Ever Feel Guilty?

[CrazyCanuck75]

I am in the process of buying all the gear I will need for my first dedicated home theater. I just dropped $7000 for some of the gear I wanted for my room.

Although this is stuff I have budgeted for, I do feel a bit guilty spending so much on home theater gear. Has anyone else felt guilty for buying AV gear?

Just in case anyone is curious, I bought an Emotiva XPA-5 & XPA-2 @ $999ea. (Includes duty, taxes, shipping to Canada etc.), 2x Paradigm Studio Reference 60 v.5 @ $1998pr., 2x Paradigm Studio Reference SA-35 (in walls) @ $999pr. & 2x Paradigm Studio Reference SA-ADP (in wall dipoles) @ $1998pr..

I am just curious to see if I am the only one who ever feels this way.

P.S. I would do it again in a heart beat .

 

[jamie2112]

Has anyone else felt guilty for buying AV gear?

HAHAHA NEVER my friend !!!!!!!

Congrats on your new purchase I am sure you will be quite happy with it.

 

[mike c]

be guilty if it wasn't disposable income, or if it was a major % of your savings (savings = retirement fund + emergency fund)

otherwise ... "not guilty your honor"

 

[CrazyCanuck75]

Congrats on your new purchase I am sure you will be quite happy with it.

LoL, I would be a lot happier if Marantz would just start shipping the AV7005 so I can get one and use all this stuff.

 

[its phillip]

Where's the sub?

 

[CrazyCanuck75]

Where's the sub?

I am saving the purchase of the 2 Paradigm sub12's, the single studio 60 (center) and the marantz for the next $7000 shopping spree.

 

[its phillip]

Ah, nice

 

[just-some-guy]

i wish i could afford to feel as guilty as you !

nice stuff.

btw. no , i don't feel guilty.

 

[walter duque]

I don't feel guilty, I fell like I am getting over. Most of my stuff I get for cost which is about 70% of retail.

 

[Davemcc]

No guilt. No remorse. Now that my equipment is a couple years old, the expense is a distant memory but the enjoyment I derive from the system continues on a daily basis.

 

[CrazyCanuck75]

i wish i could afford to feel as guilty as you !

Well it hasn't come easy, I haven't had a day off since August 15th.

 

[just-some-guy]

Well it hasn't come easy, I haven't had a day off since August 15th.

lol, boo-hoo.

i wanted Digm's. but over $1000 each was a bit pricey for me. could i afford it, sure. but i have to budget for other things.

 

[Jed M]

Here is one way to look at it. If you bought a set of speakers for $1400 three years ago and could sell them today for around $1000-$1100 then you made just as good of an investment as you would have if you had put your money into the stock market, and you can't turn a stock certificate up to 11.

 

[CrazyCanuck75]

Here is one way to look at it. If you bought a set of speakers for $1400 three years ago and could sell them today for around $1000-$1100 then you made just as good of an investment as you would have if you had put your money into the stock market, and you can't turn a stock certificate up to 11.

So really these speakers are just an investment in my next set of speakers, use them for 3 or 4 years and trade them in for bigger better ones

 

[Warpdrv]

I have to say that I am very lucky to be able to spend the kind of money I have on this hobby, though I truly enjoy it. I have taken it to some lengths some would suggest are absurd and they in all respects would be correct, though being in the auto service industry I see many out there spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on autos, be them racing or just common consumers products.

Now I do feel very good that I took the opportunity to fulfill a large portion of my investment in the bass portion for my main system through designing, building and implementing my own sub woofer array. There was a lot of education and learning along the way, which led to a far greater experience - rather then just buying plug and play products as I have done in the past. I would suggest anyone to take the time to attempt some of their own builds - which can be very rewarding - and never leave one feeling GUILTY per say.... Subs are the easiest form of audio to DIY which are worth the savings of money over what you get from buying from manufactures, as well as better performance for the money.

Remember that although you may feel guilty about such luxuries such as premium audio - there are far greater evils in this world that far too many people fall prey to which will literally be tossing your money out the window. Think gambling, strip clubs, hookers, drugs - I'm sure you could come up with many more which will ease your mind towards a whole-sum hobby that will bring joy to your life for many many years to come....

Enjoy the Music !!!

 

[jostenmeat]

I like Warp's post. I've already spent way too damn much on this hobby, and as hard as I tried to "do it right" the first time, that's pretty darn impossible for a newcomer (few years ago). Without the foresight to see that I will continually want to upgrade, even though my jaw hit the floor so many times in the beginning, I am now trying to embrace the idea of DIY as best I can. I won't ever be able to DIY an AV processor, amplifier, or projector, so I better take my chances when I can on speakers, subs, and the like.

Warp is also right about the things you learn. So many people in this hobby have a lot of knowledge in things engineering, physics, paints (and how to apply), insulation (and how to apply), woods (and how to work with), fabrics (how to affix/attach, where to buy), and oh yeah 9v battery tests, multimeters, optics or light transmission, human perception both visually and aurally, list goes on and on . . .

 

[lsiberian]

Money we spend goes into the economy, creates jobs, and is the real stimulus our country needs. Your spending has helped someone keep their job somewhere and has helped someone put food on their kid's table.

What is truly bad for the economy is hoarding and greed. It was Greed that destroyed the economy not you. So don't beat yourself up.

 

[CrazyCanuck75]

What is truly bad for the economy is hoarding and greed. It was Greed that destroyed the economy not you. So don't beat yourself up.

I wasn't really beating myself up, just thought that maybe it should have been spent on something like paying down my truck loan or something like that.

Ahhhh..... who am I fooling, with 0% financing, GMAC can wait for their money!

Anyways guilt is gone, just can't wait to get back to Canada to start building the room and installing all my new stuff.

 

[Davemcc]

It was Greed that destroyed the economy

On the contrary, greed built the economy. It is Robin Hood economics that destroyed the economy. At any rate, I feel no guilt over my greed for audio equipment, cars, watches, etc. It is only that greed that gets me out of bed to go to work every day...driving the economy.

To quote Gordon Gekko, "Greed is good".

 

[CrazyCanuck75]

To quote Gordon Gekko, "Greed is good".

"Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction."
-Erich Fromm