k90tour
pfm Member
Who?
Thinking of selling it all, or massive downgrade at least......
- Thread starter badger748
- Start date
James Evans
Bedroom Bodger
Now that lockdown is starting to ease maybe start a few new hunts off before deciding to cull? Book some kit demos in at dealers and see what floats your boat and the associated cost. You never know you may just end up justifying a new 3rd/4th/5th system instead 
If PFM were a crack den, this would be the response:
"Maybe the answer isn't going clean. Maybe the answer is other kinds of drugs and/or more of them."
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
At one point or another, it will all come to an end. I would recommend taking a step back and reassess your priorities since you have spent 30 years building the system. Lockdown surely does some weird things but you should be able to wisely make your own decision after considering all factors.
Having said the above, if it's the lack of use or enjoyment of the hifi, or the concern on massive depreciation as cited above, it may be prudent to seriously consider selling the lot. Personally I would only consider keeping it if it's the opposite of the above. If you don't derive much joy listening to the setup, there is little point to keep it especially when it costs £100k.
windhoek
The Phoolosopher
I came to the conclusion towards the end of last year that I'm the weakest link in the chain. If I can enjoy hearing music through a crappy £10 kitchen radio - and I do - then that lets me know that there's something wrong with me when my hi-fi doesn't sound as good as it did the other day. Expectation, mood, energy, hunger, and more, all these things can affect how my hi-fi sounds. All of which is to say I believe you'll be happy with a downsized system if that's what you want to do
badger748
Former bacon enthusiast
Wise words Derek. I can relate to that so much! I had 2 other full hifi systems at home - both of which I sold. In the bedroom, I replaced the system with a B&O Stage sound bar, it gets used for TV and for Airplay music to. I don't miss the system there at all. Same for the other system. I also bailed out of a high end headphone system I had at work and a DAP/IEM for "travelling". Replaced both with a pair of B&O H95 BT headphones. Again, no regret.
Cereal Killer
432
Modesty doesn't need to sound less better.
Central Audio
Trade Central Audio
Comfort without luxury.
Neil P
pfm Member
I've just acquired a creek integrated amp on here, and though it's meant to be an interim (whilst my nap200 is serviced, and Townshend Allegri is in transit), I may find the creek is enough. At 10% ish of the cost there won't be the constant pressure of "does it sound good enough".
Interesting thread. I've had similar conundrums, once owning a fair amount of considerably expensive Naim kit when I lived in a small London flat. Not as much as you quoted, but over 30k from memory. It felt excessive and overly complex for low-level listening in a modestly sized room.
I hit the reset button and went down the Devialet route and Harbeth. Simpler, 'lighter', less fuss, more enjoyment. I since moved home and have a bit more space, and a bit more of an itch here and there so I have ended up with bigger Harbeths, a valve amp, a DAC, a mac... it sounds wonderful and I get daily enjoyment from it, but it's about as 'complex' as I want it. I do sometimes think about simplifying further as I only play digital. Convenience and 'ease of play' are key for me.
I found in the past that the more gear I have (and the higher end it gets), the more I find myself listening to that gear, and it's less about the music. I agree with an earlier comment that possessions can own you, especially with hobbies / interests as it's easy to become very immersed in the kit.
Have you read 'Goodbye Things' on Penguin? Minimalism, for many people, is an extreme way of life but a little dose of it certainly gets you thinking and defining what's important to you. I liked an example where one minimalist had lost all of their home entertainment and only kept their piano. Steve Jobs famously photographed with no furniture, but only his hi-fi. It's ok to be maximal in some ways, and minimalist with others. Whatever suits. But, if things are weighing me down, and not maximising enjoyment, I always feel better with a bit of a reset.
I hit the reset button and went down the Devialet route and Harbeth. Simpler, 'lighter', less fuss, more enjoyment. I since moved home and have a bit more space, and a bit more of an itch here and there so I have ended up with bigger Harbeths, a valve amp, a DAC, a mac... it sounds wonderful and I get daily enjoyment from it, but it's about as 'complex' as I want it. I do sometimes think about simplifying further as I only play digital. Convenience and 'ease of play' are key for me.
I found in the past that the more gear I have (and the higher end it gets), the more I find myself listening to that gear, and it's less about the music. I agree with an earlier comment that possessions can own you, especially with hobbies / interests as it's easy to become very immersed in the kit.
Have you read 'Goodbye Things' on Penguin? Minimalism, for many people, is an extreme way of life but a little dose of it certainly gets you thinking and defining what's important to you. I liked an example where one minimalist had lost all of their home entertainment and only kept their piano. Steve Jobs famously photographed with no furniture, but only his hi-fi. It's ok to be maximal in some ways, and minimalist with others. Whatever suits. But, if things are weighing me down, and not maximising enjoyment, I always feel better with a bit of a reset.
wylton
Naim and Mana member
Yes, me too, I have come to the same conclusion. My ears work better some days than others & my mood varies too. I always want to listen to music, but it doesn't always work and that's what drives us to downgrade; our expectations of an expensive system are sometimes too high I suspect & the source material doesn't always do it justice either.
Mark Packer
All Rev'd up!
What do you need to be content? It sounds like that might have shifted.
If the most enjoyable system you have owned was: Roksan Xerxes, Creek amp, Royd Eden speakers why not hunt them down again or, just get the Creek amp and Royd speakers 2nd hand, strap them onto your front end(s) and see how it floats your boat.
I also think our priorities change as we get older (and perhaps wiser). 'Sure, there's better out there but I don't feel the need for it.' Something happens when we no longer need to keep score with ourselves even if we were never competing with anyone else.
Whatever you decide, it's a first world problem. ;-)
If the most enjoyable system you have owned was: Roksan Xerxes, Creek amp, Royd Eden speakers why not hunt them down again or, just get the Creek amp and Royd speakers 2nd hand, strap them onto your front end(s) and see how it floats your boat.
I also think our priorities change as we get older (and perhaps wiser). 'Sure, there's better out there but I don't feel the need for it.' Something happens when we no longer need to keep score with ourselves even if we were never competing with anyone else.
Whatever you decide, it's a first world problem. ;-)
Anh
Naim ghetto blaster
With risk of me falsely coming across as an counter-aspirational commie, the £100k+ street value of your rig IMO I would liquidise all that in a heart beat, I'm pretty certain you can assemble a really satisfying system for a fraction of that if you ignore the usual hyped up UK or US brands.
Snake-oil occupies most of the high-end market, so as the remaining people who still buy into all of this get too old or die off and without a new-generation of subjective audiophiles with disposable income to sustain the demand - most boutique or fringe-science hifi gear will drop in value real hard.
Snake-oil occupies most of the high-end market, so as the remaining people who still buy into all of this get too old or die off and without a new-generation of subjective audiophiles with disposable income to sustain the demand - most boutique or fringe-science hifi gear will drop in value real hard.