Have you felt the urge to buy a vintage piece of audio gear when you really didn’t need it?
I bought an AR XB1 turntable because I wanted something to play my records on. After seeing a couple of YouTube videos I fell in love with the elegant simplicity of it.
Did I really need it?
No, I didn’t. There’s already far too much music available elsewhere that I could never get to hear even if I had nothing else to do.
Is this an addiction?
It is.
However, sometimes emotional needs are just as important as physical ones.
There’s not a lot worse than depression and if buying something that cheers you up, even if only for a while, helps to avoid feeling depressed, then why not?
How can it be stopped?
Well running out of time, money or space will all help.
As will the realisation that possessions can’t ever fully make up for emotional needs. Not in the long term.
Orson Welles once made a famous film on this very subject.