I get it is hobbie and alot of hobbies could be expensive but for me i think spending more $2k is completely waste of money and i think there are many ways that you could use this money for something more useful and better way think before you buy your new headphones will this headphone my life better or happier rather unending loop of buying headphones. tell me your thoughts?
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All depends on how you approach the hobby, it’s different for everyone. It’s going to really come down to how dedicated you are to the hobby, your own personal experiences, and of course with the title of the thread you highlight the monetary aspect, your current financial status plays a big role in the end. You can get some pretty killer for the price setups at almost all price points low or high, for some it is very worthwhile to go up to those higher price brackets, for some it’s not. Hard to make any overarching statements on what’s worthwhile and what’s not, that’s really going to greatly vary from person to person, generally I wouldn’t say the hobby is a waste of money at all if it brings me great enjoyment and lets me better enjoy my music. I would only consider things a waste if that money didn’t lead to further enjoyment and/or satisfaction within the hobby. Pretty dependent on the mindset and the experiences you have in the hobby.
If you are finding putting more money into the hobby as a waste, I’d suggest scaling things back then and sticking where you feel comfortable and aren’t feeling like it’s a waste, if you aren’t feeling like you are getting more value out of spending more, then the simple answer is don’t spend that and stay where you feel more satisfied lol. I’d also suggest to reevaluate your overall priorities and current state of your journey and see if there’s something off, try something different and see if that changes anything, feeling like putting more effort into the hobby is a waste is a really prominent signal that things might need to change for you and you aren’t going in the right direction for yourself
In regards to the whole cycle and everything, that’s also something that really isn’t dependent on money and more a state of mind/perception of the hobby, and a somewhat different conversation imo. It can become a prominent money pit for sure, but it’s not something inherently tied with spending more, you aren’t automatically getting forced into the cycle by spending more or anything like that
Being a part of this hobby can become expensive for sure, but it’s only if you let it and feel like it’s worthwhile to let it become that way. Enjoyment isn’t directly tied to cost or anything like that. I’d just be careful with the word “waste,” because I’d only consider it a waste if you aren’t getting any enjoyment out of it. So for you, spending more than 2k might be a waste as you didn’t find it worthwhile with your own experiences, or had other more important priorities, or didn’t want to go in that deep, but for others spending over 2k is a very worthwhile endeavor that they don’t see as a waste at all. All depends on the person
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I believe you have to avoid buying brand new, simply wait for a great classified.
Then you have to look for great value piece of gear.
And lastly, try to just have one pair of do-it-al headphones.
But yes, it can turn very expensive. You need to restrain yourself a lot.
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Especially with higher end gear, this can save a ton of money and make purchases much more worthwhile. I think almost everything I have ever ended up buying was used with very few exceptions
There’s a lot of easy ways to blow a ton of money in the hobby and end up unsatisfied if you don’t control yourself, if you take things more slowly and carefully, taking the time and effort to craft a specific chain/setup to your needs and preferences can be really rewarding and well worth the cost. I think it’s pretty important to try and not fall into some of the pitfalls that can exist within the hobby and restrain yourself until you properly know what you want and what will work best for you to avoid waste. But it’s somewhat inevitable in the end to have a bit of waste (although you can minimize it if you are careful), the only way to know what works for you is to try, and sometimes you just have to take financial hits in order to figure out what you want, learning from your experiences to better optimize and progress your journey is important to make sure you don’t make costly mistakes later on and maximize your enjoyment. Spending money blindly often is almost never a good idea if you don’t want to feel like it’s a waste
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But at the end, you have to remind yourself (a lot) that your set up is good (great) enough.
The other day, I almost buy a Schiit Eitr, and I knew it was another gamble and I would most likely not hear any difference (I had bought a Dook, no diff, I had returned it).
But if you buy/resell used, it is ok financially.
