Anyone else suffer from budget creep?

jdhdiggs
jdhdiggs Posts: 4,305
edited March 2024 in Clubhouse Archives
My pointless post for #915:

Has anyone else noticed how this hobby has a way of blinding you to how much something costs?

Example: When I bought my RT800's, I spent almost $250 on them and then a $250 reciever. I thought this was tremendously expensive and over the top. That that would be the HIGHEST amount I'd ever buy speaks for

Then I looked around here and bought my SDA's for $400 and the pre/amp for $450. No way would I ever buy something higher than that..


Then I bought a sub for $1300...

Now I'm looking at a $1000 office setup and upgrading the whole 2-channel rig.... :confused:

When does this end? Is there a support group? And why is this happening?

But most importantly: Why can't my wife understand????
There is no genuine justice in any scheme of feeding and coddling the loafer whose only ponderable energies are devoted wholly to reproduction. Nine-tenths of the rights he bellows for are really privileges and he does nothing to deserve them. We not only acquired a vast population of morons, we have inculcated all morons, old or young, with the doctrine that the decent and industrious people of the country are bound to support them for all time.-Menkin
Post edited by RyanC_Masimo on
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,734
    edited February 2005
    Originally posted by jdhdiggs


    When does this end? Is there a support group? And why is this happening?

    But most importantly: Why can't my wife understand????

    1. When you die.
    2. Me meet here every day. :D
    3. Toys
    4. See number 3.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • gmorris
    gmorris Posts: 1,179
    edited February 2005
    This is the support group. There is nothing wrong with you. You are perfectly normal in wanting to spend $1000 on your office setup. Bring on the upgrades.

    If the wife doesn't understand, that is her problem, not yours, of course, unless she controls the checkbook. You should tell her to spend some time at the forum/support group, then maybe she will see the light, or, hear the sound, or whatever.

    Say it with me, "I am a good person. I deserve stereo equipment".
    Bob Mayo, on the keyboards. Bob Mayo.
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  • Mjr7531
    Mjr7531 Posts: 856
    edited February 2005
    Originally posted by gmorris
    "I am a good person. I deserve stereo equipment".
    I could live by that...
    Funny isn't it? I only expected to ever pay $200 for speakers, now I'm saving $1400 to upgrade.
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,776
    edited February 2005
    I must admit I AM satisfied with my system...

    and I have enough speakers/systems to keep the upgrade bug away for a long while..indeed, indeed

    And it never ends...
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • fireshoes
    fireshoes Posts: 3,167
    edited February 2005
    Whatever dude, you know your stuff will be changed out in a month. :D
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited February 2005
    Originally posted by jdhdiggs
    But most importantly: Why can't my wife understand????

    If it's your thang
    Do whatca' gotta' do
    Get your wife involved
    So she can dig it too

    WAAAHHH! (James Brown spin and splits)
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  • lomic
    lomic Posts: 407
    edited February 2005
    Just moved out on my own last year, working since May 2004. Just got my W2 and I made all of $11,000 - though I admittedly have very cheap rent.

    I had none of the equip in my sig when I moved out :p HELP ME! My sights are set on an SVS PCi20-39 now :D

    I was in the same boat as you when I started off, I cringed at spending $100 on a center channel. Then I heard how HORRIBLE that center sounded, got a $200 Polk - no stopping me after that.
    Dodd Audio ELP [ Tubes ] // Harman Kardon AVR330 // Parasound HCA-1203A // Denon DVD-2900
    Polk Audio LSi9, LSiC, LSi 7 // HSU STF-2 // Signal Cable Interconnects (SG BW/A2/MP)
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  • Danny Tse
    Danny Tse Posts: 5,206
    edited February 2005
    Forget it, you're hooked. Just start applying for those credit cards....

    BTW, where can you find cheap rent in the Bay Area?
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited February 2005
    Originally posted by BlueMDPicker
    If it's your thang
    Do whatca' gotta' do
    Get your wife involved
    So she can dig it too

    WAAAHHH! (James Brown spin and splits)
    Smacks of Isley Brothers to me...

