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What is the value of your hifi compared to your annual salary / income?

The question really depends on whether you are including media in the calculation?

My last working wage about 2yrs ago ...then about 50% without media ...And 75% with it
 
These days it might be more apposite to relate the cost of my hifi to the cost of filling my oil tank! I thought it bad when I ordered eight days ago at 63 ppl, it’s now nearly 80 ppl.
 
At the peak of my hifi silliness in the early noughties, the replacement cost would have been at least 50% - maybe more - of my gross income then. But now that I run mostly a vintage system with rare but still obtainable kit, I suppose it is about 10%. My music collection is more valuable, as it should be.
 
My music collection is more valuable, as it should be.

Should it be? Obviously it won’t be in a streaming set up, but I’m not sure even in the days of physical it 'should' have been. I had friends with massive collections and crappy stereos, but also some with fabulous systems and a fairly small but very well considered CD collection. As ever there is no right or wrong.
 
Mine is >1000% of my current income - but let me put that into context.

I am currently not working (I consider myself retired) but do not yet have access to my superannuation savings, hence I am living off savings (including severance package) and my only income is a small income from share dividends.

One I access my retirement savings my hifi is about 50% of my expected annual retirement drawdown. I have a few final enhancements planned to take that up to 60-75%.

This does not include value of records and CD's.
 
Well my annual income can and does vary significantly from year to year… and are we talking new or used value of kit?

It’s kind of a complex question and I could give wildly different answers depending on which metric I use… if we’re talking total new value of all the kit I own, vs my average income for the last two years, it would be over 100%, BUT, I tend to buy kit used, and I also tend to keep it for a very long time, so my average annual spend on kit, is probably more like 4%.
 
At least twice my pension! I didn't expect to live long enough for a pension, consequently limited pension. Nevertheless, I feel pretty rich not going to work since I was 52.
 
Should it be? Obviously it won’t be in a streaming set up, but I’m not sure even in the days of physical it 'should' have been. I had friends with massive collections and crappy stereos, but also some with fabulous systems and a fairly small but very well considered CD collection. As ever there is no right or wrong.
It depends whether you prefer to listen to hifi or music. For me, the hifi is the means, and music is the ends. Your priorities, and those of your friends, may differ. Streaming changes the cost equation, but I'm not about to sell of my record collection anytime soon.
 
I’ve been buying HiFi for 40 years. It’s become quite an expensive system but much of it was purchased at dealer discount or second hand.

Replacement value is probably more than I earn in a year. I reckon over the years I’ve probably spent on average £2000 per year on records and gear.

The rest of it was wasted.
 
Well I will approach it differently and say what percentage of my disposable income do I spend on hifi.
Used to be about 50% per month now I have to save up and only buy stuff when I sell something or save for a few months, rules out run up to Christmas or birthdays lol.

I think the percentage of income is not always a fair metric as some people earn good money but have significant overheads, where as another can earn less but have much lesser overheads
 
Well I will approach it differently and say what percentage of my disposable income do I spend on hifi.
Used to be about 50% per month now I have to save up and only buy stuff when I sell something or save for a few months, rules out run up to Christmas or birthdays lol.

I think the percentage of income is not always a fair metric as some people earn good money but have significant overheads, where as another can earn less but have much lesser overheads

Very true - children tend to suck away your disposable income!
 
About 3% to replace, I do have a lot of DIY stuff and bits older than me. Strangely, only last night did I realise that the only DIY in my hifi atm are a Paradise Phono stage and a PI4 streamer (not really DIY, but I had to screw bits together!).

It would be finding the replacements I would struggle with not the cost.
 
If I had no responsibilities, I could probably buy my current system with 1-1.5 months' income. Alas, I have plenty of responsibilities which re-cast that amount as worthy of a raised spousal eyebrow.

Have to say I never mention what I’m spending on my hifi. We do split income exactly 50:50 though so she can spend her spare dosh on whatever she likes.
 


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