The unique problem with this hobby is that audio is indirectly linked with the emotion generated by the design of the product and how much we spend on it, and we tend to mix it with actual technicalities and everything goes subjective in the end with a lot of bias and placebo involved. Hype and expectations is created in this journey. Every purchase is guided by emotion and bet. My thoughts.
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You work your nuts off to earn money…to what end?
You gonna leave it to the tax man?
Once youve expended on your main priorities (family, kids etc.) and assuming it doesn’t get you in debt, spend your money on whatever you goddamn want!
Wanna waste it on stupidly expensive cables?..go for it!..its your money and this life isnt a trial run…you only get one life nmd youve worked hard for your money so enjoy it.
My philosophy anyways.
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That’s true, it could really just be summed up to: if you find more enjoyment by spending more money in the hobby, go ahead if you have the means to. If you don’t, then don’t lol, enjoyment is what matters in the end more than anything else
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You just have to limit your buying to what you can afford and what you really enjoy.
I am the last guy in the world to be giving headphone buying advice, but what I do works for me.
And I have decided that I am VERY happy in the mid-fi world and in some cases even entry level. I love my gear, this hobby and music. I am not missing any bill payments and as I have gotten older, I no longer spend on booze, dope, clothes, jewelry, travelling, eating out a lot, etc.
My simple, most would say boring, life consists of not doing much. But when I am in my lazy boy I have an awesome sound system with many great headphones and a ton of music.
Depends on what you value I guess.
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it’s not a waste if it’s educational… and it can be if you allow it.
you also sound like someone who hasn’t experienced the epiphanies that come when you hear good quality audio after a long time of using cheap / mediocre buds n cans.
there are two or three epiphanies to experience. the first happens when you hear one of the exceptional headphones in the $100 - $200 range against the phone IEMs or beats you had been using before. you really do hear your favorite songs again for the first time. this happens again around the $750 - $1000 range and again with top end, end game level cans.
after these educational, awe inspiring experiences it’s up to you on how you proceed. that or you find / learn you’re tone deaf and can’t discern good sound from bad. people like that are out there… nothing against them either, unless they get judgemental with me.
I was flabbergasted the day I listened to some $4000 cans and realized I could hear the difference.
I’m broke as heck tho, so sometimes I curse being corrupted knowing I likely won’t ever get to own anything as impressive as they were.
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Invest the money for the greater good whether is your health or longevity or building your own business well it all depends what is at the most value for you
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enjoyment of hobbies is good for your health, especially related to music and ability to enjoy music as much as possible. some people don’t want the responsibility or stress of building a business (talk to any small business owner and they will quickly show how they’re the hardest working motherfuckers on the planet)
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What is the frivolous way that you spend your money?
What is your vice?
I just feel like this statement can be made at any enthusiast/hobbyist community.
Of course there is a more altruistic way to redistribute your money, or your time.
$ is all relative also at the end of the day. The number is $2k to you, $80k to another, and $150 to a third. Saying these things as truths and nothing more than your own personal position in how it relates to you is… personal.
If this thing doesn’t buy you enjoyment, close the loop. You’re being a victim to the consumerism side of things (unending loop), take control.
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Hello,
Yes, that may be the case for some people.
When I think back to how it started, I first wanted something because we had to rearrange our flat because of my sick father.
To have a zone where you can be for yourself.
I gave up $600 for it and certain things were already important to me there and at that time the headphones got more attention where they had just been running for 1-2 years.
The rest is history, at some point it was too little or boring and you look around, read reports, impressions, test yourself, go new ways.
And that with a great community makes it fun even if the wife,children & friends don’t understand.
I’ve made great acquaintances, bought one or two things second-hand.
Certain preferences have developed, like drinking whisky or smoking a cigar.
Apart from that, I have learned to enjoy and listen to music.
Health-wise I have had several hearing loss due to stress with a little tinitus that has remained.
And by listening to music with great equipment, which has developed gradually over the years, I have managed the tinitus very well.
In the beginning I also thought how can you spend so much money on something that is just a headphone or a dac.
