With suitable acknowledgements to Mr Wordsworth, the thread title really sums up my Sunday morning mood! I've just joined in a thread in the HiFi section which seems to revolve, as ever, around the topic of upgrading!
It set me thinking, especially having just spent a (relative) fortune on a new set of cordless house phones to replace an old set which were functioning perfectly adequately.
I then set off on a short mental ramble, taking in cars, hard landscaping, lounge furniture, computers and tablets, finishing at hifi - in short, all the areas that have cost me cash over the last year or two. With one or two exceptions, none of the expenditure was strictly necessary. Most of it was to scratch an itch, which can only be described as 'upgraditis'! It has led me to the inescapable conclusion that this is simply part of the human condition. With one or two rare exceptions mankind has never been content to stand still. There is always something better just round the next bend, over the next hill, at the end of that journey to the foot of the rainbow.
Whenever I read a thread on this forum talking of 'the final, forever system' or downgrading to the all in one, I smile to myself, thinking it's only a matter of time. My theory, for what it's worth, is that those who genuinely have no desire whatsoever to improve their ........... (insert the appropriate words - car, hifi, camera, whatever) have probably lost interest and no longer feel any passion for it.
Posted on: 22 October 2017 by Innocent Bystander
Interesting philosophical consideration for a Sunday morning!
Could it be more that they no longer feel a passion for hifi, but they may well still have a passion for listening to music? Some may even have found that passion for hifi ended up detracting from passion for the music.
We do live in a consumerist society, where it seems that a majority of people forever want the newest thing. Not something I personally engage in much - I just want a good thing then I keep it - more often than not until it is no longer serviceable, and that applies to cars, TVs, furniture, washing machines, clothes, cameras...
That said, hifi is one that I have pursued with a series of upgrades (though often with many years of service before doing so): the difference from many other things is that I have always been aware that better sounding kit is available, but simply not affordable except in steps (holding back and not having a system that at least played music nicely not being an option). Comparing that with, say, cars, yes there are machines I would love to drive, but reality tells me they are simply unattainable so I don't hanker after them, and with few exceptions cars also have a short life and high depreciation compared to hifi, so I buy the best I can secondhand when they have reached what I consider to be the optimum point on the curve, and keep and enjoy until no longer economic to maintain, when I do the same again (and the criteria for a car have also changed through my life, with different transport needs at different times).
But doubtless other people's approaches are different.
Posted on: 22 October 2017 by Hook
Itches get scratched until the itching subsides. We moved 7 times until finally settling in to a house and neighborhood that worked for us. Been here 15 years. Used to flip cars every 2-3 years till I found two that ticked all of our boxes. That was 11 and 14 years ago. Was on the upgrade treadmill with audio for a bunch of years. Finally found the sound quality I was after, and have been stable for about 7 years.
Don’t feel that I have lost any passion for music/audio, cars or for home improvement. Just gotten better at recognizing when I’ve reached a stage of relative contentment. There will always be nicer homes, cars and audio setups to dream about. For me, that’s part of the fun. Would kind of suck to hear Santa Claus say screw you Hook, you don’t need anything!
Posted on: 22 October 2017 by james n
Interesting thread Tim. I must say that i've reached the contentment stage that Hook mentions. I realised a few years back that i'd reached a level that meant i could just enjoy the music and the desire to reach some giddy heights of Hi-Fi ownership was just not there anymore. Upgrading for me only provided a short term fix. I still enjoy reading about others pursuits to musical nirvana but have no compulsion to do it myself anymore by constant upgrading...
I do keep a 3k slush fund which enables me to buy and sell bits and pieces to scratch itches - An immaculate Naim Nait 1 and my latest purchase of Shahinian Compass speakers allow me to still indulge my Hi-Fi passion but without the upgrading downsides 
Posted on: 22 October 2017 by Haim Ronen
Funny, I come from the complete opposite side. When I am in a good place (same unchanged music system for 17 years, same car for 12 years, same wife for 34 years) I do not look for a change which to me is a sign of boredom and loss of passion.
Posted on: 23 October 2017 by Tabby cat
Interesting topic Timmo,
I also reflected on a comment that Bob the Builder made in the Why don't Naim make a Class A amp in HI-FI corner along the lines of the forum being a middle class place and can see where he is coming from with say spending £2000 on a piece of SL interconnect.
It made me reflect on how lucky we are to live where we do and have money to spend
A good anology is I listen to a simple Sony radio in my kitchen and really enjoy it but also have an 01 tuner which is fabulous.Some people in the world are so poor that the Sony could be a really prized possession - yet some people are so poor they couldn't even offered it.I know it's a materialist society and all that but for me I am happy and would rather travel then upgrade ever upwards.Or go and see Live music which is what's it about rather than a facsimile of it.
Posted on: 24 October 2017 by Ardbeg10y
"To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often."
- John Henry Newman
I counter that with Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics. Its not about perfection, but a profound happiness (not in todays meaning of happiness which is quite one dimentional).
And I have to think about one of my friends who is in pursuit of the perfect wife. He is still hunting and turns 40 next year.
I rather like Haims approach.
But ... what is the context of Newmans quote?
Posted on: 24 October 2017 by Huge
"To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often."
- John Henry Newman
I counter that with Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics. Its not about perfection, but a profound happiness (not in todays meaning of happiness which is quite one dimentional).
And I have to think about one of my friends who is in pursuit of the perfect wife. He is still hunting and turns 40 next year.
I rather like Haims approach.
But ... what is the context of Newmans quote?
And I counter that with Bhutan's government, who define their success not by the country's GDP, but by the country's GNH "Gross National Happiness".
Posted on: 24 October 2017 by Ardbeg10y
"To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often."
- John Henry Newman
I counter that with Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics. Its not about perfection, but a profound happiness (not in todays meaning of happiness which is quite one dimentional).
And I have to think about one of my friends who is in pursuit of the perfect wife. He is still hunting and turns 40 next year.
I rather like Haims approach.
But ... what is the context of Newmans quote?
And I counter that with Bhutan's government, who define their success not by the country's GDP, but by the country's GNH "Gross National Happiness".
According to Aristotle, wealth can be an enabler for happyness. Chapter 3 or the Ethics I think - Its a while ago and know it only in Dutch. Not Ancient Greek or English.
+ I'm sure the People of the Peoples Republic of North Korea (the only true Korea) happily take distance of food in order to give their great (in multiple sense of the word) leader another car.
They must be most happy.
If you ask a goverment: are you good? They will always agree.
Posted on: 25 October 2017 by wenger2015
To quote a phrase from my distant past...'Happiness is the journey not the destination '
In other words enjoy the moment.... you never know what's round the corner...
