Thought it would be interesting, as I continue the pursuit of champagne audio on my beer budget, to gather some thoughts regarding what constitutes sound investment in audio. Granted, most people (including my wife) think that spending a significant amount of one's hard-earned money on fancy electronic equipment is downright foolish (quoting the Mrs.: "What's wrong with an ipod plugged into our Bose thingy?"). So, associating a level-headed, practical concept like investing with our insane hobby is bound to seem a bit absurd. On the other hand, couldn’t we all do with some pseudo-rational means of justifying our irrational expenditures? (“But Honey, 9 out of 10 audiophiles agree that the Widget Audio 9000 is THE best investment in audio, period!”) So, to start things off, here are a few considerations that might factor into my Newbie’s Audio Investment Value Estimation scale (N.A.I.V.E., for short):
- How quickly does the underlying technology change?
- Also related to technology, is the component likely to soon be rendered obsolete, or otherwise displaced in the market by better/cheaper alternatives (Hey...Sony rear-projection HDTV that I bought for $2,400, I'm looking at you!!)
- Is there a significant wear/breakdown factor that limits the useful life?
- What about resale value?
- Let’s call this “charm factor”: Is there something about the item that endears it to the owner, instilling loyalty & generally ensuring many years of enjoyment, even after obsolescence has taken its toll?
- Last, but not least…how important is the item in the audio scheme-of-things? In other words, is this the thing that would make or break your system (in terms of sound quality)?
My immediate thought, relying on my many year…er... I mean months…of audiophile experience, is that something like speakers would score high on the N.A.I.V.E. scale, if such a thing existed. After all:
- Speaker technology doesn’t seem to change as quickly compared to some other equipment
- Speakers usually don’t reach best performance until after considerable break-in & can generally last a long time
- Resale value is generally good, depending on condition
- Charm factor seems high…lots of folks swear by one particular brand or speaker technology
- Most of us would probably agree that the speakers’ sound signature has a huge (if not the greatest) impact on overall sound quality
In contrast (once again based on my newbie sensibilities), something like a format-specific player would seem to score low on the scale (anyone seen my state-of-the art cassette player lately?). Maybe DAC’s too…seems the technology moves pretty fast. Would love to hear your contributions to the N.A.I.V.E. scale, or any thoughts you may have about what type of audio components/gear represents the best “investment” value over the long haul, or perhaps what you think is the worst value…or anything in between.
