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

Showing 3 responses by ckoffend

I do not earn a huge income by any stretch of the imagination; however, I am moderately comfortable. I think the first thing to affording this hobby is to live life financially smart. I don't live in debt. I only use credit cards for making on-line purchases and only when I have the available funds which allow me to pay the entire balance immediately. I only pay cash for cars. I put aside money every pay period for general savings, general investing, retirement and both of my kids college funds. I own a decent home (about 3,400 sf). My annual income is about $100K. In a typical month, I have 5 bills to pay - power, internet/Comcrap, mortgage (includes ins. & taxes), kids school lunch program and phone bill. Of course I have regular living expenses - groceries, gas, spending money, etc. . .

My kids and I take a few nicer vacations each year, usually out west skiing or to Florida. A Canadian fishing trip with my son and several smaller vacations.

I have owned some pretty good mid/upper-tier equipment (nothing in the stratospher). Krell FPB amps, Levinson, BAT, CJ, Pass amps. Some great digital equipment - DCS, EMM Labs, Esoteric, Wadia, Levinson, Audio Aero, etc. . . Some fine speaker systems (Wilson, VS, B&W, Gemme, Totem, etc. . . ).

I think the key is to live responsibly, always saving and only spending when doing so does not present a potential hardship down the road. Living in debt is what kills most people and takes away opportunities. Of course a very high income (which I am sure most people of this site have - many times mine - helps).

To the original poster. I would learn to live with a lesser quality "out-loud system" and spending a little money on a great headphone system may be the best way to go. One can get a great pair of headphones for a few hundred dollars that can outperform some of the best speakers made! Secondly, go with mid level cables that are a few generations old. I just fail to recognize (via listening) that the latest greatest $3,000 speaker cable of today is really notably better than the $500 (used price) two generation old cable that they replaced.
To say trickle down economics hasn't worked in the US is a bit naive. The perfect example that it has worked is by looking at the poor in our country - those that get by and plan to live off the government. These, the poorest of the poor in our wonderful country, have a standard of livings many 10s of times better than the "working class" in many other countries. Here in the US we do not know and understand what being poor truly is. The truth of the matter is, even the poor in our country throw away and waste more money than the world's truly poor make in a year. This is a sad statistic on both sides of the proverbial ocean.

We should all be thankful for ending up in a modern society, in a country that does take care of its poor and has enough left over to try to assist other parts of the world. Countries and individuals that strive to be as well off as our poorest citizens.
Is it better to be poor in the US or "middle class" in India, China, Vietnam, Mexico, slew of African countries, etc. . .? In most cases, the poor in the USA still live a more comfortable life than the middle class in many of these alternatives.

Even the poorest in the USA have safe drinking water, public safety, access to education, access to technology (free in most communities via schools, community programs and libraries).

Trickle down does not always come in the form of cash!

Just take a look at what our President has been promoting this past week - high speed internet access to all! The fact that this is even a topic of relavence says a huge amount about where we are.

For those that don't believe that trickle down works, take a look at charitable contributions and where (from whom) they come (the nice aspect here is that this is not government forced but individually selected for what is typically benefits of their community - whether seen as local, state, federal or the whole planet)? Take a look at the tax rolls and who pays what percentages of taxes?

I am all for incentifying the "poor" and assisting them in their efforts to get ahead. Many people need a helping hand sometime in their lifetime (not always financially) and I support those that have the capability to extend a helping hand to do so. We are all better off when our society as a whole is better off. Society as a whole is better off when all the individuals can sustain for themselves - through education, hard work and great effort.