[Mr. X]

Hello - I've recently become very money-conscious and have been looking at my pricey hifi system; thinking that it's not necessary to own. I am considering selling my Pro-Ject turntable, Rotel receiver and cd player, B&W speakers, and Transparent cable. Then, I'd like to find good sounding affordable equipment (perhaps a Yamaha receiver, $300-$400 floor-standing speakers, a $200 or so DVD player, and to hook up my Technics 1200.

I just wonder how much of a difference I'd really notice, and if it's worth the money. I'm not sure it is. I also get frustrated because I listen to a lot of rock, and the excellent equipment really brings out the problems such as distortion, where a more commercial system doesn't do that. I miss listening to my Pet Sounds CD without hearing distortion! Sure, the perfect recording sounds amazing, but when rock is what I play 85% of the time, the better equipment can actually worsen the sound. Any advice?

 

[Awk.Pine]

From a hi-fi perspective, keep the speakers, sell the cable and CD player, and possibly the receiver. (I don't know about turntables.) My suggestion is to find a friend who has the sort of equipment you're thinking of downgrading to, lug it all over to your place, see what makes a difference to your listening enjoyment, and then take the poor guy out for a good burger. It really does boil down to what you enjoy and what you can afford--and if you enjoy the cheaper stuff more, well, I consider you fortunate.

 

[fjf]

That hurts. Upgrading may or may not be worth it, depending on the differences and your ears. But going from good sound to crappy (or even just normal consumer-grade level) music REALLY hurts. Good luck.

 

[Mr. X]

Yeah, I'm having second thoughts. I mean, a good recording sounds so amazing through my system. Someone pointed out to me that distortions and other flaws that I hear in recordings will now be heard on weaker equipment. The better system just brings EVERYTHING to the front more, unlike cheaper hifi's. If I'm going to downgrade anything, it should probably just be the cable. I have a pair of Transparent MusicWave Biwire that costed hundreds of dollars. I also want to eventually go 5.1, and I don't want huge cable cluttering up my space (I mean, that cable is huge). Speaker cable seems to be the most overrated component to a hifi setup. Correct me if I'm wrong...

I also keep going back and forth on Arcam vs. Rotel. If I do stay with what I have, I want to eventually upgrade my 1072 for a good DVD player. The new Rotel 109? is nice, but Arcam offers a good one for $500 less...

 

[john_ops]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. X /img/forum/go_quote.gif I also keep going back and forth on Arcam vs.

Rule #1 for inexpensive living: stop asking the question "what transaction (purchase, sale, etc.) should I make?"

If you have something you're happy with, stick with it. The transaction cost (time, money spent on ads, shipping, gas, shoe leather, etc.) is not worth it. Focus your energy on something else. You want to save $500? Do a budget. Add up what you spend. I guarantee that there's something in there that's going to shock you. We all know how much a once-daily Starbucks habit costs. Shifting from a Latte down to a cup of coffee will save you $700 a year. Using office coffee will save you more than a grand. But there's something else in your budget - be it gas (ride a bike), comic books (borrow friends'), too many CDs you end up not liking (the public library, listening more diligently to samples on Amazon, observing what you end up not listening to and not buying any more like them). Most importantly, get to the point where you can pay off your credit card every month. Paying interest is the fast way to staying poor.

That's the way to build up moolah. Even the fairly well-to-do folks I know with $300K+ incomes practice this, albeit with different stuff (e.g., go on two beach vacations a year instead of three, buy standard appliances instead of stainless steel). Just be conscious of what you think you spend and what you spend. Build in mechanisms so you feel yourself spend money.

Good luck. And my 2 cents is, keep the stereo. Spending time on figuring out what to do is not worth the heartbreak, and the fact that you're likely to rationalize spending even more eventually (what if you really really miss those cables?).

J

 

[Puppysmith]

I bought a Yamaha M4 and C4 off CL for $170 total, a Sony ST-J75 off ebay for $60, a pair of Polk 7b monitors off ebay for $75. All in the past year.

I had the units inspected, cleaned, bulbs replaced and the caps tested and replaced, and the tuner aligned all for $200.

Total in system $505

I already had a turntable, CD/SCAD player. If not those can be bought from AudioKarma or ebay with no problem.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I can't remember who said that a luxury once tasted becomes a necessity, but there's a lot of truth in that.

If you want to save money, I'd say keep the setup you have. You sound like you're happy with it, so keep using it and don't upgrade. Instead, cut your spending elsewhere if you need money.

Food is the easiest way to save. Learn to cook and eat in. You'll get healthier food, exactly what you want and you'll save lots of money.

 

[studeb]

Why do you want to sell your gear?

What would you do with the money? Do you have a pressing need, or is this some sort of guilt thing?

Don't sell, you would likely be back looking for more. As far as poor source material, its going to be there all the time.

 

[Turn&cough]

I had a Yamaha A/V receiver and was disappointed with the stereo sound. I sold it and bought a Rotel integrated and was disappointed again. Finally I sold the Rotel and bought a Cambridge Audio which, for some reason, I had passed by on several occasions. I lost big time on each transaction only to end up "downgrading" to what ultimately turned out to be the cheapest and best solution. You live - you learn.

 

[hciman77]

I downgraded my source from a NAD C542 to a Philips DVP642 and I have to say I am very happy with the results - the rest of my system has stayed the same. In your position I would not sell the speakers as to my mind they make the biggest influence on the overall sound.

 

[bonethugz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by john_ops /img/forum/go_quote.gif Paying interest is the fast way to staying poor. J

speaking about interest. this can't be more right. but if it's the other way around, then it's a totally different story. 10k isn't THAT much right? think again. if you can invest the 10k with a, let say 5% interest rate(that's not too hard). a year you're going to have 500 plus dollars(i don't want to do compound interest). that's more than enough for any good pair of headphone right?