    Creep... sure, you have to crawl before walk, walk before run... I used to get "upgraditis" every two to three years... Now, thanks in no small part to this Forum, it's a continuous infection...

    Makes this Forum kinda like Nursery School, where kids pass a cold around the class until it comes back to the one that first brought it to school with him. And then he starts it all over again...

    Ain't it great? :D
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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  • lomic
    lomic Posts: 407
    edited February 2005
    BTW, where can you find cheap rent in the Bay Area?

    Room in friends house ;)
    Dodd Audio ELP [ Tubes ] // Harman Kardon AVR330 // Parasound HCA-1203A // Denon DVD-2900
    Polk Audio LSi9, LSiC, LSi 7 // HSU STF-2 // Signal Cable Interconnects (SG BW/A2/MP)
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited February 2005
    I found the answer to the upgrade bug -- don't bother making incremental steps towards building your dream systems just because you ain't got the loot for it right now.

    Buy whatever the Polk forum veterans own -- you know, the stuff they hold onto forever and would never sell, like SDA's, Carver Amazings and such. Then get some real high end tube gear from a company like Audio Research. Do this for every room in your home (and at work) where you play music and you're set. For HT, get Outlaw Audio separates, an expensive projector and a screen.

    Then, don't buy anything else until you pay the creditors for all of the audio **** you purchased. That'll do it. There's nothing like bankruptcy to kill bug of upgraditis.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,776
    edited February 2005
    Heres what I have found in my short time...

    If you dont like the sound of your system...

    The chances are...

    Your gonna have to spend ALOT of money on electronics to get THOSE speakers to what they can do to make them 'better'...

    But, if you just sell the speakers.... and get a different brand... that could solve all of your problems...

    my 2 cents
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • Polkersince85
    Polkersince85 Posts: 2,883
    edited February 2005
    My analyst said that the Maslow's hierarchy of needs is embedded in our minds. Think of it as a pyramid with food and water at the base and SDAs at the top. When I get the urge, I just stack my two pair of 10's on top of each other and .....instant SDA
    >
    >
    >This message has been scanned by the NSA and found to be free of harmful intent.<
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited February 2005
    Who can afford an analyst??? :D

    Oh, and stacked 10's do not an SDA make...
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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  • beardog03
    beardog03 Posts: 5,550
    edited February 2005
    I have gotten the infectous - type bug...

    It`s incurable...




    and according to my wife....it`s terminal..!!



    Then one day you look around the living room and realize that the only speaker in the RTI line that is missing is a pair of 25`s..

    bet I know where to find a pair...!!!

    This forum is my anylist...

    and they support my madness...!!!!!

    Thanks guys.....:D
    Cary SLP-98L F1 DC Pre Amp (Jag Blue)
    Parasound HCA-3500
    Cary Audio V12 amp (Jag Red)
    Polk Audio Xm Reciever (Autographed by THE MAN Himself) :cool:
    Magnum Dynalab MD-102 Analog Tuna
    Jolida JD-100 CDP
    Polk Audio LSi9 Speaks (ebony)
    SVS PC-Ultra Sub
    AQ Bedrock Speaker Cables (Bi-Wired)
    MIT Shotgun S1 I/C`s
    AQ Black Thunder Sub Cables
    PS Audio Plus Power Cords
    Magnum Dynalab ST-2 FM Antenna
    Sanus Cherry wood Speak Stands
    Adona AV45CS3 / 3 Tier Rack (Black /Gold)

    :cool:
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  • goingganzo
    goingganzo Posts: 2,793
    edited February 2005
    my problem started when i got my new couch and love seat. i got surounds form there i got a new center then some mains to complete the setup. then i needed a beter recever to power it . then i neded a bigger tv with caused me to remoddle woth caused me to get more suround. and a better sub. then my mains dident keep up with my sub so i had to add a power amp with caused me to get a pre amp. with caused me to get a projector to match the quaility of the rest of the system. so i have my futhure upgrades is to upgrade the sub then the mains with custom bult speakers. i started with a 500 dollar suround and i am up to 15k+ not counting bulding costs with i did all so i saved at least 10k there.
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  • Airplay355
    Airplay355 Posts: 4,298
    edited February 2005
    maslow's pyramid is for psyche needs....but i guess you could stick SDA's in with food, water, oxygen and sleep lol
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  • pjdami
    pjdami Posts: 1,894
    edited February 2005
    jdhdiggs,

    I found myself going through something very similar. No way in hell four years ago I would have thought of spending $300 for a pair of interconnects. Now I have several.

