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Downsizing; why?

Music , and especially live concerts , are a very important part of my life.

Its taken 40 + years to get my system to where it is now .

But as I am now retired its getting more use than ever. Its my substitute for live concerts , more so in the current situation.

Downsize - no way.
 
downsize initially when got married had kids bigger house etc, fast forward 12 years divorced and started to get back into things then bang last couples of months laid off and unable to get a job so have to sell it off grrr
 
Hifi is just a silly madness. One day you realize you can get high with humble gear, including some with those awful McIntosh autoformers.
 
I didn’t have to downsize but a friend of mine had to do it because of divorce, bankruptcy, economic reasons and so on........
He ended up with a Thorens TD 160 something, a Sansui AU 717 and a pair of small speakers he built himself with some Scanspeak drivers with a woofer of 5 1/5 inch and we can listen to music in his tiny apartment for hours with great enjoyment while having a glass of Portuguese red wine so downsizing is not always a negative thing IMO.
 
say it as it is said:
downsize initially when got married had kids bigger house etc, fast forward 12 years divorced and started to get back into things then bang last couples of months laid off and unable to get a job so have to sell it off grrr
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Gutted that you have to sell stuff off, I know how much, thought and effort you’ve put into buying everything, I wish you were nearer, I could loan you a system until things improve. West Midlands to Central Scotland is a bit of a journey though!
 
Downsize is a word that at the moment does not apply to me
Sadly one day it will need to happen, as i feel sorry for my daughter having to sort it all out when the grim reaper gets me :eek:
 
wylton said:
Downsizing; why? Sure, I get that folks have kids/need the room and/or money. Maybe they even feel guilty about owning expensive stuff or the dreaded WAF. Maybe I've answered my own question, but I'm genuinely interested why folks do it and if they regret it once they've done so.
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I have a tendency to collect hifi which I don't need or frequently use. I've sold some throughout years and recently downsized from 2 boxes to 1 box (Naim 202/200 to Luxman L-590AXII). The main intention of the downsize is to get the Luxman into the system instead of reducing boxes but I still managed to reduce one box in the process.

Currently I still have 2 unused amplifiers and 2 pairs of unused speakers which are not in use. I will be keeping the 2 unused amps as they are a standout to me after trying many other amps in the past. I will still keep the unused pair of Harbeth SHL5+ as it's a keeper to me. I may sell the other pair in the near future.

No regrets in all the downsizing in the past.
 
I have collected quite a few boxes, all rega, so good value compared with some stuff out there. However I do fancy a few less boxes and am attracted to something like a hegel. Currently have neat momentum sx3i which are great but they are large and I defo prefer the look of mini monitors. Something like a hegel h190 or h390 with some proac tablettes perhaps.
 
It’s a very refreshing thing to do and I have found that it reignites that initial excitement of buying your first ever kit. Mine’s been a peculiar downsizing done for a multitude of reasons. These included lowering the box count, aiming for a system that will give me long term pleasure without the need to change, a wish to explore a different type of sound that I’d always aspired to, the financial constraints of unemployment, illness and the building of a fund for replacements if problems occurred. Lastly it was to build a new appreciation for what I already had. It has been an intriguing and worthwhile journey. Also it led me to exchange my box speakers for panels, an exchange the comprehensively improved the sound of my music. Downsizing doesn’t necessarily mean a reduction of quality.
 
AudioAl said:
Downsize is a word that at the moment does not apply to me
Sadly one day it will need to happen, as i feel sorry for my daughter having to sort it all out when the grim reaper gets me :eek:
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Having had a recent close encounter with the gentleman in black, and not wishing to lumber SWMBO with heaps of black boxes, cables, and racking to dispose of, I shrank from fourteen boxes to five, umpteen levels of Naim Fraim, and several thousand miles of cabling. I kept sources and speakers, now driven by an Accuphase integrated. I found it all rather liberating, and I can't say I'm disappointed with the sound. I put this down to two factors - I'm old and the hearing isn't what it was but, perhaps more relevant, I've a very short audio memory. I'm sure if I was able to suddenly hook the old system back up, it'd sound better, but as it is now it sounds great, and that's good enough.
 
I have a full Linn aktiv isobarik system which I have had since the early 90s, just upgraded the amps to klouts and the Cd to a majik ds.
I have now had the opportunity to retire early so looking for my last system, and hopefully reduce the box count the active ATCs interest me, also the Dcs Bartok so while I look to downsize I am looking to upgrade, but in all honesty the briks will take some replacing
 
I guess part of the hobby is the ownership and enjoyment of using the latest equipment.
I have owned many, many, cameras and lenses but found in the end I enjoyed the simplicity and images from my old simple cameras without the cost and complication, sometimes you have to have a lot of stuff to know you don't really need it!

As the saying goes "a man is rich when he knows he has enough."
 
Similar to above it looked like curtain time was on the close horizon so rather than lumber Mrs AA with that horrible forum post asking for help disposing of a gazillion bits of kit I moved everything that was cluttering the spare room (A lot of stuff) and a 14 box Naim system to an Auralic/Lyngdorf 2 box. Luckily and with a fantastic NHS team I pulled through, took over a year to get back near normal but am now upsizing, significantly, trying not to collect though, and failing a bit :)
 
I think downsizing can be an excuse for box swoppers to buy new stuff. That is ok, but I buy stuff and keep it for the long term.
I am fortunate never to have needed the money - I don't think of hifi in money terms. I assume it will be worthless, and tend to give away old pieces (such as my Tangent TM1 speakers from 1976).
 
robbyd said:
All I know is that if I sell it (main system) off, I’ll never be able to afford what I have now, again. Such is the ridiculous rate of price increases in hifi these days. So I’m keeping it!
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Your spot on with prices , an exsample being a catridge I bought for just over a grand the same catridge is now over three grand . I could not justify paying that today. Also down sized my system 6 years ago to a much smaller simple system as I moved from a house to a flat. Dont feel I lost anything sonic wise love how my system sounds which is my last system.
 
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