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One year down, two to go. What's the longest you have saved for one component?

I've just reached my first anniversary. One year of my payment plan down, two to go.
What's the longest you have saved for an individual component? 

My beloved Boulder 2060 has had a troubled existence. A previous owner's partner had spilt (poured?) a drink over it, leading to some recurring issues and two visits to Boulder UK. But i found i could leave it powered up and it ran just fine. On the second visit Boulder had rebuilt it with many components from 2160, including the main board, which gave a significant increase in quality ; it was as if my room had been treated,  with all the hard surfaces softened and such wonderful texture. I was in bliss

So my cat had adopted it as a warm perch, despite my best efforts including adding spike strips designed to keep birds off buildings,  Samira found a way to conform to the gaps i had left above the vents. Then one day i fed the cats, then set out hillwalking with my dogs. Returned to find my amp in shutdown mode, a funny smell, and blown sub bass drive unit on one of my Stella Utopia.....and a trail of dried cat vomit on top of my amp, across the air vents

So one dead amp. Pit of depression.
Then Boulder took pity on me. My amp had been such a problem child they felt badly toward me, and it was now beyond repair. Then they made me an offer I couldn't refuse on a new 2160.
I did still procrastinate for a couple of months, it was still a huge sum of money. Then after considering my other options to be unpalatable, i committed to the purchase; half my income after housing costs, every month for three years

So, one year down, two to go
What's the longest you've ever saved, and what was the component? 
128x128gavman
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,052 posts
 
OP,

Honestly, I never found any component worth carrying payment plan for 3 years. Your situation may be unique (not sure how lucrative the offer was) but you’re already committed and you must really like Boulder sound.

Enjoy!
uncola
56 posts
 
6 months for my upcoming selah speakers :)
marqmike
838 posts
 
Hey, I appreciate your evident love of music. It appeals to the creative part of us which gives real meaning to life itself. So I am saying it can be one of the more valuable and worthy pursuits. Hope you really enjoy your stuff.
I mostly got my stuff on credit I think because I didn't have the patience to wait saving up.
audio2design
1,351 posts
 
I am not sure I have ever "saved up" for a piece of equipment, not that I have not spent a lot on pieces of equipment. Listening to music gives me pleasure, but it is more the "get's me through the days" pleasure than building memories pleasure. Now creating music, that is much different. That builds lasting memories.

It's disposable income (or should be). Some spend their disposable on getting through the day(s) and some spend it on building memories. I love music, I have built my career around it, but perhaps I don't have that visceral attachment to listening to recorded sound such that is becomes "a memory". I do have that attachment to the creation of the equipment that makes that possible though, but not to owning that equipment.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
I've never saved up for a component. Nor have I ever bought anything on credit. Well except the house. But not even a car. Credit cards paid in full every month. What I do instead is save. Invest. Save and invest. While avoiding at all costs debt. What they used to call living within means. 

Debt means interest, interest means working for someone else, and its always someone who did nothing to generate the money you are now obliged to slave away to pay back. I refuse to be a debt slave. 

When it comes to components I do that different too. I search and search and search. First casting a wide net across the spectrum, reading all I can about whatever I'm interested in, regardless of price. Because even reading about something far out of my range there can be comments that lend perspective to what is within my budget. In this way I gain an overall view of what are the highest value components.  

This is a long, patient process. Speakers were on my radar well over a year, and even once the choice started to become clear it was almost another full year of checking and considering before finally buying Moabs a couple months ago. 

Then because I'm constantly perpetually always saving my whole life, never living the paycheck to paycheck life of the debt slave, I am free to buy what I want when I want. So long as I am careful about it. I guess you could say that instead of saving for a component I saved my whole life to buy my freedom- and so now can afford components.
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