Dang it... I really don't want to be noticed myself... one woman is more than enough, why do men need more? At some point, a cigar and a Bas Armagnac become really important too.... One of the things about being done with raising kids is that suddenly you got more time and money to pursue your hobbies.
If you had only said that two months ago... we drove through Olympia the 2nd week of August. I had room in the truck.
Change? Why? It does become rote... but think... hopefully you got more money now than you did then... so as things become available there's a little less desire built into the hobby. Just so long as you don't collect stuff like brand new XA200.8 amps... then you better make some really serious money.
Might as well roll over and die, huh? Listen to reruns of Lawrence Welk... get a bubble machine and a polyester suit.
I'm 65 and soon will have 30 stereo amps... I think. IMHO, you should have more amps than your age! If we measure per channel, then I'm likely pushing 70... given the multichannel amps...
When I was in my 50s I was paying for college for two kids....
Oh, no I am doomed. Excluding 4 channels of headphone amp (both DIY) and 11 channels of amplification, 8 of which are DIY I am about 50 channels short of the mark. 😀
I design and build from scratch, it is an outlet for my desire to create. I start and complete 3 - 4 complex projects a good year, and probably 6 - 8 smaller ones, and it has been this way for a LONG time. All audio related.
I am in my mid-late 60s, we never had kids, and I plan to keep this up for quite a while. I like music and this is my excuse to make things I probably could not afford to buy. (It's not cheap making one or two offs either)
Have almost finished a headphone amplifier. (a stupidly complex headphone amplifier) Some loose ends still to wrap up (little PSU boards designed and PCB will be here in a couple of weeks.) I have an idea for yet another headphone amplifier which will get built next year once I figure out the design.
I have taken a number of breaks over the years for social reasons like making new friends and finding a mate after failed marriage, etc. Set things aside for a bit, and don't get rid of / do anything you will later have cause to regret.
I also find DIY an escape from a demanding job, that nonetheless offers little in the area of electrical engineering intellectual or design challenges. It makes up for the frustration of cookie cutter designs year after year. In integral part of my mental health management as I get older. And I have a lot of ideas, not all good ones, but I get to try them out.
Finally depending on your expectations you might find the kind of kit you can afford to buy vs the performance of what you can build isn't economic. This is the reason I got into DIY as a young man, expectations and budget didn't match - I was able to bridge those expectations with reality, and for a time had a little business doing it for others as well. Considering what I have invested today I shudder to think what a comparable commercially built system would cost.
I design and build from scratch, it is an outlet for my desire to create. I start and complete 3 - 4 complex projects a good year, and probably 6 - 8 smaller ones, and it has been this way for a LONG time. All audio related.
I am in my mid-late 60s, we never had kids, and I plan to keep this up for quite a while. I like music and this is my excuse to make things I probably could not afford to buy. (It's not cheap making one or two offs either)
Have almost finished a headphone amplifier. (a stupidly complex headphone amplifier) Some loose ends still to wrap up (little PSU boards designed and PCB will be here in a couple of weeks.) I have an idea for yet another headphone amplifier which will get built next year once I figure out the design.
I have taken a number of breaks over the years for social reasons like making new friends and finding a mate after failed marriage, etc. Set things aside for a bit, and don't get rid of / do anything you will later have cause to regret.
I also find DIY an escape from a demanding job, that nonetheless offers little in the area of electrical engineering intellectual or design challenges. It makes up for the frustration of cookie cutter designs year after year. In integral part of my mental health management as I get older. And I have a lot of ideas, not all good ones, but I get to try them out.
Finally depending on your expectations you might find the kind of kit you can afford to buy vs the performance of what you can build isn't economic. This is the reason I got into DIY as a young man, expectations and budget didn't match - I was able to bridge those expectations with reality, and for a time had a little business doing it for others as well. Considering what I have invested today I shudder to think what a comparable commercially built system would cost.
After a few close calls, I decided to pursue my dream of having my end game system.. always the type to prefer paying for tools not labor have enough to get by, and what I'm missing is way less than what I accumulated.. For many years I lurked in the background at this site.. paid special attention to one thread.. as a young lad learned that the speakers to any system are the most important.. one day decided to start this journey as tomorrow is not promised to anyone. truly believe what I built (on the backs of others) is worth literally 10 to 100 times what I paid for in parts and solder.. Retail for me isn't where I belong. Retail always leaves me with feelings of remorse from value engineering.. at least I'm fully aware of what I could have done in my last build but chose not to.. if an option I want hasn't been built in, he'll I can add it.. DIY for me is 99% patience, 0.50% work and 0.50% cost. Learn, read, compair, learn, read compair, learn, learn and finally buy parts and build! Has not failed me yet 🙂
I have done quite a few hobbies in my time and find they all run there course . I have learned from past experience to not get rid of them completely because I know I will go back to them in time when my interest is reignited .. If your anything like me you won't stop you will just move over to the next hobby for a while , The thing is to stay passionate about what your doing and if you find that passion slipping move on for a while to something your finding more interesting, life's too short to spend endless hrs bored .Finding people to connect with in any hobby can also help boost your interest .. cheers