Any one else have this "disorder"?

daddyjt
daddyjt Posts: 2,297
edited December 2017 in The Clubhouse
Time for a little group therapy, or at least validation that I'm not the only one.

I routinely (religiously?) canvass the local classifieds for audio gear, at least once a day, most times more. Mind you, I am in need of nothing - in fact, I have the makings a a modest, yet somewhat impressive audio store, if I were so inclined. I have so much gear that its getting hard to track/store it all. But I can't seem to stop looking (and buying).

I've come to the somewhat uncomfortable realization that it's the hunt and acquisition that I derive the fun from. And when I miss out on something (most recently an old McIntosh amp) by being beat out on the quick-call, I'm left feeling despondent. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the equipment I acquire for a period, then it finds its way into one of the storage areas.

I say all of this in complete seriousness, and I suppose I am just curious if anyone else has this particular affliction?
"Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow


“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

«134

Comments

  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,420
    Yep I do. I rarely act on it though. Mine is derived from folks here who come and go look i found such and such at goodwill for $12. My local GW NEVER has anything but broken toasters and terrible looking dinner sets. I mean who buys that stuff?
    I've found some stuff on CL but most is ridiculously priced. I did find some nice Infinity's i bought for my son. But you're correct it's the hunt that's fun.
  • daddyjt
    daddyjt Posts: 2,297
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    ...My local GW NEVER has anything but broken toasters and terrible looking dinner sets...

    +1

    Nothing but beat up crap at my goodwill either... I don't even look there anymore.

    "Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow


    “Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
    ― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,524
    The employees take all the good stuff before it even hits the floor.
    daddyjt wrote: »
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    ...My local GW NEVER has anything but broken toasters and terrible looking dinner sets...

    +1

    Nothing but beat up crap at my goodwill either... I don't even look there anymore.

  • I suffer from some issues compulsive/impulsive buying is part of it. That is why I took a few years off of the site, my credit cards couldn't handle it. I'm basically at that point now. I'm going to be going thru my stuff, I need to sell the extras to help pay off my credit cards. Once that's done I'll need a break to get back out of the debt that's left. I'll probably take a year of so off again.
    "Make a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Light
    a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."


  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,420
    Yea my one rule is never go into debt for stuff. Problem is whenever i have the cash i never can find anything i want. BROKE as a hobo it all comes out of the woodwork at insanely cheap prices.
  • DaveHo
    DaveHo Posts: 3,465
    I still search craigslist, here, etc, nearly everyday, but these days it's rare that I buy anything. In the past I would buy gear that I thought would be fun to try out, or that I lusted after when I got into this hobby(80's). Eventually it reached the point where I couldn't use all the gear(mostly speakers) i had amassed. Plus the time involved rehabbing gear and constantly buying/selling was getting tiresome. I ended up outfitting my two son's with modest systems & sold most of the rest.

    Now when I come across something that tickles my fancy, I ask myself: 1) Will this be an upgrade to what I'm currently using? 2) Can I resell it without losing money? 3) Do I need to rehab it before I'd be happy with it? This has really cut down on the infusion of gear that would be a sideways move at best.
  • I at least keep my debt on zero interest cards and pay it off before the point when interest starts. Basically that's the main way I can catch deals. A side benefit is I pay extra and it has helped my credit score out. I just dropped to 749 due to my credit balance otherwise it's right around 800. I'm working on buying one last pair of speakers that have the WAF with some cash I have, hopefully that will happen tomorrow. After that all I'll need is a budget DAC or two at some point along with some cables. At that point I'll be filling the rabbit hole. My systems will be where I want and like them at. I'll have my main system, a sweet shop setup and a decent one that the wife allows upstairs. They all will be able to stream my music collection sooner or later. I still need more music but that can happen over time.

    Music happens to be my main escape that keeps me sane since I have multiple heath issues, some permanent physical ones and some mental ones too. All I hope is my 6 month cancer screening comes back clean later this month. It should since it was caught real early and treated aggressively.
    "Make a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Light
    a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."


  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,524
    Can relate to this, in terms of how music can help with mental issues.

    Here's hoping that your screening comes back clean!
    TNTsTunes wrote: »
    Music happens to be my main escape that keeps me sane since I have multiple heath issues, some permanent physical ones and some mental ones too. All I hope is my 6 month cancer screening comes back clean later this month. It should since it was caught real early and treated aggressively.

  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,272
    Music Heals, Music Saves (just not money)
    I disabled signatures.
  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,042
    Are the 1.2s in the storage area already?
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
  • daddyjt
    daddyjt Posts: 2,297
    Nightfall wrote: »
    Are the 1.2s in the storage area already?

    Nope - they are currently in my revolving trio of favorites, along with the Legacy 20/20 pair and the Infinity Kappa 9 pair.

