How to stop upgrading and aviod going bankrupt????

This issue affects many of us. Try shifting your focus and obsessive compulsive desire to a related and even more important aspect of this field. One that will prove more rewarding in no time. The art of "listening ". Take all the jargon and ideas you have learned and put them to use . If you listen with your eyes open then you have a long way to go . And in your case that is good . Calm down when iistening. Follow a ritual when listening. I warm up my equipment for an hour . In that hour I read or reread an article that teaches me something. NOT an equipment review. I have a glass of wine but never too much alcohol during the session. When I am ready I ALWAYS sit in silence for a minute or two with my eyes closed . Always . I can not over state this as it opens your mind. I erase any thoughts during this moment. First I listen to a familiar track that is quiet and full of air and ambient clues about the recording space that will draw my mind and conscious deeper into the music . Keeping your eyes closed is mandatory . Concentrate and what helps me is the abstract construction of the space in my mind. I see instruments where they are suppose to be and memorize their positions as the event unfolds. I say event because your obsession should be about the musical experience you are atempting to achieve through this conquest of equipment aquisitions. Not the rush of a new piece of gear. What I am getting at is that you can be rewarded tremendously by learning just HOW to appreciate what you are obsessing over but seem to be stuck . Utilize the tools you already have. The years of reading and listening at home , the stereo stores and listening at a freiends home .The reading of these forums and exchanges as well as your ever evolving knowlege base should all tie together to set this next phase in motion and ........get this .....its free. Put it all to better use and re focus INTO your music through your mind. It will expand you intellectually and make your investment come alive. Also re direct whatever income you are allocating to stereo equipment and put it into software purchases or a nice Rado watch or whatever turns you on... and savor it .... Also Mejames is dead on . Hope this helps.

"Good evening, my name is (**88***), and I am an Audiophile!

Response, "Hello (***88***)"

Jeez, has Audiogon become AA, as in 'Audiophiles Anonymous'

I ended my long search with a Pass Aleph 5 and a apir of Totem Acoustic Mani-2 speakers. It's over. I have found the enduring combination. It's over. I bought a pair of Cary 300BSE amps just to swap out now and then, but the Pass Totem combination is satisfying.

In the old days, when someone became interested in some activity like audio or -- hell -- make it -- stamp collecting -- or bird watching -- that person was called an enthusiast and the activity was called a hobby. Now, if someone devotes more attention to an activity than the assumed norm -- that person is labeled obsessive/compulsive -- same term used to described the type of person that washes his or her hands three or four hundred times per day -- and therapy is recommended. Be a pretty boring world if not for
obsessions like music. I am not a licensed therapist, nor do I play on on TV, but IMO, there's no harm in voraciously reading Hifi magazines or hanging out in HiFi shops as long as your children aren't starving because you spent the family's food budget on a
set of interconnects. Speakers, I can understand.... heh-heh -- just kidding -- don't call the shrinks on me -- it was just a joke. Really.

Thanks everyone! This has been a facinating read. I feel kind of bad though, I was sort of kidding. But I realize that didn't come through in my tone. (That's a lesson for me as a writer. I heard my voice--sarcastic and self deprecating--you heard deperation. OOPS!) I'm not really obsessed, so don't worry about me. :)

I'm very proud of the system I've built. I feel like I have ferrited out a lot of the those really good buys, the components that can compete with products many times their price. It's just that I'm now done. The hunt is definitley part of the fun, and it's over...at least for now. (I've taken to researching for friends.) I'm hoping to stick with many of my purchases for 5 or 10 years. I enjoy visiting dealers and hearing new products, it's just that I hate taking up their time if I'm not really in the market.

BTW, I go to see live music often several times a week. My CD collection is 75% indie artists, whom I support happily. I even host a concert series in my home. I also play guitar, as does my husband, and spend much time singing off key and dancing with my dog. Music is a huge part of my life...not just the equipment to reproduce it.

This can be a serious issue I know. Some people seem to upgrade the same component annually. (You should read the DVD player threads of AVS Forum!) That's what I want to avoid. Before learning more about audiphile level equipment, I was happy with my JVC dvd layer that I'd had for 4 years that cost be $200. Now I have a $1700 universal player! That's fine if I don't feel the need to sell it next year and get the newest universal player. That's where I don't want to go. Even if I have the money, there are other things to spend it on. Hell, if Marc Michelson can stay happy with the Bel Canto for years, so can I.

Joy Elyse

p.s. Regarding high end magazines, I think a lot of them are bull. That's why I love SoundStage! It's a really down to earth e-zine with some talented writers. :)

pps. My therapist thinks my hobby is very healthy. :)