my head rules my heart and I’m risk averse.

An investment? Not really, except that quality music is important to my well-being, whether played at home or experienced live, and I am conscious I am fortunate I can afford what I have bought that gives me pleasure without worry as to its cost.

Now I am at a point where I have a simple system that serves my needs admirably - albeit one that many of my friends think sophisticated or more than they feel comfortable spending on; but then audiophile music seems not that important to them as mainly they listen in their cars or via iPhones and EarPods. The idea of me spending, “blowing”, one said, over £700 on headphones shocked some of them.

But then, as I have mentioned before in another thread, they think nothing of shelling out substantial amounts annually on fishing gear.

If I am honest, over the years I have spent far more on photographic equipment (I was a professional advertising photographer and also it is my hobby) - owning full systems of Leica Ms, Nikon, Hasselblad, Rollie… all of it sold, gone for more than I paid for it. Now I have a Fujifilm XPro3 and one 16-55mm lens.

It’s taken me a long time get to owning Naim gear, as I never have changed my hifi gear frequently (I had my Cyrus for nigh-on 30 years), and certainly have never got a profitable return when gear’s been sold.

With moving and home improvements, it’s taken me virtually a year to my system back up and running. It’s good to have it back.

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:grin:

More than I had expected and less than a nice car!

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