    I have installed the aluminum binding post plates, new posts, and the Neutrick IC cable since I picked them up from you. It would take a lot to relegate them to storage...
    "Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow


    “Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
    ― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,034
    I was also in that same boat for many years and could not seem to shake the habit of constantly hunting for those deals that seem to be getting more scarce all the time. This past summer I took all the craigslist sections where I hunted off my favorites bar. The time wasted looking for deals just didn't add up and haven't for some time now. Nothing has come close to replacing my 1.2tl's for several years now and I also feel the same about my electronics. I don't miss the gear hunt or storing the turds that also found their way here either. Yes the habit can be shaken and it's nice to not have to worry about running to the puter or smartphone to look for that "deal'' that I may have missed in the 30 minutes of doing something other than searching for God knows what.
  • DSkip wrote: »
    I got worse. I became a dealer.

    Goddamn the pusher man! B)
  • lightman1
    lightman1 Posts: 10,775
    I got it bad, as well.......
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,874
    daddyjt wrote: »
    Time for a little group therapy, or at least validation that I'm not the only one.

    I routinely (religiously?) canvass the local classifieds for audio gear, at least once a day, most times more. Mind you, I am in need of nothing - in fact, I have the makings a a modest, yet somewhat impressive audio store, if I were so inclined. I have so much gear that its getting hard to track/store it all. But I can't seem to stop looking (and buying).

    I've come to the somewhat uncomfortable realization that it's the hunt and acquisition that I derive the fun from. And when I miss out on something (most recently an old McIntosh amp) by being beat out on the quick-call, I'm left feeling despondent. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the equipment I acquire for a period, then it finds its way into one of the storage areas.

    I say all of this in complete seriousness, and I suppose I am just curious if anyone else has this particular affliction?

    It is so funny that you mention this -- this was posted on another hifi forum earlier today... must be some sort of holiday introspection operating.

    http://www.hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/richard-shahinians-death-and-loudspeakers.3151/page-4#post-57501

    I am seriously considering adopting the text of that post as my signature line...
    My house is on the register of undeclared audio stores. I have the inventory, just not the cash register or love of strangers.
  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,007
    edited December 2017
    I have the worst case of this disease.
    I just found a pr. of JBL HT towers that have sat so long the veneer has become loose on the front and the top veneer has popped up on one. I don't know about the other one. I was sooo pd off I walked away from them. That was yesterday.

    I have a Integra M504 and a 502 that after using them I put them on a shelf. Then a year or two later, they would come on but not click to get the amps to put power out to the speakers. I put the M504 into a shop around here twice. The first guy went to jail for 6 months, but I got it back without a thing done. I put into another shop, He kept it for 6 months also and then called and said he was done trying to fix it. I got it back.

    Anyway, just last night, I was offered a set of Bose 901's series IV. I saw on the web they would need surrounds replaced. I thought, I only have just enough space for putting them in my man-cave that I offered a low offer price. The guy then said he wanted 4 times that. I said no problem. I couldn't go that high or even close. I've never owned a pr. of them BUT I did want to own them and re-foam them since I like re-foaming speakers now.

    Anyway ,
    How about some pics. .

    lgqhpnlztjdl.jpg
    t3slnd1xllgj.jpg
    eite1e93fsoe.jpg
    wodx3bx1zu3e.jpg
    519lf1mvsl27.jpg

    There's ALOT more to see. ALOT !
    There's the back room that has a lot, including those awesome delaminating JBL powered towers, a full NHT surround set and other prs. of SDA's and a lot more !

    I have just in the past 6 months felt really good on a lot of days and have spent those good days cleaning up my outdoor areas the most. I had a rat family that was about to set up home behind some spare plywood pieces I've saved. I nipped that situation in the bud real quick ! haven't seen them since and they had only just started to pile up the telltale newspaper shreds for their nest. A thin palm size pile was all there was. I have people all around me that feed stray cats outside. I hope the rats stay at their places now.
    Post edited by Tony M on
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,420
    That's called HOARDING
  • deronb1
    deronb1 Posts: 5,021
    Houston, we have a problem...
  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    Some of you clearly need professional help!
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,449
    Yes there are people on here with issues, if you can call them that.

    Me I look at San Diego CL from time to time. Mostly it's junk or overpriced junk. So guess I'm lucky that I don't have the cash to pay what these people want. Problem is not limited to audio here either. I see fishing equipment going for retail and forget about woodworking tools.

    As for hoarding all that nice audio gear. Having a component that is in storage is wrong. These are made to play music, enjoy the awesome sound. Sell or give away some/most and make the storage room into an awesome audio room. This is also another reason I don't buy anything. No place to put it and I'm not going to hoard it.

