I have not worked through this thread, and may be this has been brought up before, but I want to offer an idea about frugality. I would think most folks thinking of frugal think about building a good system for a relatively small financial outlay (i.e. buying good gear that is affordable).
I would not fit that description, because I have a very substantial amount of money sunk in my system, but I consider myself highly frugal and here is why. I never worry so much about how much I pay for a component, and how much money is tied up in electronics. Money in the bank fetches 1-2%. What I care about is operating cost, which is basically depreciation and financing cost (the latter is very low when money is cheap).
So if I buy say a pair of speakers for 10K, use them for 3 years and sell them for 10K, I am typically out a few hundred bucks shipping and a few hundred bucks foregone interests. It does not get anymore frugal than that! My sweetspot is gear about 3-5 years old retailing for 40% of MSRP. Typically, when it is 6-8 years old you can still get 40%, in other words, the stuff is fully depreciated. Works all the time for speakers, amps and cables.
Digital or other very current gear is a bit trickier. If something brand new comes out that I really want no real used market for with 60% off retail exists. The trick here is to shop around and get 20% of retail - may be a dealer demo. After 2-3 years of usage the stuff can still be resold for 20-30%, so your depreciation is 10% in 3 years - not bad at all. Works like a charm!
Using this approach, I have owned stuff for less than 48 hours and resold without loss if I did not like it upon hearing in my system. Far preferable than 30 day trials and dealer demos. You just need to get over the barrier of writing a 5,000 check to do an in house demo.
Full disclose: I take a hit occasionaly on stuff I buy at full retail and end up selling because of configuration changes. Check audiogon shortly for examples!
One caveat - don't be tempted by really cheap esoteric stuff. You think you may get a killer deal at 30% of retail, but could be stuck with the stuff forever is there is no resale market (anyone interested in a pair of sonoram plateau cables?).
For those that object - but I really want this particular brand and model, and it never shows up used I say this. There is so much gear, and so little time to listen and compare, you might as well take your chances with something new. Case in point. I was a happy user of Avalon Eidolon and had some money to spend on an upgrade. A pair of Avalon Times had been listed for $35K for months (now $32K). Not so tempting, because I estimate I could get $25K back for these tops. So I passed.
Next thing I know a pair of evolution acoustics MM3 show up for a price I can always resell them for. I jump on it and could not be happier. Good-bye Avalon, welcome evolution acoustics!
I would not fit that description, because I have a very substantial amount of money sunk in my system, but I consider myself highly frugal and here is why. I never worry so much about how much I pay for a component, and how much money is tied up in electronics. Money in the bank fetches 1-2%. What I care about is operating cost, which is basically depreciation and financing cost (the latter is very low when money is cheap).
So if I buy say a pair of speakers for 10K, use them for 3 years and sell them for 10K, I am typically out a few hundred bucks shipping and a few hundred bucks foregone interests. It does not get anymore frugal than that! My sweetspot is gear about 3-5 years old retailing for 40% of MSRP. Typically, when it is 6-8 years old you can still get 40%, in other words, the stuff is fully depreciated. Works all the time for speakers, amps and cables.
Digital or other very current gear is a bit trickier. If something brand new comes out that I really want no real used market for with 60% off retail exists. The trick here is to shop around and get 20% of retail - may be a dealer demo. After 2-3 years of usage the stuff can still be resold for 20-30%, so your depreciation is 10% in 3 years - not bad at all. Works like a charm!
Using this approach, I have owned stuff for less than 48 hours and resold without loss if I did not like it upon hearing in my system. Far preferable than 30 day trials and dealer demos. You just need to get over the barrier of writing a 5,000 check to do an in house demo.
Full disclose: I take a hit occasionaly on stuff I buy at full retail and end up selling because of configuration changes. Check audiogon shortly for examples!
One caveat - don't be tempted by really cheap esoteric stuff. You think you may get a killer deal at 30% of retail, but could be stuck with the stuff forever is there is no resale market (anyone interested in a pair of sonoram plateau cables?).
For those that object - but I really want this particular brand and model, and it never shows up used I say this. There is so much gear, and so little time to listen and compare, you might as well take your chances with something new. Case in point. I was a happy user of Avalon Eidolon and had some money to spend on an upgrade. A pair of Avalon Times had been listed for $35K for months (now $32K). Not so tempting, because I estimate I could get $25K back for these tops. So I passed.
Next thing I know a pair of evolution acoustics MM3 show up for a price I can always resell them for. I jump on it and could not be happier. Good-bye Avalon, welcome evolution acoustics!
