Dematted "I'm too deep in the Rabbithole" Sale Pt.2

Well, it's happened again folks. I seem to have trouble getting into this hobby without having it consume a bit too much of my life and way too much of my money. So I'm once again reprioritizing and downscaling. I'll still be around, albeit probably in a somewhat reduced capacity - probably will be living the dongle life with a low impedance ETA headphone. Apologies to all of you who have to witness this craziness again, but at least some friends will get to snag some stuff at what are hopefully quite competitive prices!

The first item is the big one:

Elekit TU-8900 with Lundahl Amorphous Transformers, Gold Lion Genalex 300B, three sets of input tubes (one 12BH7a pair, Tung-Sol black plate, one 12AU7 pair, RCA), built professionally by Etsy builder with Duelund tinned copper caps and custom headphone resistor network + Pangea Audio Cable, $1950 + shipping. Amp costs $2k, build cost me $500, Tubes cost over $350, Caps another $150 or so.

One headphone:

Sennheiser HD650 "Black Silk" with original packaging: $375, bought originally for $475.

 

GLWS man, just wanted to say after hearing a lot of big boy megabuck stuff through loaners and friends it has enabled me to be happy with what I have.
Yeah I still look at headphones and amps all the time but I am happy with the stuff that doesn't cost $2000 but gets ya 85% of the way there for 5 bills maybe. THIS is the secret to a happy audio life. Yeah I still drool over DNA stuff maybe one day !

 

Best wishes, the most important part is making the hobby work for you, not the other way around. I’ve enjoyed being with you on SBAF.

<Glances at a pile of loaners> Wait, I should probably take that advice too …

 

Stick around, dude. I appreciate your insight regardless of how TOTL your rig could/would be.

 

What if you just hold onto that Soerkis -> Elekit -> HD650/ETA rig for a while and just let it sit and see what happens? Maybe you're jumping between two extremes. They won't loose their value, so there's no harm in keeping them. Just don't buy anything new, and see what happens if you just live with a nice rig for a little while. No chasing the magic bunny, no upgrading. Just listen to music with it.

Make yourself a deal to keep it for say 3 months and then re-evaluate.

I feel like going back and forth between "sell it all" and "find the perfect rig and gear hoard" might leave you either missing your rig and wanting back into the hobby, or feeling overwhelmed like you are now.

I've been there, and really think this could help calm your mind and let you just enjoy music and remember why you got into this in the first place. And then if you find your footing after that 3 month period, maybe you can find a balance.

But I really don't think you'll be happy "selling it all" after getting so involved and hearing the beauty of a good rig.

Please?

Also, we all love having you around.

 

If you think you put too much money in this hobby, try to downgrade to some cheaper ones. For example, $100 schiit modi or some Chinese brand dacs, $300 schiit mjolnir or similar amp(don't use thx based amp, they just fine for measurement) and a $200 hfm planar(forget about their QC). This combo works fine for me and the most important thing is to enjoy music.

 

Finding a cheaper rig you like can take a lot of work and result in a lot of crappy sound in the meantime, I don't think this is the way to go when you are burned out. I really think in this case @dematted just holding on to his current rig for a time will lead to maximum happiness. Unless you need to pay the rent or something.

 

To add to @rhythmdevils wise words. Take a listening break. Box everything up. For a week or two, even a month. You need a rest and a reset. Then when you've recharged make sure you only have one of everything so you can't start comparing gear again. Aim for good enough so that dissatisfaction doesn't draw you back in.

When the music calls to you. Take that time to reconnect with it, and not the gear. I'm sure many, including myself, have been through something similar.

Once you have some distance from it all think about what you've been doing and why. What the real goal is. Going forward set some ground rules for yourself so audio fits into your life, not the other way around.

 

@dematted I'll give you the same justification I gave my friend yesterday when he told me he was embarrassed he paid $1650 for a 3080 Ti graphics card :

You are at a place in your life where time is more valuable and you want to maximize the quality of time you spend with your rig.

Unless your spouse is threatening to throw you out or you owe on the mortgage, if your current rig is what you want and you enjoy it, keep it. It's why we earn money.

 

I agree with @rhythmdevils here. Ask your self the question and answer as honestly as possible... What will you miss more? The Elekit or the money? Keep in mind the loss you'll be taking by selling a brand new amp for less than you paid. If you truly can't afford it financially then by all means sell it, but otherwise, perhaps holding onto it for a set period of time is the way to go.

 

Thank you all for the kind words. After some deliberation, I am going to stay in the hobby with some major shifts. I'll be investing into two-channel world, which I've wanted to do for awhile, and I think it won't be quite as obsessive just by virtue of the fact that I won't be listening all the time (I won't be able to!). I'm sure I'll hang onto some low impedance ETA's to run off a dongle, too.

The Elekit is still for sale. In fact, since I sold some tubes, it is now on sale for 1950 + shipping to friends.

Cheers!

 

@rhythmdevils , @BenjaminBore , @roshambo123 , @jaker782
offer words of wisdom and I concur with their collective suggestions.

When I am feeling overwhelmed given my rather extensive audio lab, I take a break. Then start back slowly with a small footprint but good sounding system such as Bifrost 2 MB, SW51+ and HD650 for a period of time. So far this has worked for me.

 

Agree with @rhythmdevils (thanks for my new handle ha ha) advice. I’m only chiming in because I used to be a mod on a high end golf gear site, and believe it or not, there are similarities. At one stage I had probably the largest collection of Scotty Cameron putters in Australia. Always after the next ‘Holy Grail’ - and I’m not fabulously wealthy. Just an old Stand Up Comic that has done okay. We have a very disabled girl in the family with Tuberous Sclerosis and I raise money for the TS Association. I decided on the 2 rare putters I couldn’t live without and sold about 190 rare Scotties and gave most of the money to the charity. NEVER been happier and lost the ‘bug’. I feel the same way with the audio set up I have now. I got a nice TOTL stack IMHO and it is more than enough for my 62 year old ears. Stick around, I have learned A LOT from your posts and an very grateful.
Sorry for the essay.