Interesting…can any of you guys associate with this problem?
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Yup… it’s like you get that dopamine ‘kick’ from an awesome audio experience… and then you just start ‘chasing’ it.
I’ve personally always have looked at Z’s reviews as just purely entertainment… As I didn’t really have much choice anyways and could not afford a lot of this stuff until recently. Then I started to make a lot more money and actually have some disposable income to throw away on audio equipment I’ve been interested in for years, if not more than a decade.
That being said, each purchase, more than the last is filled with a bit of a guilt feeling that I should really, REALLY just be happy with what I have… and that is definitely true.
I think I’ve felt that the most going from the Elex to the Clears… Getting the Elex in the first place was GREAT, awesome headphones! But going from Elex to the Clears… yeah it’s better and I love them, but definitely the thought of diminishing returns is REALLY there.
The T4s were a similar feeling. I like them a bit more than the T2s… which felt “mindblowing” given the price, but it’s really not there with the T4s quite as much. I know I am DEFINITELY done with IEMs for a good while… And honestly, after watching this video, I think I’m good with headphones too. I was planning on getting the Aeon 2s soon, but I’ve changed my mind. =)
I’m going to start making some considerations and lean out my collection a bit. Honestly, I think I’d prefer to switch over to focusing on getting a reasonably affordable record player and start rebuilding my vinyl collection I had to sell off a few years ago.
Honestly… there’s nothing as fun as going through used records and bringing home a stack of stuff you’ve never heard and start listening to albums front to back. It’s absolutely one of my favorite experiences with music and audio I’ve ever had.
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This can also be related to other tech as well. Phones, cameras and so on.
There is kick out of getting and buying.
I have based or at least tried very hard to go with the “need” instead of “wanting”. Realizing this has helped and just saying NO to everything someone is trying to “force” sell.
No f-this! I buy what i need.
Bad example:
- I need atleast 2 pairs of pants. One to use and one for other use, if the other one breaks. I would not have pants.
- I do not want the 24 pair of pants. That i do not know of owning.
Same goes with audio gear.
Headphones are really bad since they are cheap…ish. Any one getting paid atleast some reasonable amount of money, can easily buy ~10 headphones in a timeline of 2 years and other gear.
The hype trains are so easy to get on board. “I want” and not the actual meaning of “need”.
Im very happy with 3 pairs of headphones. Everyone in use with different settings.
Got a fantastic and have to admit very expensive home theater but i really had a experience like 7 years ago and after that has been a “dream”. That i needed to have. At least ones.
But now that i have everything i needed. I have no real “want” or “need” to any gear at this moment. No adverts, no youtuber’s or sales person can make buy what they “sell”.
No hype train for me. No addiction to Buy.
Of course i like gear, audio and HiFi. that addiction probably ain’t going away…
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Yep me too except I like iem’s lol…I’m pretty happy at the mo with what I have Dac/Amp wise and my small collection of iem’s/headphones, if I’m being honest and realistic with myself that any upgrade that would make a ‘massive’ difference would entail spending circa £1-2k on an iem and like wise + on an Amp/Dac which I really can’t personally justify for the time I spend seriously listening…however I do enjoy watching reviews, Youtube channel hypes and discussing audio stuff on forums but it’s still about the music first and foremost, as long as I can enjoy that in a well presented, accurate and pleasing way then i’m a happy man 
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Hmmm I really can’t say anything here lol
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LMAO… Mon has already entered the black abyss… and become ‘one’ with the darkness…
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I generally take a pretty minimalist approach to my life as well… I hate clutter… and more things, means more things to have to organize and find a place for…
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LOL x2 edited👍 …
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I don’t know how I missed that… haha
feel with you
in the 90s it was motorbikes…
had this with photography over many many years way stronger until 2012 …
a few years later with getting 40 I started with camping/bushcraft stuff, watches, knives, pencils
the law of diminishing returns is actually hard kicking
with my new T4s I have no mixed feelings - T2 Pros and T3s are not on the same level and be backups or so - not the money i personally would cry about
though a IEM for over 1k is nothing I see me explaining to my wife or friends
owning SMSL SU-8 and ifi xDSD with THX AAA 789 - I plan/wanted to get the RME ADI 2 v2
not that I would need it and my DACs would not work for me - it´s this wanna have/must have the next… thing … the next checkbox filled … and this dancing eq with the pumping vu-meters 
…
with headphones it´s different
have to sell(it´s so hard letting things go, I could need) some of my not used stuff finally, before get me new headphones and a 1k Dac/Amp
want the Ananda and/or the Aoelus/Auteur
I do photography in the sparetime and have a few payed shoots every year - so if I spend money for fun, it´s this budget … ehhhmm most of the time … have bit over 1k to spent right now and can´t decide… a used Ananda for under 500 or a RME for 1k or a Aeolus I still had not auditioned
want to sit back over holidays and make a few pictures for ebay - a nightmare
in reality my Focal Elegia with xDSD is 90% used and all other open and closed backs I own could go
as long as I listen more to music as watching youtube…
as long as I take pictures and edit them, fly with my drone and edit videos … and spend less time on youtube… everythings cool with me and my wife - we all need hobbies - since 2001 always out with our dogs in the wilderness near munich - you can´t do too much wrong, if you have to go out 4 times a day with the dogs over 3-4 hours every day 
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When it becomes more about the hardware than it does about music, that’s the signpost to end game. I was doing some Qobuz research as compared to Tidal. I wasn’t even aware of Qobuz before last weekend and ran into a EU based forum where people were being downright adversarial and condescending to one another and the topic was how bit perfect one service was over the other or how they’d never do this or that or how anyone could live with such bastardization of mastered files.
