How do you resist the urge to buy another pair/new gear and be content with what you own?

[LucasKA]

This is a semi-serious question, but I do want to know what is your personal way/story to help you not buy new gear...

In Jan 2021, the first hi-fi headphone I bought new was the Hifiman Ananda, which was £699 new (90% of my audio gear are 2nd hand), at that time, I thought £699 was a very large sum and I had spent hours/days/weeks during research until deciding upon it. I then dived into Head-fi and discover more wonderful vintage headphones like Yamaha HP-1 and AKG K340. Then I bought my first Chi-fi IEM Linsoul KZ ZSX , then another one LZ A7, then my first serious DAC, Chord Mojo, followed by first DAP, Xuelin 1969, then a serious serious DAC, RME ADI-2, then a fun casual headphone Meze Classic 99 and I thought I was happy...

For about 2 yrs, I didn't come to Head-fi as regularly as before, but recently I had finished a big chunk of projects and with some disposable income, I came back looking to upgrade, and then bought a Oriolus Reborn, and a Cayin N8, which I always wanted and came up with a good price that is hard to resist, then quickly followed by CA Andromeda (again very good deal)....

Then I was on a big job in London and got some time to kill, so I walked into a hi-fi shop in Wimbledon and asked to hear Emperyan and Focal Utopia to compare them on my N8, what a big mistake that was...

I ended up buying a Focal Utopia at a good price, which was really mind blowing, then I started looking at my DAC and felt maybe it needed something better, so comes Ayre Codex, HD800 and Monolith Liquid Gold (LauX)...

At the moment, I am looking for a a pair of closed headphone, OBravo headphone and DC Aeon Close RT for the next purchase, and realised that I had really got enough stuff now.

I am not mentally ill (well the mentally illed always say that) and is not in financial ruin (not yet), and do no harm to others (unless they steal my headphone), I am enjoying music even more now and knows better what I like, so it had been a really satisfying journey.

I looked at the profile of some of the members here who has huge collections and some members who had only a few...and I wonder how do you control yourself...? Do you just reach Summit-fi with Holo May, Pass Lab HPA-1, EAR Amp, Audio-GD, Cardas Clear, DanaCable, Susvara, Stax SR09, LCD-?,

Thank you

 

[Lord Chaos]

Years ago (1970s) I was always looking for perfection in audio. I went though amplifiers and speakers for a few years, until the deeper truth became apparent. No sound reproduction system, even those I heard in high-end stereo stores, ever came close to live music. I've done enough recording and listening to hear the difference.

In the mid-80s I redefined my goals in audio gear to "good enough." Somewhat arbitrarily, I figured that was about the 95th percentile of performance. After that, the cost/performance incremental cost takes off like a rocket. I heard a potent demonstration a few years ago of an LP playing on a system that probably cost upward of 500,000 dollars. To my ears, it sounded like an LP record.

Nowadays I mostly replace equipment when the old items break. I have more money now so the replacements are beyond the 95th percentile standard. When my Denon 'phones stopped working, I replaced them with LCD-4 about four and a half years ago. They're still the only headphones I own, as I'm not willing to have several sets on hand. I expect that one headphone to be good enough to handle any of the music I play.

Recently I deviated from this practice. Given how the economy is going into the tank, I decided to spend some money. I bought a Sony DMP-Z1 and the LCD-5 headphones to go with it. Pure irrationality. Everyone needs some.

The main thing I think about when reading audio reviews is that, quite often, "different" is perceived as "better." After a week or so the newness wears off and it becomes a "daily driver" in current parlance. I don't know what most of the reviews are talking about, anyway. They throw a lot of words around, trying to describe the taste of an orange. The only way to find out is to eat an orange, after which you learn that, within the general description of "orange-ness," there is a lot of variation.

I'm more interested in music than I am in machinery. Hence the DMP/LCD-5 combination. It will be good enough.

 

[DenverW]

I think the first step is stopping yourself from looking. Without the reviews, praise, new flavors, etc it becomes a lot easier to forget that there might be an upgrade out there.

I should probably turn off the emails I get from the for sale forums, too .

 

[shwnwllms]

I think the first step is stopping yourself from looking. Without the reviews, praise, new flavors, etc it becomes a lot easier to forget that there might be an upgrade out there.

I should probably turn off the emails I get from the for sale forums, too .

