My scheming mind says “euro is so low (compared to USD) I must spend on my system!” Ideas? Bring ‘em on.
My system (from the profile page):
PSA PST
PSA DS DAC
PSA Power Plant 20
Lumin T2 network player
Pass XP30 preamp
First Wave J2 amp
Clearaudio Concept turntable
EAR 834 phono preamp
Tannoy Kensington GR speakers
Two REL T/7i subs
Townshend platforms under Kensingtons
For multi channel:
Exasound e38 DAC (connected to NAS over USB)
Tannoy Stirling center and Tannoy bookshelves for rear
NAD SACD player with 5.1 output
Parasound A52+ amp connected to xp30 preamp
Listen exclusively classical and jazz mainly from my library through Roon and a NAS. Although I do stream from IDAGIO and Pristine Streaming over airplay. My library is mainly stereo and multi-ch DSD and FLAC. My system is only for audio, no video stuff.
It’s crazy how low the value of the euro has become. When my wife went to England in the late 70’s it was either $1.75 or $1.90 dollars to Euros (Pound Sterling at the time if I remember correctly)
Well it’s still pound Sterling, they never adopted the euro. But even as recently as a year ago it was worth $1.40, today it’s 1.20.
I go to Europe frequently, so this is good for me. But bad for Brits and Europeans, inflation is bad as it is, this makes it even worse. Plus the Fed has decided to let the dollar go as low as possible to fight inflation, so that’s bad for the rest of the world. (This is one of the great advantages US has in being a reserve currency; another being we enjoy lower interest rates in general since central banks are required to hold USD–a great luxury.)
Boy as advantageous as the exchange rate seems to be, prices of gear have shot through the roof because of inflationary pressures due to parts shortages and the like. I’m in hibernation at the moment waiting, perhaps in vain, for inflationary pressures to moderate and prices to drop. That may never happen.
I was in Europe shortly after the Euro was adopted. At that time 1€=$0.81. After a few days of my GF asking me what a particular exchange rate was, I just said “Europe 20% Off”. I like to keep it simple.
My wife just told me no more audio upgrades this year; she wants a long vacation in Europe, anywhere in Europe. But I think I can get an even better deal in a Japan trip now.
Well, if you’re a coffee kinda person the prices on Londinium lever espresso machines is very nice right now. (They’re manufactured in the U.K.) I may have to upgrade from my R to an R24, which is kinda silly…
Edit: it’s nice to sip a spectacular espresso while enjoying some great music.
The euro exchange rate was $1.18 when it was introduced, went up to somewhere around $1.59 at its highest, and is now basically 1:1. When I was in Ireland in May it was $1.10 to buy a euro which felt like a bargain then. Problem is most things are very expensive in Europe, so while a vacation may be cheaper, there’s not much I can think of that’s worth importing now.
My trip was shortly after 9/11. They were very grateful to see US travelers and we got below market rates just about everywhere. Trip was booked before 9/11 and we were very grateful to be able to still go.