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How do you know when to stop?

Funk

pfm Member
I'll start out by saying that I have a hifi I very much love listening to but like many I get the 'itch'...

However, I do find myself going a little in circles and wondering whether upgrades will really be worth it or whether the law of diminishing returns kicks in harder now than ever before?

I have a PC running MusicBee which feeds FLACs into a Topping D90SE (I got lured into a bargain on a Black Friday sale) which in turn runs into an XTZ Class A100 D3 amp; speakers are Kef Reference 3.2s. Speaker cable is Chord Odessey 2, the RCA cables between the DAC and amp are Audioquest Golden Gate which were on a discount on Amazon at some point. The kit is, in my opinion, well set up and the sound is very enjoyable and well-balanced. The front-ported Kefs work better in my room than the Celestion A3s they replaced but which I couldn't quite bring myself to sell with them having been my 'grail' speaker for the better part of 15 years!

So what's the problem? Well I tend to buy used stuff on the whole which comes with a few pitfalls. Primarily you're 'buying blind' with no backsies if you don't like it, and that's not much of an issue with lower-value kit (a good example of this is the Bluesound Node 2 which I bought used, lived with for a couple of weeks but ultimately really didn't like. I was able to sell it on again for what I'd paid for it used). This, clearly, is a fairly good way of trialling stuff and not being out of pocket if you don't like it.

The issue I'm coming to now is how that scales; as good as the XTZ is, I've been wondering about something Class D or perhaps something from a higher price-point. I was on the cusp of buying a MF M6Si from a PFMer for a decent price but logistics and life got in the way and I put that on pause. It's not an outrageous amount (around £1500) but it's approaching my 'I can shift this on quickly and easily if I don't like it?' limit. An extreme example; another PFMer has some gorgeous-looking Devialet amps for sale which are into 5 figures but haven't sold. I'd LOVE to hear what they can do but whilst I could easily buy them tomorrow, I'd have enormous concerns about just how good could they really be and if for some reason they fail to meet expectations, would I encounter similar issues selling them on myself, meaning a non-trivial amount of money tied up until they go... Is the only option for hearing really high-end kit to buy new where you can get a home demo to really hear how something sounds?

The thing is that I'm also realistic about why (very) expensive kit might not work for me. I'm sure the Kefs could benefit from a higher-quality amp - the XTZ was only around €800 new and whilst it punches above its weight, I'm sure it probably wouldn't keep up with something in the £2-5k range. The D90SE is a fantastic DAC with excellent specs - I suspect any changes to a higher-end DAC would probably be more about differences in the analogue output and even then it might be hard to say it's 'better'. Yet the limiting factor over everything is more likely to be both my listening space (which is OK but not perfect) and honestly....me - I'm OK but not perfect either!

I'd love to try higher-end amps with the Kefs and I've also seen the insane deals on the Markaudio Sota speakers in the classifieds at the moment (part of me would really like to try a decent pair of stand-mounts just to try 'something new'). But how do you know when to stop when it comes to hifi? How do you know when you've reached the limit of your room rather than the limit of your kit? Where do you draw the line financially on buying something you've never heard, might not like and which could be difficult to sell on..?

So then I sit down, listen to some more stuff and think....y'know, this sounds great; do I really need to change anything...? :D

Rinse, repeat...!
 
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I have been in this game for a long time and yet I still make mistakes. Not so long ago I've dabbled in active systems. It did not work out and I lost a tidy sum in the process.

Back to lower-fi passive system/s and I enjoy music immensly.

Sometimes you have to scratch that 'itch'.

The only advise I could give is not to sell your current system you like until you know the new stuff is to your liking.
 
For me, it is simple ££££££.

Each component has a somewhat flexible (maybe + 25% or so, obviously no minus....) maximum buying price in my mind. I have only bought s/h for ages too.

I really can't be arsed to literally add up, but I play LPs 99+% of the time and the new cost of my system will be around £20K, and I reckon I paid maybe half that.

I am unsure what would have to appear as a "bargain" for me to be tempted to try something new (to me). (I can tell you what the last was - a Schroder tonearm....... It is still here.)

Itches? Yes, but not at all serious - electrostatic speakers (I run 15 inch Tannoys), and £1++++++K cartridges.

I always buy and compare, and sell on as comaprison dictates, no exceptions.
 
I go through phases and drop everything for a new hobby, but always seem to come back to hifi.
At the moment, I'm trying to put in what I've learnt about hifi into car audio.
I thought I was a bit of an odd one out when it comes to car audio, but on a car hifi Facebook group, there are a lot of people much older than me. One guy is 75! (Probably because it's a sound quality group).
 
