Is my system good enough?

[emaidel]

I can help you in regards to what to expect and what options are available from the IRS if you can't pay your bill in full. Email me if interested.

Thanks for the offer, but we're able to pay the bill. We'll just have that much less in our retirement "nest egg." We knew we'd get clobbered, and went about investing (and spending) as if all this money were ours, and after we had our taxes done, we just about fainted! Still, we're fine.

As it turns out, my mortgage company (Countrywide - another company in deep trouble) foolishly paid a property tax bill which was in error, and which I informed them was in error, and was not to be paid. It seems as if our local county tax office (Spartanburg, SC) will be sending us a refund that just might cover the cost of a new CD player!

In the meantime, I may be able to come up with a bit less than $200 to improve the sound of my CD's. I'm currently using the Adcom GDA-600 DAC, which is OK, but was eclipsed by their newer, and far superior, GDA-700. Both units are long discontinued, but there's a 700 on ebay currently with a bid of only $149, so I'm going to keep my eye on that. It won't make my CD's sound as good as they might on a new Cambridge Audio 740, but it'll be a noticeable improvement, and for a very small investment. I'll keep everyone posted as to what I do.

[Mr Peabody]

And don't forget about the upcoming Economic Stimulus Rebate president Bush has generously handed out to kick the economy in the rear. You're almost obligated to spend it, on a CD player

[emaidel]

And don't forget about the upcoming Economic Stimulus Rebate president Bush has generously handed out to kick the economy in the rear. You're almost obligated to spend it, on a CD player

Now, if you could only convince my wife of that, then I'd be a happy camper!

[thekid]

The sound of my economic stimulus check is playing in the background.....unfortunately what the sound is coming from is the new washing machine filling up.......

I'd almost love to deal with the problems of stock options and 6-figure tax bills but it is all relative so good luck E with the IRS. At least now when I am talking about a $150 upgrade and some of you are talking about $1500 upgrades I know where we all stand on the economic ladder. Just keep "trickle down economics" (and me) in mind when you are ready to get rid of your old gear......

[emaidel]

First of all, I should never have stated the relative size of our income tax bill: that's really no one's business other than ours, and by doing so I've given some the wrong impression that my wife and I are filthy rich, which we most decidedly are not. We just cashed out years and years of investments all at once to use for a retirement fund for the rest of our lives, and foolishly didn't have taxes taken out at the time, and so we got clobbered. Life will continue, and so will we.

More relevant to this thread, I lost out on the Adcom GDA-700. I had bid $200, and placed $250 as my "maximum bid" and then my bid was automatically raised to $202.50. It sat there for a long time, and whenver I checked, I was still listed as the high bidder. I watched it even when there were only 6, and then 4 minutes left, and was still the high bidder. I left the room briefly, and when I returned, there was a notice that I'd been outbid, and that the unit had sold to someone else for $255. I was crushed!

There are those who watch an item on ebay and, just seconds before the time runs out, place a higher bid and "win" that item before anyone else has a chance to respond. Somehow, I find this a bit sleazy, but then, if it were the other way around, and it was myself who jumped in at the last minute and "won" the item, I might feel differently. Still, let this be a warning to all: you may be the "high bidder" and remain there for days, but watch out those last few seconds!

So, unless another GDA-700 becomes available, it's back to hoping to find a way to convince my wife that we "need" to spend $1,000 or so on a new player. I'm still not convinced which one, as I've seen more and more positive stuff on the Marantz 8001 recently. Since I'm an avid fan of Telarc, and they release all of their classical CD's in both SACD and normal CD formats, SACD might be an interesting choice. In my conversations with Jack Renner (former founder/president/chief recording engineer for Telarc) he suggested going with SACD for its improvements, and I take his opinion very seriously.

[thekid]

E

I was just having a little fun regarding the $ situation, as I said it is all relative.

The behavior you describe on E-Bay is one I am familiar with and I think is what leads to some of the higher than normal sale prices. I think in a lot of cases people are almost forced to put what I call a "poison pill" high bid which is so high that no one will go above it and is reached when the last minute bidders try to swoop in at the last minute and keep making incremental bids until they run out of time. Unfortunately the "winner" is really the loser when he finds out he overpaid for the item. I now just place a bid on an item based on what I am willing to pay and I walk away. If I win I win if not I don't loose any sleep.