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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: blackjack on December 20, 2014, 06:18:43 AM

Title: Audiophile being mmm
Post by: blackjack on December 20, 2014, 06:18:43 AM
Im fairly good at saving.... but lately I have been getting really into high quality audio

spending nearly 4,000 and want to spend another 8,000....

I make $100,000.... but i just can't seem to help but trying for the best quality audio in my house =[
Title: Re: Audiophile being mmm
Post by: Ricky on December 20, 2014, 08:27:37 AM
I liken any enthusiast hobby to drinking: "if you never try it, you'll never miss it".

I could never spend that type of money on any electronic device even though I am somewhat of an audiophile myself and can definitely hear differences between 128kbit and 320kbit, differences in speakers, etc...

However, I think this mentality sort of grounds an "I can justify these purchases because I can hear the differences and not everyone can". That's a bad mentality to fall into, though I think (sub)consciously, many "audiophiles" fall into that trap. So, I really think it's a state of mind.

I never had a big addiction to audio equipment, though I spent at least a couple grand on amps, a sound card, headphones, etc at one point. The quality was definitely great and I could hear the differences but I honestly just couldnt justify owning that stuff considering there is always something better out there that I'd eventually want.

Nowadays I am fine with music coming out of my relatively tinny iPhone or iPad speakers, because it's just so damn affordable and convenient. When you think, something that costs $10k or < $1k can perform the same task, just "better", which one are you going to buy?
Title: Re: Audiophile being mmm
Post by: v10viperbox on December 20, 2014, 08:55:11 AM
I built a tube DAC and got into headphones. You get 10x the bang for your buck. I have a set of balanced Grado RS1's that I use every day and ended up selling my ML Prodigy's as I never used them again.

~1K into the setup used and it blows away the 50K new (I bought everything used or broken) setup that I had before.
Title: Re: Audiophile being mmm
Post by: RWD on December 20, 2014, 09:01:27 AM
I spent about $3,500-4,000 on our sound system. We use it for everything from just playing background music to video gaming to full movie home theater surround sound. The speakers are very high quality with real wood cases and should last us at least a decade or two.

If I were to do it again I would consider going for a full HSU Research system (http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/ultra15pkg.html) instead which would have cost closer to $2,000-$2,500 for a 5.1 surround setup. Even cheaper if you choose one of the smaller subwoofers and/or less speakers. Supposedly the performance of these is similar to my current setup.

Either of those choices were leaps and bounds better than the JBL system I had before which probably cost around $1,000. There are diminishing returns the higher up you go, of course. The company that makes my speakers has two higher levels of quality, and each level doubles the price. I don't think I could tell enough of (or any) difference to justify a $20k system.
Title: Re: Audiophile being mmm
Post by: gooki on December 21, 2014, 12:24:05 AM
Giving myself a budget and shoping wisely worked out well for me.
Title: Re: Audiophile being mmm
Post by: lemanfan on December 21, 2014, 03:19:44 AM
I guess that we all have some hobby that we consider is worth our money, and for some of us this includes good sound...   

The mental way I've taken is mainly based on my engineering background but in relative terms it's also kind of mustachian.  The basic approach is with a sound scepticism about all things labelled "audiophile".  There's so much snake oil and just plain fraud out there. 

Speakers do make a difference, but once you have decent stuff you probably gain more by room treatment than new equipment.  (Room treatment is also very VERY DIY-friendly).

Electronics matter, but once you have a decent power amp with enough power to drive your speakers, and the rest of your stuff does not suffer from noice or other distorsion... but it doesn't have to be expensive.

Good interconnects don't cost an arm and a leg.

$1000 power cables?  They should be less than $10. 

Get good stuff that you like, but don't buy the audiophile hype. 
Title: Re: Audiophile being mmm
Post by: SnackDog on December 21, 2014, 05:35:15 AM
Unless you are strictly using headphones (which all sound amazing, by the way), the biggest factor will be the acoustics of the room you use.  When I was in the college I rented a house which featured a huge wood-paneled great room with a vaulted wood ceiling. It was a mini symphony hall.  We had a $100 stereo in there with the speakers on top of the kitchen cabinets.  The sound was simply stunning and easily surpassed anything I had heard from setups costing 100x more in a typical living room.  My audiophile friends would visit and just curse.