The High Price of Audio

[Early B.]

If you had to guess, how much money have you spent on audio gear and assorted accessories in the past 12 months?

Was it worth it?

Do you plan to spend more or less in the next 12 months?

[Skynut]

Shoulda made a poll.

I have about $4000.00 spent in the last 12 months but I did alot of upgrades. The next 12 months don't look as playfull.

Edit: Yes it was worth it.

[ND13]

$3500-$4000 and mostly on pre-owned gear.

Yes

[shack]

About $1,750 in the last 12 months. Less than half is currently being used. The rest may or may not be rotated into one of the rigs.

Even the stuff not being used is good stuff so I guess it is worth it (and I'm keeping it at least for a while).

What I spend in the future depends on what I decide I want....which right now is nothing...but that could change at any time.

[crazy]

Well, I recently purcahsed a full Polk Audio Monitor series HT setup along with an Onkyo receiver and Onkyo DVD player.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39648&highlight=current+system

I thought that was a lot till I put money down on this ...

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39145&highlight=time+upgrade

Image --> http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16109&d=1145994905

How much did it all cost - A LOT!!!

Was it worth it ... absolutely! I am suffering from buyer's remorse but I wouldn't trade my stereo setup for anything. I have been trying to get rid of my 5.1 setup but no local buyers so far. Maybe I'll need to think about shipping this suff.

[Skynut]

I should mention that most of what I spent was on this forum.

Thanks guys.:D

[steveinaz]

I didn't do much buying in the last year; Denon 2910 ($699) and new IC's ($360). That's about it...

[kingkip]

About 1500 of which about 1200 is going into an IB sub I am building. Hopefully soon, I will be able to make an insurance claim on my house for "earthquake" damage.:p

[unc2701]

$500- lsi9's
$350- One more Adcom 555
$500- Crown XLS power amp
$450- Dodd ELP

So that's $1800, plus some sub $200 purchases like needles, drivers for DIY projects, etc. Everything except for the XLS make up my 2 channel rig that's getting used all the time - when I'm not taking it apart to use one piece or another to tweak around with a DIY project.

The XLS is currently unused, but I'm planning on using it for an IB sub once I get the attic finished in the new house (1.5 months till i move in, can't wait...) Or plan B: I dump the XLS and just buy an SVS. Anyone want to buy it?

[Mazeroth]

About 1500 of which about 1200 is going into an IB sub I am building. Hopefully soon, I will be able to make an isurance claim on my house for "earthquake" damage.:p

$1200 into an IB is going to be absolutely INSANE! You won't regret it. Mine only ran me $235 (bought everything used; 4 shivas and a 240w PE plate amp) and the performance is staggering.

How much have I spent this year? Hmmm... I'm going to have to guess about $2000, of which $1000 I haven't even used yet :D

[Mazeroth]

Or plan B: I dump the XLS and just buy an SVS. Anyone want to buy it?

Do not join the Dark Side! The IB is your friend!

[AndyGwis]

HK 635 = $650
2 carvers basically free + B&K ST202 = $450 (shipped and all)
Monitor speakers and sub = $900
Wires and such = $200
Looks like about $2200 audio (+$3000 on 2 TVs and 1 DVD Player for video)

Depending if I continue to build a 2-channel rig (already have stereo amp for it), will need preamp ($250), SACD/Universal player ($300), speakers ($500+), and more interconnects. Looks like another $1000-$1500 or so this year.

Most of the purchases were made at great prices, and, yes, I am overall happy with my gear. However, recently my spending has been much more liberal (B&K amp was impulse buy, for instance).

[criverajr]

About 7500-10000 on 2 systems that;s about it for now.

CRj

[Early B.]

If I substract the stuff I sold, I spent about $1,000 net on a new set of speakers. Did a lot of downsizing in the past year -- sold all of my HT amps and most of my speakers for much cheaper ones so I could focus more resources on my 2-channel system.

Hopefully, I won't spend a dime in the next 12 months (OK, maybe some tube rolling, etc.).

[Zero]

More than necessary.

