R U STILL AMAZED BY YOUR SOUND SYSTEM????

[IanG-UK]

Years ago I read an article on Stereophile about the upgrade bug. It sort of compared two different types of people with the same amount of money spent over a number of years;

Person #1 buys something relatively cheap, then upgrades, then upgrades again, etc. The end result is a lot more money spent than what the end system actually costs.

Person #2 buys the best he can afford at the time and, bit by bit, accumulates a great system over the years. The end result is a much more expensive system for the same amount of money.

I'm of the person #2 persuasion and hope one day I'll have that elusive system that blows my mind. It takes careful buying and time but it's a great journey and I never get bored with my system. Having said that, if I had more money I would probably be a person #1.

I'm the same with my house and with my wife. It took me 9 years of knowing my wife before we got married and the I haven't finished the renovation I've been working on for the last ten years yet. But we're getting closer so I'm sure we'll get there and in the end, I'm sure we'll be very happy with the lot.

Good point.

I would like to be exclusively Person #2 though I have also thought I have got to #2 and then added things from #1 "just to see how it might be". Almost always unwisely.

The simplicity of Samsoum's gear, at least pictorially, also reinforces my view that owning a few things that are "the best you can afford" (#2) gives you something that is minimal and visually not distracting.

I guess that, in the UK, you get both #1 and #2 types and those who like minimalism and those who like the opposite. Though, in the USA, at least as evidenced by users on WhatsBestForum, people seem to delight in having a full wall of equipment between large speakers and double subwoofers. And listing the 50 or more components that make up their music system.