"More people spend $€£100-400k on a system than 10-40k"...

[spiritofmusic]

Maybe Brad. My SE2SEs have been flawless. My Utopia pre has proved challenging, eating 3 pairs of 6n23p tubes, and a seperate pr tubes failing quickly w frankly scary DC offset noise issues. Latter is sorted, but cannot for the life of me totally eradicate that 6n23p related hash.

Luckily it's tolerable w my 101dB Zus, but wouldn't be w horns. Demanding at the very least a move to Emia, Java Triple Shot or LTA preamps.

As long as I stay Zu, the Nats will do for me just fine. But I can imagine how infuriating unreliable gear, esp w tubes, can be. I've run a phonostage that did my head in, and Nat preamp tube noise is one of my few minor caveats w my sound.

 

[XCop5089]

Now fully retired, I just don't have the disposable income to play in the "big leagues" anymore!

My last 'big spend' was in 2016, when I added a dCS Vivaldi Upsampler to complete my full stack and a CJ GAT Series 2 to compliment my CJ Premier 350SA, which I have owned since 2004!

I did buy a Mutec Ref10 10MHz Reference Clock and a system grounding box last year, but having optimised cabling, system support, speaker positioning and room tuning, I don't see me spending crazy amounts on hi fi in the foreseeable future!

My worst fear is that after I die, my wife will sell my hi fi system for what I told her I paid for it!

fullsizeoutput_18b5 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/185292221@N08/, on Flickr

 

[spiritofmusic]

Even worse, she probably knows she can only realise 1/3 of that figure in the s/h mkt. She's gonna make a dealer verrrrrrry happy.

 

[XCop5089]

Nah! Marc,

She's lost more down the back of a sofa!

 

[Al M.]

Folsom, its perfectly possible to stop building/scrapping/building/scrapping etc. If you come to realise yr current system can only truly be outclassed w components many times the price, then it is time to stop.

Same here. I'm done. Maybe I'll look into another DAC one day, but since my current Yggdrasil is so insanely good, I may be looking at 10 x the price for maybe an incremental improvement. I'll pass if that's the case. You can already smell the unbridled enthusiasm of looking for another DAC .

I did hear better systems than mine, but they were many times more expensive and on some music I even prefer mine. And such systems would need a room much larger than mine to really shine and exhibit the strengths that would meaningfully set them apart from my system, without too many compromises of their own. This would require a house I couldn't afford. You at least already have a large room.

So all in all, pointless to think about something else.

 

[KeithR]

A member posted on a different site, which has since been removed, that in the latest TAS buyers guide, 77 speakers from 33 companies cost over $100k. I laughed and thought of this thread.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Its the same with most luxury/status items .
They are basically tools for people to differentiate themselves from others .
In audio often high price is seen as a statussymbol in itself.

 

[sbo6]

I would argue audio is not always the same as other luxury / status goods. I get it where a $1000 Gucci purse carries makeup and a wallet no more efficiently and effectively than a $20 target bag. But I find with audio equipment, in most situations you get what you pay for. Does it cost incrementally more $ to get better sonics, yes, but that's the same in many industries, Biking, cars, etc..