[Avi0n]

Wow that’s pricy. I played 1st section violin through college and only have a $2k one. My friend played first chair 1st violin section through college and had a $4k violin and it sounded amazing. Maybe we got lucky and found a really good instrument shop? Another friend had a cello that costed well over $15k though so there’s that.

[Scoundreller]

The $2k violin is a $3k+ violin in 5 or 10 years, unless you drop it. The computer is generally not (especially if you drop it).

[an_opabinia]

At least you're engaging with the premise. You could also get a $980 with tax M1 MacBook Air. A Dell prebuilt - even the Alienware, which does not have to pay scalper prices and comes with a 3070 - is $2,611. These are all comparable options. In the instrument world, a $6,500 computer is more like a $30,000-150,000 violin and bow. Like the stuff professionals use.