2. misc-audio
  3. 1167270492

If you had to pay full retail, would you...???

I recently got the Music Direct catalog in the mail. Lots of cool gear, interesting tweaks, awesome LPs. Looking over the catalog several times, I said to myself, "man, there are a lot of expensive tweaks which the un-initiated must think is simply crazy". What also struck me is that all the stuff I want, is ultra expensive and the stuff at "real-world prices" are nothing really spectacular. Even at the low end side of "high-end" gear, I would be laying out considerably more than if I went to Best Buy and bought an All in one system.

So, here is where I am headed. I have put together a pretty nice system, almost entirely found here on Audiogon, over back in the day at Audiomart. I scored my amps which retail for $13,000 for $4000. My speakers retailed for $7500 and I got em for $1500. My turntable was $500, which retail was $2500. If, I bought a new $500 turntable, I would get like a Music Fidelity MF, entry level one.

if you bought most of your system used, if you had to start from square one and had to buy Full retail, would you still be into this hobby?

Entry level high end gear really does not interest me. it lacks pizzaz, like the Avid Reference has. For what I paid for my AudioLogic tube DAC, I could only afford a Mid-level Marantz. I beleive I would still be a Music lover, but if forced to spend Full retail for high end gear, I think I would opt for mass market mid-fi, or simply do a laptop based digital system through a mass market company.
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Showing 1 response by t_bone

t_bone
1,182 posts
 
I am frankly shocked at people's responses. I am in this hobby to listen to music, not to trade gear. I have bought all of mine used, mostly from brick and mortar stores (a few pieces off the local equivalent of ebay) and I think I have built a respectable system for what happens to have been a substantial discount to retail price. However, if trafficking in used audio equipment were to become illegal, while I would likely not have the same equipment, even it meant "paying full retail", I'd build myself a decent system - though I would probably choose to do so by buying direct from manufacturers (and a number of people who have said "no" on this thread have previously recommended (at least in my admittedly hazy recollection) components sourced direct from the mfr). If I was a complete newbie, I'd probably go to a bricks 'n mortar shop to listen first, and pay the mark-up to learn.

I think I could do quite well for myself buying new at full asked price, partly because buying direct from the mfr cuts out at least one level of "middle man". I might buy Oris horn speakers (or if "stuck with" box speakers, maybe some Coincidents), a Berning amp, perhaps a Supratek or Bottlehead preamp & phono, maybe a Teres or Galibier turntable (packaged with arm). For a CD player, at this point, I would probably set up a music server connected to a directly purchased I2S-capable DAC (or I'd build my own from a kit). There are any number of choices to buy rack and cables direct as well.
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