When do you stop upgrading?

[AMR / iFi audio]

fully agree !, its underrated ,
i have consulted an acoustic engineer, to execute measurments in my room , pics were used in a basic expose about influence of room acoustics, and publsihed in german magazin , link see below
https://www.hifistatement.net/grundlagen/item/376-raumakustik-teil-2
View attachment 103611
before treatment

View attachment 103612

after treatment on walls , corners, ceiling..

View attachment 103614 ig

View attachment 103613

None single "über high end " component could achieve the acoustic improvment, in total i spend around 10 000 euro, incl. measurments .
.. every single penny worth..!!!!!

i dont like listening in a , let me describe it, as studio atmoshpere, its always compromise between feel good factor, aestetic demand and acoustic/sonic perfection.

And unless you move out, acoustic adaptation has the best return on investment out of all upgrades

 

[Tangram]

I’m surprised that room limitations aren’t used to determine when the upgrades stop. The law of diminishing returns is especially merciless if your room isn’t that good. If we spent more time understanding and treating our rooms, I don’t think as many of us would suffer from the upgrade disease.

As for me, I’ve done everything I can to treat the room but that can’t change the low ceiling (basement man cave.) In fact, I’m in the process of “downgrading” my gear to get pleasing sound from a simple setup.

 

[dgale]

Curious as to what will cause you all to stop buying gear and decide that what you have is "good enough". With the exception of new music, I know I'm done unless something breaks. Given my age, I know my hearing is compromised and, after being a "dedicated" audio hobbyist for decades (with many purchases under my belt), I have other priorities. And I really have no interest to buy, install, break-in, tune and do all the other things involved in upgrading. Maybe I'm getting lazy in my retirement years but I'm quite happy with my current system. View attachment 86682

When I run out of money.

 

[Hilroy48]

Well i lied. LOL i got caught up in the upgradeitis again. But it was totally worth the money. I posted other threads about my tonearm and Cart upgrade on my main system, as well as some New Phono interconnects. The basement system got the MC cart from the upstairs as well as a new phono stage and phono interconnects. Just common sense to make it sound as good as i can.

The last upgrade i feel will be the main system speaker cables. That will require some thought and some time spent listening to what i have now before i pull the trigger on $4000.00 speaker cables.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I think one way to re-characterize the equipment upgrade goal of the hobby is to get your system -- to your ears -- to the point at which the sound quality of the system is "room limited." "Room limited" means that the only way you can improve materially the believability of your system is to transplant your existing system to a larger room.

 

[Zuman]

I really enjoyed learning about hifi audio and acquiring ever-improving components when I was in my late 20s...and I'm now 70. By the time I was in my late 30s, however, I was in a similar situation to many - if not most - people: things had emerged in my life that were clearly more important. My priorities were no longer just my own interests, but the wellbeing of my wife and children, and the establishment of a degree of financial security that would enable our family to survive the challenging times that will face most of us at some point in our lives.
That meant that I not only stopped devoting as much money to my audio hobby, but also spent more time at soccer games, school plays, family conversations, etc., and less personal time listening to music in my home.
Now I've been retired for about two years, I've started to acquire both good equipment and good recordings again, and I'm finding time to disappear into my listening room for a couple of hours a few times a week. My hearing may not be as good as it was 40+ years ago, but I still find immense pleasure in good music reproduced well, and I still appreciate the nuances and emotion revealed and reproduced by excellent gear.
So for me, stopping upgrading isn't defined by my equipment, but by my circumstances and those who share them. I suppose I've been frustrated a few times when I've wanted something that was unattainable due to competing priorities, but I've never second-guessed my valuing my family, faith, conscience, or wellbeing above a new DAC or cartridge.

 

[dan31]

Start a family late in life. That will take care of the upgrading.

 

[Lee]

When we run out of money.

 

[tima]

When we run out of money.

Or when we run out of space to store the boxes.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Or when we run out of space to store the boxes.

In that case, a storage space upgrade may be in order...

 

[Hilroy48]

Or when we run out of space to store the boxes.

I know I have 2 systems, and I am a box keeper. Oh the shame of it all.

 

[tima]

I know I have 2 systems, and I am a box keeper. Oh the shame of it all.

If you want to resell at some point, original packaging is pretty much required.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i still have boxes for everything in my attic above my room.......except.....my speakers. 11 years ago when the speakers arrived.....it was 14 large wooden crates.....4000 pounds total, holding 3000 pounds of speakers. i did some calculations on the cost to store the crates for 10 years, and the cost of replacement crates, and i junked those wooden crates. as i'm past my 10 year expectation, and still loving my speakers, i guess that decision was correct.

if i sold the speakers now, i would rent a U-Haul Closed box trailer, wrap the 14 speaker sections, load them in the trailer, and deliver them to the next owner in the CUS, who would not have space for those crates either. not sure that will ever happen, but it could.

 

[DeadWax]

What's wrong with endeavoring to continuously upgrade our lives in general? You only go around once so you should try to gain as many experiences (including ones of the musical variety) and extract every ounce of joy possible. Provided that I'm not behaving irresponsibly with my money or with my time (i.e. detracting from time with loved ones) I think the enduring journey should be embraced.

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

I know I have 2 systems, and I am a box keeper. Oh the shame of it all.

Ditto...
Love thoe Mopar, my first was a 73 Charger SE 440.

 

[Hilroy48]

Ditto...
Love thoe Mopar, my first was a 73 Charger SE 440.

Thank you this was a 71 Duster, I performed a 4 year rebuild, the motor was a 383 stroker to 426. made 525HP and 552 TQ. I sold it last year.