I believe it is like most "hobbies". Once can allow it to control oneself to some degree, and that desire to improve upon what one has, is just nature to some degree I suppose. It is also easy at times to get sucked into some of the hype, whether via forums or reading magazines.

As I get older, now almost at the 62 mark, I find just enjoying what I have a much easier proposition, and really all I want to do is just relax into the music and not mess around with gear much anymore. I am also, and have been finding, less is actually more for me. Everyone is different with it though, there is no right or wrong thing, or really how to know when to stop. When you know, you know, simple(?) I guess. Or not...

I have enjoyed my current main system without hardly any changes for the last 5 years, and I am looking now to actually sell some gear on and make things more simpler in the near future. I tire of all the wires, boxes, etc. I keep eye-balling the Lindemann Musicbook Source II and Power 1000, as all I really would require, plus my current Duevel Venus speakers. It would make for a small, easy to place setup, with little faff. I rarely bother with phono anymore, and my LP collection has dwindled over the years. The more I think about this, the more I like the idea of it. Anyway, sorry for my blather that said basically nothing! :(
 
I'd love to hear the Devialet amp(s) but I can't justify spending £10k on a punt. I think my used 'blind buy' threshold is probably up to £2k-ish - if I don't like what I hear, it shouldn't be too difficult to sell on for similar and if it doesn't sell quickly it's not that much tied up until it does. As I say, I still have my A3s (which I paid £1k for) stored away - I don't need the money back out of them for the time being and oddly enough I paid £1k for the Ref 3.2s when I bought them as well. The XTZ was £500 (used) and I think I paid about £650 for the D90SE (new).
 
I just "stopped" lately after a 35 year journey/quest for THE hi-fi nirvana.
How do I know : I just went backwards from a contemporary and rather expensive Naim kit to a basic NAP 110 fed by a cheap vintage Classe Audio preamp and feel very happy with it.
I had (too) many speakers, sources and amps, some were affordable while others very expensive but at the end, my "new/vintage" kit is the one that makes me want to listen to more records again and again which is a good sign !
 
When the pockets feel a little to empty & you'd be a lot wiser to spend the money you have on other important/neglected things.

Have to say for the few years I was away from Pinkfish or any audio forum for that matter the hi-fi barely got a look in (1 or 2 cheapish treats here and there).
 
No reflection on Tony’s fabulous achievement but I left PFM for about six years, enjoyed music, didn’t upgrade a thing. Funny that.

FWIW I changed very little in that period. My main system has been unchanged for maybe 8 years now. The thing the internet has brought for me is a total exit route from the new marketplace and all its fads and fashions. I’ve slowed right down, learning, taking my time restoring the stuff I really care about. My last big change was finding a matching Leak TL12 Plus to make a pair with one I found real cheap at the local auction. Waiting for the second one took three or four years, then a lengthy restoration of the pair. No rush, everything done right. The TD-124 was the same, it took years to get exactly where I wanted it. As such I play on a totally different field and timescale now. Every now and again I get an itch just to try something, e.g. I bought a Pass Aleph 3, restored it, enjoyed it for a year or so, then moved it on without losing a penny. No pressure, just an opportunity to try something on my own terms.

FWIW I’ve very rarely got sucked into the ‘many small incremental upgrades’ thing which can make this hobby addictive/toxic. I’ve always tried to make pfm the opposite of that! I’m on a glacially slow arc. I’ve got way more stuff than I need, a lot of things sitting on shelves etc, though again no pressure as I find it so much easier to invest in music and audio kit which increases in value than have the money slowly devalue in real terms in ISAs etc.
 
I make many many changes to tweak the system each year but it slows a lot when money is tight or the bills roll in !!!
 
Oh I'm like the magic roundabout. Amp wise I have gone from an audiolab 6000a to 9000a to a different pre power combo in the space of 6 months. I go a bit crazy. I buy something I'm happy with but as soon as I get some money I'm off looking for the next thing. What ever I see as the weak link is in line for the chopping block and may have no need to be.
 
It's a loop I managed to fall out of. Priorities change as do listening habits.
I haven't habitually sat in front of a HiFi for many years.
Firstly shifting to headphone listening for a long time. Then returning via the lure of DIY builds for some time, only to drift away again.
Most of my listening these days is casual or background.
Every so often a little bug bites, like my most recent turntable rejuvenation efforts but nothing serious.
I would like another DIY project though.
 


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