What a home audio system costs over five years

Depreciation is the biggest line by a wide margin

The resale value estimator on this site uses the simplest honest model: value after n years is price multiplied by a retention rate raised to the power n. The retention rate is the one number worth arguing about, because it is where the difference between categories lives.

On a $2,500 system, a retention rate of 0.85 a year gives 0.85 to the fifth power, about 0.4437, so $1,109 after 5 years. Cost of ownership is $2,500 − $1,109 = $1,391, which is about $278 a year. At 0.90 the same system is worth $1,476 and costs $205 a year; at 0.75 it is worth $593 and costs $381 a year.

What moves the retention rate is not brand prestige but three practical things: whether the model is still supported with parts, whether its connections are still current, and whether it is a size and weight people will ship. Passive speakers with ordinary binding posts hold value well for that reason. A network streamer whose app has been retired holds almost none, however good it sounded.

Electricity, and why it is the smallest line

A receiver drawing 90 W while playing, used 4 hours a day, uses 0.090 × 4 × 365 = 131.4 kWh a year. At an assumed $0.17 per kWh that is $22.34. Standby at 1.5 W for the other 20 hours adds 0.0015 × 20 × 365 = 10.95 kWh, about $1.86. The total is roughly $24 a year.

Against $278 a year of depreciation in the example above, electricity is about 9% of the running cost. That ratio is why efficiency should be a tie-breaker rather than a decision driver here. ENERGY STAR certifies audio and video equipment and states that labelled AV equipment uses up to 70% less energy than conventional models, with certified televisions averaging about 30% more efficient than standard ones; it estimates roughly $75 saved over the life of a certified TV, Blu-ray player and soundbar together.

The one habit that changes the figure materially is leaving a system fully powered when nobody is listening. Running the same 90 W for 12 hours a day rather than 4 takes the annual figure from about $24 to roughly $68, which is nearly three times as much for no additional listening.

Importing it: the lines that appear after you have paid

If you buy from abroad, customs charges arrive after the order. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is explicit that it holds the importer — you — liable for the payment of duty, not the seller, and that a courier's shipping charge does not include duty or processing fees. Shipments valued at $2,500 or less generally qualify for informal entry, above which a formal entry with a customs bond is required.

The duty-free allowance that used to cover small parcels no longer applies. CBP states that the suspension of de minimis treatment covers merchandise valued at $800 or less arriving via all modes, including the international postal network, and that all applicable duties, taxes and fees must be paid based on classification, country of origin and dutiable value.

The landed cost calculator on this site applies the same order customs does: duty on the item price, then tax on item price plus shipping plus duty. On a $900 pair of speakers with $120 shipping at an assumed 3% duty, duty is $27, the tax base is $1,047, and at an assumed 8% sales-tax rate the tax is $83.76, for a landed cost of $1,130.76. Sales tax in the United States is set by state and locality rather than nationally, so that last line differs between two buyers of the same speakers.

1. Item price $900 and shipping $120 are the figures the seller quotes
2. Duty at an assumed 3% is $900 × 0.03 = $27.00
3. The tax base is $900 + $120 + $27 = $1,047.00
4. Sales tax at an assumed 8% is $83.76
5. Landed cost is $1,130.76, about 26% above the listed price

Where the price index helps and where it does not

In the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, televisions fell 1.9% and audio equipment fell 1.4% over the 12 months to September 2026. Both categories drift down in nominal terms, which is unusual and worth knowing when a seller argues that a model is appreciating.

A 1.4% annual drift is not a reason to delay. On a $2,500 system it is about $35 a year, against $278 a year of depreciation once you own it, so waiting a year to save on the purchase costs you a year of the thing you bought it for.

Where the index does help is in setting expectations for used prices. A category whose new prices fall slowly sets a ceiling on second-hand asking prices, and completed sale listings for the exact model will tell you the rest in a couple of minutes.

Before you buy

• Work out cost of ownership as price minus expected resale, not as price alone
• Look up completed sale prices for the exact model to set a realistic retention rate
• Check that parts and firmware support exist before buying anything that depends on an app
• Read the rated power from the unit's own plate and put your own electricity tariff into the energy calculator
• If importing, enter the item price, shipping, duty rate and your local sales-tax rate into the landed cost calculator first
• Budget a powered subwoofer as a separate line with a lower retention rate than passive speakers

Questions readers ask

Which parts of a system hold value best?

Passive speakers and simple integrated amplifiers, because they have no software to be abandoned and standard connections that stay useful. Anything whose core function depends on a manufacturer's app or cloud service carries the risk that the service ends first, which is why the 0.75 row in the table above exists at all.

Is it cheaper to buy second-hand?

Usually, and the saving is largest in the first two years of a model's life, where the retention curve is steepest. At a 0.85 rate, a two-year-old unit sells for about 72% of its new price while still having most of its service life. The risk you take on is parts supply, so check that before the price.

Should I count the subwoofer separately?

Yes, because it depreciates differently. A powered subwoofer contains an amplifier and often a DSP board, so it ages more like electronics than like a passive speaker, and a failed plate amplifier can cost a third of the unit's value to replace. Budget it as its own line with its own retention rate.

Does leaving equipment on all the time shorten its life?

It costs money first: running 90 W for 12 hours a day instead of 4 takes the annual electricity from about $24 to roughly $68. Thermal cycling arguments cut both ways, but capacitors age faster at higher temperatures, so a unit kept hot around the clock is not being preserved by it.

Sources

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Consumer Price Index, Table 2, 12-month percent changes to September 2026 (televisions −1.9%, audio equipment −1.4%) — checked 2026-11-03
2. U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Internet purchases: importer liability, informal and formal entry thresholds — checked 2026-11-03
3. U.S. Customs and Border Protection — E-commerce FAQs on the suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment — checked 2026-11-03
4. ENERGY STAR — certified televisions: about 30% more efficient on average, about $75 saved across a certified TV, Blu-ray player and soundbar — checked 2026-11-03