The discussion turns more and more about less and less. Literally single digit differences that 99% of human beings wouldn’t not be able to discern.
I re-entered the hobby with a few goals.
- educate myself about digital based Hi-Fi music playback since my last stereo purchase was back in 2000.
- get a system that I was pleased with, with as much bang for the buck factor as I could squeeze into it.
- Enjoy the wonderful world of high fidelity digital expanse of music that is available to me today at a click of a button.
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“Two monks were arguing about a flag. One said, ‘The flag is moving.’ The other said, ‘The wind is moving.’
The sixth patriarch happened to be passing by. He told them, ‘Not the wind, not the flag.
Mind is moving.’”
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My philosophy towards this hobby is:
As long as the money I use, is taken from my usual “hobby account” and I don’t spend money I don’t have, then I am fine.
My other hobbies are on hold and I know, I can’t use more than one headphone or amp at a time, but if not this then I would have another hobby where I spend money, some people would say was unnecessary.
My wife has something like 30-40 pair of shoes/boots etc. and her favourite brand has a retail price around $900.
So I am good!!
But… if you buy stuff and have a bad feeling about it, then buy less or something less expensive. I think this hobby is not about buying the expensive stuff, but something different to what you already have. You can actually get a killer amp to less than $100 and decent headphones as well.
Set the buying level to match your income and you still have a great experience.
I like to only buy one thing at a time and not to do it too often. Buying too much too often inflates the fun and exitement about new gear, at least for me it does. Then I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I do and the time spent searching and thinking about what to get is part of the fun for me.
I also like all the knowledge I have learned since falling down this rabithole; and I know there is way more to learn and experience. And I can not go back to using bad headphones again. Good sound is fantastic and the music is just so much more fun and great.
I control my addiction and I am fine with it.
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Wisdom there…too many moving parameters = confusion when it comes to audio purchases 
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sigh…everyone has to label something because they lack self-control of discipline and excuse their behavior. nobody will accept responsibility for their behavior. it’s betting quite tiresome.
Hey, I own my addiction lol
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I think you are taking it the wrong way, if you think anyone is trying to ‘excuse’ anything, honestly. That is basically the opposite of what I got out of the video. Nobody is pointing blame at any kind of external-factor.
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Well, I have that addiction as well but I am able to keep it in control due to the added factor at times that I am one of the people with a limited budget in terms of buying audio with high fidelity. I mean hey, at least we’re not addicted to things that can literally kill us like drugs or smoking. 
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I gave gone a bit overboard this year with unemployment. You know what they say about idle hands…
I tried to be good by saying “Well I’m only buying cheap stuff”. But then at the end of the year I could have bought 2+ pairs of Elex’s and probably enjoyed myself more. And now I have to sell several pieces at a loss because I don’t want or need them.
I think I am over my economy phase. I found some good deals and now it is time to move on. Here’s to a more a logical 2020!
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I do think it should be clarified… when someone says “addiction” it’s when you do something to the point you can’t stop yourself, even though it’s causing harm in some way…
If you can afford this stuff and it’s not causing any problems… and you don’t feel bad about it then it’s fine. You’re fine. There’s nothing wrong.
For me it just feels like I’m not appreciating what I have long enough. It’s like “next thing! Next thing! next thing!” and I’m not letting myself be happy with my purchases and the headphones and my audio stuff the way I intended when I decided to buy the stuff… and It’s becoming more of a focus on the equipment more than what I bought the equipment for, which is to enjoy and listen to music, watch movies… etc… I would personally prefer to take a step back and just enjoy what I have, rather than look for the next thing.
At the end of the day… it is 100% on the individual what you want out of this and what you are looking for… and I think this video was helpful and helping me see some perspective on something that was already on the back of my mind, personally.
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