General Asylum

Posted by Atexanathome (A) on May 24, 2008 at 06:35:06

In Reply to: RE: If that is true, posted by rbolaw on May 24, 2008 at 06:02:25

There needs to be an unobtained goal to drive people forward, or there is no progress. If your system is completely satisfying, will you be driven to buy something new? (Actually, that's a poor rhetorical question to use in the Asylum:)

I remember lusting after all the expensive pieces Peter Aczel reviewed in the Audio Critic. I couldn't afford any of that stuff in the 70's.

While on vacation in Colorado, I took a side trip to an Accuphase dealer around 1977. My father and I ogled the equipment and marveled at the insane prices. Those amps had price tags of thousands of dollars,and my budget contained only tens of dollars. I whined about it, then bought a Pilot amp and Advents. All the reviews, even Consumer Reports, were pretty positive about the Advents. They were indeed adequate for a poor college student, as good as I could afford. I listened to the music, and I enjoyed what I had.

The important thing is, I lusted after the high-end equipment and I REMEMBERED that feeling. I never forgot those pieces I picked out for my dream systems, and now that I'm making good money, I am buying and trying all the equipment I couldn't afford in the old days.

The key thing is to keep people wanting what they don't have. As Solomon said, "And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor..."