Today I understand why and my opinion has turned around 180 degrees and I am one of those weirdos who always strive for something better.
I’ve never regretted it, if it was the wrong purchases and the initial apprenticeship money I paid, but I got a lot back from the community in terms of help.
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I wouldn’t disagree with what you said. But I also wouldn’t agree.
I myself wouldn’t invest in this hobby, as though my priority is getting to a stable financial position and a happy state of mind.
However, someone who is making 10k a month (or even more!) isn’t going to blink spending over 2k per item in this hobby.
I believe that the people purchasing >1k items in this hobby are earning quite a few more bucks a month than the average folk.
Money is an accessory to them, so they can certainly spend it on their pleasures. When that money is flowing, you aren’t going to shy away from spending it on luxury stuff (if that’s what fulfills you).
This post is like walking into a Ruth’s Chris and telling everyone to take their greedy keisters to Ponderosa.
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One problem with his hobby is that (from my limited experience) all that we’re buying sees it value quickly decrease over time. Better stuff replace it.
Same with my ex computer-gaming hobby.
Whereas my brother in law, a musician, keeps buying guitars and they go up in price.
Not fair.
All depends on what you buy. If you buy higher end gear that’s stable in price, it’s something that honestly will stay or potentially rise in price over time. If you commonly buy a lot of hype midrange flavor of the month stuff, it’s going to decrease in value a lot more quickly as people move on from it and the rapid new release cycle. As an example older established Sennheiser stuff like hd600/650, 800s can be bought used at a good price and sold years later for exactly the same or potentially even more. Of course you can’t predict the future, but you can look at the history of the item and if you buy it at its lowest point, you can be reasonably confident it’s not going to lose too much value in the future depending on what it is.
With most higher end stuff with smart used buying you can pretty much own something for a year or two and sell it for similar to what you bought it for, basically owning it and paying a small rental fee lol. But of course releases of new products that replace what you have or lower end more unestablished products can affect that.
In terms of raising value you are looking more like rare or sought after older/vintage stuff that can quickly rise in value. I remember that in recent time, mdr-r10s have skyrocketed in value to where they go for insane prices now, he90 as well, basically things where there’s nothing being sold currently as a replacement for them (good example is a cavalli liquid gold/glass/crimson, if you buy one now at a fair price, it’s not going to go down and will probably gradually rise in value). Basically, if you buy high end at a good price when it’s hit fairly low, it will probably slowly naturally rise overtime, so it’s really not a bad investment.
Things in more established and mature markets are more stable options, I’d expect things like higher end amplifiers and preamps (especially in 2 channel) and higher end transducers (specifically speakers and some headphones) and other markets that aren’t changing all that much are much safer bets on retaining value than things like digital gear (streamers, dacs, etc) or anything IEM since those are more rapidly developing markets and buyers of those have a stronger perception of older being inferior (sometimes correctly, sometimes incorrectly). So really all depends what, how, and when you buy something, if you buy the right thing at the right time at the right price, you can expect little value loss and even potential appreciation over time.
But buying audio with the intention of an investment or expecting returns later might not be the best way to approach the hobby imo, there are much more reliable hobbies for investing (such as the aforementioned and things like watches and whatnot)
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It’s only a waste of money if you waste it. There are many good buys out there and the midfi level gear is crazy good value.
hps:
or
amp:
or
Dac:
or
for $2k you could have a pretty sweet setup and never need anything else.
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Don’t be too hard on my mid-fi. 
For the most part, the majority of my transactions end up costing me $100 to $200 in Canuck buck losses for trying out headphones or an amp for several months. Especially with used gear. And I am just fine with that.
It took me several years to figure out what l liked. I looked at it as necessary research. 
I only got royally screwed on a few items over 7 years. I am OK with that.
If you look at what a lot of people spend on drugs, booze, travelling, bar hopping, wearing nice clothes, checking out fine restaurants and even collecting watches (which boggles my mind!), my purchases pale in comparison.
And music makes me happy on a daily basis.
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