Normally I'm a frugal person. After my house was robbed last year I have been on a spending spree buying ht gear that well exceeded what the insurance gave me.
First I was like well maybe I should buy a bigger tv than the one that was stolen. Then I decided that I needed new speakers, receiver, blu ray player. It just goes on and on.
Then I decided that my 46" tv wasn't ht enough so I bought a new projector and screen. When the feeling of being "done" with my setup came over me I still find something else like upgrading the hd in my dvr.

Does the spending ever stop? I'm not in debt but getting into my savings more than I would have liked. After the dvr my goal is to go as long as possible without upgrading anything else.

Normally I'm a frugal person. After my house was robbed last year I have been on a spending spree buying ht gear that well exceeded what the insurance gave me.
First I was like well maybe I should buy a bigger tv than the one that was stolen. Then I decided that I needed new speakers, receiver, blu ray player. It just goes on and on.
Then I decided that my 46" tv wasn't ht enough so I bought a new projector and screen. When the feeling of being "done" with my setup came over me I still find something else like upgrading the hd in my dvr.

Does the spending ever stop? I'm not in debt but getting into my savings more than I would have liked. After the dvr my goal is to go as long as possible without upgrading anything else.

Not an uncommon problem at all. Personally, I hit a huge point of diminishing return after my last upgrades so, despite the addiction, I had almost nowhere to go for things that mattered to me.

Art

In my experience, upgradeitis never stops. I know a lot of other ht guys who have the same illness. I just moved into a new house that my wife and I had built. It was a lot of fun planning the ht/bar. I have a 107" screen which is the largest one I could put on the wall. I have a 720p pj but am already wondering if I should have gone 1080. I had to watch the $$$ while having the house built but know I will be jonesing again soon. It never ends.

The only cure is too stop visiting this site...and that will never happen! The wonderful people on here are the biggest enablers ever! I just can't settle for big box electronics anymore.

I have the same issues, lol :D.

Wife started with a motorized screen and a budget for "surround sound" and I somehow now spent that + a new projector + designing a "space" in my unfinished basement for it.

I know I have some more fabric to buy and a nice shelf in the back + maybe a ceiling mount for the projector. Now I'm itching to possibly upgrade my center channel even though it's only been used for maybe 40 hours or so, and maybe trying out a video processor to fix the handshaking times of my projector.

You just have to rationalize when it's "good enough" and enjoy it while saving for an upgrade round that will give you a much bigger impact for your $$. (say 2 product cycles or longer)

I just turned 49 and I've been on a steady upgrade ever since I bought my first stereo when I was 16.
My last project was building my own subs. Wifey certainly wasn't going to let me buy since i just got upgraded the speakers including sub last september. But the sub was the weak point, so I sold it at a severe loss, biult my own boxes and used an old amp (from a previous upgrade).
When I got the subs and the whole system set up and had the house shaking, she asked if I was finally satisfied. Doh! I was dumb and said yes before I thought about it.
I'm sure there will always be something else.
Upgrading the Car sound system is another whole story...
Next is an external HD for the DVR, then an HD Radio tuner, I'm sure I'll need an Ipod adaptor, etc., etc., etc.
But, Since I told her i was done for now, I'm destined for a complete Kitchen renovation before I get to do my basement renovation with Bar and HT. :)
P.S. The 33 yr old Marantz 2216 still works, just no lights on it anymore.

Now I'm itching to possibly upgrade my center channel

I bought a matching center recently and wasn't real happy with it. I have very good towers in the less than 1k price range reviews. I think from now on I would either go phantom or use a matching tower.

I still dream about the basement one day. I could also go the unfinished route but it just doesn't feel cozy down there. I may have a bit of ocd like monk and somewhat paranoid about airborne fiberglass and concrete dust. I also would have concerns about hanging fabric everywhere because most the stuff is flammable. They always say a properly finished basement should never have a water problem. Yet sometimes I come on here and read about how a water heater broke, nature, or whatever flooded their basement.

I can't wait to to put my 1tb drive in the tivo and move up from 20 to 157 hours of hd recording :)
I think in my next round of purchases I may go with a very large flat screen instead of projector.

I just turned 28 and most people my age don't have something they could call a theater or own a house so I should be very thankful.

I just turned 49 and I've been on a steady upgrade ever since I bought my first stereo when I was 16.
My last project was building my own subs. Wifey certainly wasn't going to let me buy since i just got upgraded the speakers including sub last september. But the sub was the weak point, so I sold it at a severe loss, biult my own boxes and used an old amp (from a previous upgrade).
When I got the subs and the whole system set up and had the house shaking, she asked if I was finally satisfied. Doh! I was dumb and said yes before I thought about it.
I'm sure there will always be something else.
Upgrading the Car sound system is another whole story...
Next is an external HD for the DVR, then an HD Radio tuner, I'm sure I'll need an Ipod adaptor, etc., etc., etc.
But, Since I told her i was done for now, I'm destined for a complete Kitchen renovation before I get to do my basement renovation with Bar and HT. :)
P.S. The 33 yr old Marantz 2216 still works, just no lights on it anymore.

I hear ya. I'm 49 too. Bought my first stereo with mt 8th grad grad money and have'nt stopped yet. I already have sacd/dvd-audio, ipod dock, blue ray, hd-dvd (DOH!), ReQuest server and a good 'ol turntable. May get an hd tuner next. Like Roseann Rosanna Danna says, "it's always something."

I Have to stop, here is everything I will be stuffing into my rack. I have been collecting for awhile: Onkyo receiver, sacd, hd-dvd, ps3, xbox 360, turntable, 8-track, cassette player, wii, mini-disk, laser disk player, 200 disk cd player, beta, monster htps 2000, monster hdp 2400, at&t cable box,audio source amp to power the butt shakers, equalizer and last but not least a 62" dlp. Ok maybe it is a desease but I still not found a cure any ideas?

I Have to stop, here is everything I will be stuffing into my rack. I have been collecting for awhile: Onkyo receiver, sacd, hd-dvd, ps3, xbox 360, turntable, 8-track, cassette player, wii, mini-disk, laser disk player, 200 disk cd player, beta, monster htps 2000, monster hdp 2400, at&t cable box,audio source amp to power the butt shakers, equalizer and last but not least a 62" dlp. Ok maybe it is a desease but I still not found a cure any ideas?

Put the beta player in a display case??? ;) It should free up about 2 U in the rack.

I know but it is a sentemental thing. I cannot give up the 8-track either. Sick I know

I can relate...since my tax refund I have bought:
-New Onkyo 805 receiver
-New front pro speakers (JBL MRX512 x 3)
-Used JBL Pro III surrounds
-New 18" (x2) FiCar IB subs
-4 new amps- d-sonic 525 x 3, QSC 4050HD, EP 2500, EP1500
-I had to run two 20amp circuits
-supplemental sub-Mirage MM8
-PS3 for BR

I feel like I'm single-handedly keeping the economy afloat.