If I stopped browsing the classifieds I wouldn't have a problem

 

[carbonF1]

Mind wandering is an interesting theory. I'm guilty of being bored and going "what if...?" and making a few purchases that way. It's too easy now with Amazon and other shops with generous return policies to rationalize those what-ifs. Even then, most of the impulse buys I made have ended up going back. The tools (setup) I've cobbled together makes me happy and want to focus more on chasing music instead of gear. It might help to have a goal in mind...my next big purchase I'm hoping to make is for a high end SACD transport. If I buy something else before that, the purchase just takes me that much further away from my goal.

 

[odarg64]

As with any gear-centric hobby, spending time with and appreciating what you already have is a good cure for the 'wants.'

 

[BobG55]

In my case I started reading threads on the Sound Science Forum on Head-fi. I learned quite a lot about the marketing side of this hobby and I saved a lot of money in the long run. Quite a lot actually compared to my initial years. Good enough is good enough.

 

[Spareribs]

I agree with the school of thought of “good enough is good enough”

Another thing to remember is that gear obsession is a distraction to the music. I remember some of the happiest days of my life was when I was in high school listening to great songs on a cheap plastic boom box. I was in heaven enjoying the music. I didn’t care if the boom box was some K Mart brand. I felt so connected to the music.

 

[Ryokan]

One thing is when very expensive iem's/headphones are often ranked 3rd or lower in the 'rank the iem's/headphones you've heard' thread a few months after they were considered to be the absolute pinnacle.

 

[Zeno26]

I've had the same issue, over the past year and a half. I have probably purchased and sold 25+ different Headphones/Iems/amps/dacs and all with the goal of trying to find what's right for me. In these last few months though, I've brought my collection down to 4 pairs of headphones, 1 IEM, 1 pair of bookshelf speakers, a solid state amp, a tube amp, a speaker amp and a dac. At this point In my journey, I feel pretty satisfied with the gear I currently have, and I think the thing that convinced me was finally realizing just much money I've spent paying for new/used gear and how much money I've lost selling/reselling. I finally realized it was becoming a huge problem for me and decided I needed to make some changes, and that realization led me to downsizing my collection and stepping away from buying so much gear that I don't need.

 

[Derivative]

I've been in the hobby for a year and have really enjoyed turning over my gear, a journey of discovery if you will. I tend to control my budget well enough, so whatever comes in needs to be funded by some outgoings - this avoids bloat and hoarding. The churn has allowed me to zero in on the sound and features I like most, but I feel like I'm far from done, especially after hearing (to my ears) better gear at CanJam London.
I imagine I'll settle at some point (hopefully close or at the summit), but in the meantime I fully expect to continue chasing new gear - it's half the fun!

 

[shwnwllms]

Once I get my 1099-K from PayPal for 2022 I will be content with what I own for the foreseeable future.

 

[Zeno26]

I've been in the hobby for a year and have really enjoyed turning over my gear, a journey of discovery if you will. I tend to control my budget well enough, so whatever comes in needs to be funded by some outgoings - this avoids bloat and hoarding. The churn has allowed me to zero in on the sound and features I like most, but I feel like I'm far from done, especially after hearing (to my ears) better gear at CanJam London.
I imagine I'll settle at some point (hopefully close or at the summit), but in the meantime I fully expect to continue chasing new gear - it's half the fun!

I do agree it has been a fun journey so far for me as well, and part of that fun was definitely thanks to trying out new gear. I would always look forward to trying out higher end amplifiers, trying out tubes for the first time, trying out higher end headphones, it has been a blast trying to find the right gear that works for me. Admittedly though, I found that I was getting a bit too obsessed with chasing new gear and was not able to control just how much money I was spending, and now I just need to step away from buying so much new gear and be satisfied with what I have now. Maybe in the future I'll be back to try out new gear, but for now I will definitely be stepping away from it.

 

[Derivative]

I do agree it has been a fun journey so far for me as well, and part of that fun was definitely thanks to trying out new gear. I would always look forward to trying out higher end amplifiers, trying out tubes for the first time, trying out higher end headphones, it has been a blast trying to find the right gear that works for me. Admittedly though, I found that I was getting a bit too obsessed with chasing new gear and was not able to control just how much money I was spending, and now I just need to step away from buying so much new gear and be satisfied with what I have now. Maybe in the future I'll be back to try out new gear, but for now I will definitely be stepping away from it.

Yea there definitely comes a point where we need to take a step back, it's also part of the story. Enjoy what you have and blast some good tunes!

 

[Zeno26]

Yea there definitely comes a point where we need to take a step back, it's also part of the story. Enjoy what you have and blast some good tunes!

Same to you, and good luck finding gear that sits right with you and earns a permanent spot in your collection.