    I do think it gets better over time. As you get into better and better gear you may notice that the sound really doesn't get any "better" but "different". It all sounds good though. Without spending 2 to 3 times that price I have reached my practical limit.

    I have found some solace in buying used gear from audiogon or from the flea market here or just looking for deals on the internet.

    It will get better.. but you will spend some money to get there and then come to the realization that it just sounds good.
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited February 2005
    Solution #1:

    Marry someone that likes spending more than you so that you have no cash to upgrade, therefore eliminating any desire to upgrade due to bankruptucy.

    Solution #2:

    Get rich, buy everything you want and live happily with your thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of gear.

    :D
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  • cubdog
    cubdog Posts: 835
    edited February 2005
    I had a date with my wife yesterday. I took her to pawn shops to look for speakers. God help me!

    cubdog
    Shuguang Classic S8MK
    Emotiva XDA-2
    Bel Canto M300 mono blocks
    Bel Canto DAC 1.5
    Squeezebox Touch
    Sony SS-M7
    A/D/S L710
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  • lomic
    lomic Posts: 407
    edited February 2005
    According to my calculations I just spent all the money I made today on a new power cable for my amp. Help me!
    Dodd Audio ELP [ Tubes ] // Harman Kardon AVR330 // Parasound HCA-1203A // Denon DVD-2900
    Polk Audio LSi9, LSiC, LSi 7 // HSU STF-2 // Signal Cable Interconnects (SG BW/A2/MP)
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited February 2005
    My windshield has a crack in it that runs halfway across right in my line of sight.

    My brakes are squealing and need replacement.

    My beloved Dodge is due for its 60,000 mile tune up which is a transmission service, new plugs and radiator flushing.

    I have no money saved up.

    Im up to my eyeballs in debt.

    Im currently scanning Crutchfield trying to decide which receiver Im going to buy to power my RTi6's Im now going to buy since I seem to have talked myself out of buyin the cheaper Monitor 40's.

    AA - Audiophiles Annonumous?
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • beardog03
    beardog03 Posts: 5,550
    edited February 2005
    I`m right there with you, bro..

    I have become an adioholic...

    I have the same service overdue on my truck also,but I spent the cash on a new cdp today...

    My windsheild has a big rock chip in it also, but I need to upgrade my tweets in my new SDA 2b`s first...

    *hic*
    *burp*
    Cary SLP-98L F1 DC Pre Amp (Jag Blue)
    Parasound HCA-3500
    Cary Audio V12 amp (Jag Red)
    Polk Audio Xm Reciever (Autographed by THE MAN Himself) :cool:
    Magnum Dynalab MD-102 Analog Tuna
    Jolida JD-100 CDP
    Polk Audio LSi9 Speaks (ebony)
    SVS PC-Ultra Sub
    AQ Bedrock Speaker Cables (Bi-Wired)
    MIT Shotgun S1 I/C`s
    AQ Black Thunder Sub Cables
    PS Audio Plus Power Cords
    Magnum Dynalab ST-2 FM Antenna
    Sanus Cherry wood Speak Stands
    Adona AV45CS3 / 3 Tier Rack (Black /Gold)

    :cool:
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  • Nemesis
    Nemesis Posts: 70
    edited February 2005
    Just see my thread about how I got into this:o

    http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26305

    Anyway luckily I can only fit so much stuff in my room...;)
    "Nothing in this world is accomplished without passion."
    -me
    "Your buying what with your money? The money you should be saving"
    -mom, on first learning of my purchase of a Harman Kardon AVR 235
    "Jeter is playing golf right now. This is better."
    -Manny Rameriz's poster for the World Champion Red Sox victory parade
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