So, I bought my house 5+ years ago, and since then most of my free time and spare change has gone into building my home theater. I'm in the middle of adding 2 more subs (Thanks to Funk Audio), and I decided to calculate what my hobby has cost me. It turns out I could have been driving a pretty nice car had I spent my money on that (let's not get crazy here, I'm talking maybe a gently used Corvette - with no extras....if I knew the sales guy...and I was buying it in the middle of winter...and...and...).
Anyway, dollars mean nothing because everyone has a different income and spends their money differently. The interesting thing was what happened when I did percentages. For insurance purposes (God forbid there is a fire or a robbery) I keep very detailed records on everything I own. So, I looked at what percentage of the total amount of money I've spent on my theater was spent in different areas. Here it is:
32% Speakers (Speakers, Subwoofers, Transducers, etc..)
15% Electronics (TV, Receiver, Player, etc...): 15%
14% Power (Power Cleaners, Voltage Stabilizers, Extra Circuits and electrical wiring, etc..)
09% Cables (Video, Interconnect, Speaker, Power, Extension Cords)
11% Platforms, Stands, Isolation components
06% Acoustics (Absorbers, Diffusors, Curtains, Insulation, Doors)
01% Cooling (Fans)
11% Decor (Seating, Lighting, Cable Hiders, Tables, Refrigerators, etc...)
1% Accessories (Game accessories, remotes, etc..)
<1% Calibration (Meters, Discs, Software, etc..)
Going into this I never said "I need to spend this amount of money on x and this on y, and this on z." I just slowly bought what I thought I needed and kept going. And what you see above is the result. How does your stand up?