[unc2701]

About 1500 of which about 1200 is going into an IB sub I am building. Hopefully soon, I will be able to make an isurance claim on my house for "earthquake" damage.:p


Got an amp to power that? want to buy a Crown XLS700? :)

[madmax]

Mostly "pre-owned" stuff. Phono pre, mono blocks and a secondary set of speakers. A few power cords and such too. About $9K of what I bought I kept. It was the best money I've spent in years. Now, if I can just find a job... :D

madmax

BTW, yes, I'm hopelessly hooked on this stuff.

[HBombToo]

I have been in a listen mode with what I have. Perhaps by 3rd qtr I may pull the trigger on a VPI Scout.

HBomb

[george daniel]

I'll ask my wife, she keps a running total on my audio expenditures :rolleyes:

[michael_w]

Probably about $700 cdn.

Built the diy atlas back in may 2005 for around $550 and then my nad c540 cd player a couple months later for ~$125. The Voigt pipes that I finished up a month or two ago cost me around $15 to build, but that bill should soon go up once I bondo and paint them. Haven't really even bought too many new cds. I usually pick mine up at garage sales for a buck or two each.

In about a month it'll be over a year since I've made any big audio purchase... maybe time to step up and find myself a preamp? Not sure what I'll spend on one but I'm pretty sure it'll be in less than 12 months from now. It all depends on my financial situation with saving for post secondary and all...

Oh and everything I've bought has absolutly been worth the money.

[Midnite Mick]

Just added it up.......approx. 11,400 Cdn taxes included since January

In hindsite I probably would have done it differently. I would have focused on exceptional 2 channel and just got a flagship receiver for the HT part.

Mike

[I-SIG]

If the plasma counts, then ~$3500. If not, then $1100 on the SRS, although I do have my SDA-1C's SPF for $350 and a Carver M1.0-t will be coming on the market soon as well, so I guess I have to subtract those.

Is $325 shipped on the Carver fair? I've been looking on the 'gon and eBay and they seem scarce these days for some reason.

Wes

[Vr3MxStyler2k3]

About 590 - Sold about..... 550 worth of stuff though, so technically only 40-50 bucks...

[janmike]

$4,850 this year alone. Hope Q1 is not a quarterly average.

[amulford]

I purposely do not keep track. I have spent a few shekels

[McLoki]

about $1100 on speakers (well worth it)

$2400 on a 50" hitachi. Nice improvement over my old tube tv, but alot of money. Kind of wish I would have waited for something different / better.

Harmony remote control - $35 (very nice for a great price (used of course) well worth the snag)

$130 or so on wires - maybe worth it, maybe not - but I have not worried about upgrading them since then so from a peace of mind standpoint probably worth it.

Damn when you write it all down like that it really hits home. I was really hoping to spend about $1200 or so on a new preamp this year - but after admiting how much I recently spent - maybe I will cool it for this year and just listen. (then again - maybe I will get a decent bonus check this year.... :D)

Michael

[wingnut4772]

Last 12 months??? Geez! about.....7K. I need help.

[kingkip]

Got an amp to power that? want to buy a Crown XLS700? :)

I may, sent you a PM.:cool:

[kingkip]

$1200 into an IB is going to be absolutely INSANE! You won't regret it. Mine only ran me $235 (bought everything used; 4 shivas and a 240w PE plate amp) and the performance is staggering.

Man I hope so. I am really excited to join the cult, hopefully I will have something done by the end of the week.

If I can figure it out I'll post pics too:p

[MattN03]

Over double what I originally intended to spend! All I was going to get was a RM6900 system and then I found the Forums. :eek: I'm glad I did though, it has been worth it! :D And yes, I plan to spend more in the upcoming months. I'll be adding FXi5's, Signal Cable IC's, and possibly a Harmony remote. An amp for the RTi8's and CSi5 has also crossed my mind. Dang, ya'll are horrible!! :p

[candyliquor35m]

More than $3500 but I don't want to count any higher than that and now I have everything I want thank goodness. Good thread. I had no idea I spent that much :(

[Shizelbs]

I think around $2200.

[starchaser]

Edit: Spent more than i thought, was worth more than i paid and will spend even more the next 12 months!

Thank you members for making this forum what it is.

[dudeinaroom]

I only spent about 470 usd 300 for an adcom gfa 555, $130 for a sony sacd/dvd player and $28 for a refoam kit for a set of infinitys(vintage 1990) $2 for an akia receiver.

Net will be a can of deoxit for the receiver, and the l-pads for the infinitys