    Just my two cents
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.Family Room:Samsung UN75RU710DFXZA, Denon AVR-X4400H, Emotiva XPA3 GEN3Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM, WD Live HUB .Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15Sub: SVS SB2000 Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Cerwin Vega AT-12 (blasters) SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,034
    edited December 2017
    One more reason my collection is a fraction of what it was a few years ago. 2 years ago I lost my best friend in this crazy hobby and Dave was a long time collector of everything audio. His only family were his sister and girlfriend who had no interest whatsoever in Dave's vast audio collection. So that left me to deal with 95% of it. It took just over a year of constant selling, giving away, and throwing out stacks of gear, speakers and literature. It was an eye opening experience and it was not a pleasant thing to do. It also made me determined to not do this to my loved ones when it comes my turn to leave this world.
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,420
    cfrizz
    5:18PM
    Some of you clearly need professional help!

    Why yes yes we do but that is a whole nother ball of wax Cathy now step aside i see audio gear o:)<3
  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,042
    Sold a pair of speakers to dromunds (Don) and gave another away as a Christmas present. I'm down to a single 2 channel setup worth of electronics, a pair of Monitor 4s, and a pair of Dynaudios. My problems are located other places like video games.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,007
    ^^^^^^
    Great Point.

    I could have done all kinds of drugs ( there was plenty of people telling me to instead of pain pills ) and drunk all kinds of liquor and rum to ease the pain in my neck but I stuck with the various prescribed meds. ( some worked, some didn't ) and mostly relaxation music and stereo gear. I'd rock out on occasion though for old times sake.

    I guess I've hoarded stereo stuff like a drunk would hoard a bunch of vodka bottles for the next binge. I've downsized 2 times and my picture ( avatar )shows the result of the second time. I almost reclaimed all my space out there and then all hell broke loose with my health and BS doctors care. It's been about 5 years or more of not selling too much. More came in than went out. But I'm feeling hardly any pain in my neck since I fell off my front porch 2 years ago come this 9th of DEC. . ;) My neck was jolted so much 2 years ago, it snapped something back into place. 40 years of BS. that slowly got worse was snapped back to being better than 40 years ago. I know there is damage in my neck from a diving accident when I was 18 or 19. My neck vertebra still reminds me a few times each week but I don't need anything more than Ibuprofen once in a while. It's a miracle. I had a pr. of angel wings key chain in my shirt pocket when I fell 2 years ago. I feel that had a HUGE part in my neck being cured of 95% of the BS.

    I'm about to start selling soon again. I've never done Ebay or other outlets except Craig's list. I've always got my money back but I don't know about this time.

    But I've cleaned up my yard pretty well this past few months. I've lived here for 30 years so there was alot to clean up, hoard wise too.

    Now it's on to do some clearing of the hoard of my stereo stuff if there are any takers out there.

    I have to get room to set up my awesome JBL pro system. Maybe for my drop down projection screen set up. Real theater speakers for a home system might be overkill though. :#

    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,034
    edited December 2017
    ^^^^^^Sorry to hear about your health issues and I wish you luck in getting your collection under control. Neck pain as I know firsthand can be and is a real ****.

    As much as I love the old stuff going into someone's home that has 12 reel to reel machines in their living room was way over the top for me. The stuff may have meant the world to the owner but in my case we rented a dumpster and tossed incredible amounts of gear. One trip to the scrap yard netted us over 200lbs in transformers that went to God only knows what. My bud may have seen this type of stuff as assets but I saw it as a tremendous amount of unnecessary work. You'd also be surprised at how little people are willing to pay when they know what's going on and there's going to be a fire sale on it at some point in time. Good luck to you and anyone else to in getting their "treasures" pared down; I would not wish going through someone's collection like I did on anyone.
  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,517
    @voltz

    Looks like you need more storage :smile:.

    @daddyjt

    I'd have the same disorder. I scour CL for deals.... but have no cash to buy so I just get angry lol....

    In all honesty, I've been able to score some KILLER deals over time off CL finds. Most of it is NOT AUDIO EQUIPMENT though because I'm very hesitant to trust someone else took care of a piece of gear. I tend to stick with forum members to purchase from.

    I'm also lucky in that my vintage audio hoarding is helped by just visiting my buddies vintage shop where I can see vintage Marantz, Yahama, Kenwood, JVC, Nakamichi, AMC, Harmon Kardon and just about anything you can think of.

    And by the same token, since I have my buddy's shop if the price is STUUPID LOW, I may take a chance and hope Bobby can fix it up lol..

    So I just to there and spend time listening to his stuff lol..

    I have found lots of good deals on Salamander equipment, and sold some stuff over the years though.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
  • oldrocker
    oldrocker Posts: 2,590
    There for a while it was quite an issue for me but not so much anymore.
  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,517
    @oldrocker

    Thats only because Goodwills by us sucks, and its cold now so there are no yard sales to drive by hehehehe....
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
  • oldrocker
    oldrocker Posts: 2,590
    Funny buddy.

    It's not the second shops I struggle with. It's when I'm inside someone's house and their is always a few pieces of old gear just sitting there collecting dust.