What's Worth More on the Open Market - Your Records or Your Audio Gear

jnovak,

"...transfer much of it to CDR to preserve for all time."

If CDR is CR-Recordable, be quick and remember that those discs are prone to failure.

Some years ago, I wanted to transfer a reel-to-reel tape of some privately-made demo music onto a digital medium (CD, at that time). The tape had been recorded in a legitimate recording studio associated with a radio station. Not knowing anyone with a reel-to-reel machine, I found a friend of a friend of a friend that worked in that same radio station. He told me I got lucky to come then and not the year that would follow. They still had one functioning machine to play my tape and they were using it to digitize their collection. Once that one broke, he said, I would be out of luck. All the other machines had broken down over time and they had no interest in repairing them. Who knows if the format we are preserving things "for all time" will be viable in fifteen years.

Glupson
I do keep absolutely every record and CD I have ever had, but what is the point of it, I truly do not know.

Glupson
To understand me, is to understand that if I own something and "I know for sure" I will not use it again - it gets culled. It's gone. The problem is..... how long does it take to come to this personal realization. But once there ...the realization.....the material item is disposed of.

For me, my gear is but a means to get to the record's contents. I am emotional about the record. I have no emotion for the gear. Although I admit on these forums we (I) can get emotional about good gear that extracts record information well for us.

I also have three other serious "hobbies" pulling at my now deflated purse, (thank you kids) and there is just too much stuff. As an IT guy with a background in disaster recovery - I am very leery about the "the Cloud" do not trust it. So if one has transitioned to full online streaming and disposed of their records and cd's..........

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Now reality check vs disillusionment.

Reality check wise. I think there is a short road left for old school audiophiles. I refer to the serious 2 channel audiophile. Being in my late 50's now I represent IMO the tail end of old school audiophiles - meaning - I am old enough to have seen it all unfold in front of me be part of it; but young enough to be experiencing first hand what my - fraternal 25 year old twins - experience. My IT background helps me with all the new technologies. I am seeing what the future holds.

Disillusionment in regards to records.

True story - bear with me.

Years ago I had this spare Technics SL1200 turntable with a basic Grado cart on it, in a spare system upstairs. One day I lent it out to a friend to try out vinyl. That Technics ended up going to multiple families within a 15 year ? time span. When the Technics SL1200 came back and stayed with me, a couple years later I sold it on local market to a young lady - she came over with her dad to buy it. I played an album for them and then went home happy.

Now - If I played an Album on that Technics/Grado TT, and CD in that spare system which I categorize as a good vintage system. One could say the LP sounded ok. About the same as the CD. Pros and Cons for each, but I could see how people would just use the CD over time. The record comes with more overhead. But put that same LP in my main rig, people back then could not believe what they were hearing. Is that the same LP? Better than the CD in the same rig. The possibilities with LP - I know I have not reached. But I am content where I stopped. 
  

Disillusionment
a feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be.

I feel most regular people (non-audiophiles), based on my own experiences just do not know how good vinyl can be. For now it floats my boat. 

I've been liquidating my high res discs, mostly multichannel sacd which I've already ripped. 

I'm still finding solid resale value, typically at or over what I paid, but I do notice more copies available than previously.

But to the OP's question, between my 5.1 and 2.1 systems I have invested more in gear, but that includes a few streamers now as well. Maybe $5K in discs, $3K for the 5.1 setup, and now 5K for the 2.1

ct0517,

I see most of the things in the same way as you just explained, including "cloud" storage. That may be the most logical reason why I keep physical copies of everything I bought. Every now and then, I come accross the glitch in those ripped files and re-rip them again. Not common, but then I am stupidly proud to be able to do it. Given the price of CDs, especially used CDs, I would be better off buying a new copy each time I find a glitchy rip.

I also believe that most of the regular people do not know how good vinyl can be. Even I, who grew up with it, find it surprisingly good from time to time. However, initial "disillusionment" comment originated from the post about heirs who would not know what they would do with bulky music media.

Every now and then, some younger person discovers some older medium and likes it. That is uncommon enough that Technics 1200 went out of production after some time. Not even people who grew up with it were buying it. And Technics 1200 was one of the last Mohicans. Maybe it was just made so good that we did not need to buy replacements.

However, and that now crosses into the dreaded and fiercely-debated "vinyl vs. digital" war of words, vinyl can sound great to you, me, another person who remembers it well, and a few more who experienced it recently for the first time. Whatever the reason for some "vinyl sound" might have not imprinted in the minds of those who grew up with "digital sound". Many of them do not find vinyl superior. They simply do not and, when they admit it is, they still may not see the point of fumbling with it for small sonic benefits. Younger generation’s "natural sound" is digital, not vinyl. And an Android device can hold everything they want, if they are traditionally-inclined, or stream whatever they want from wherever they want. Who needs records?

Larryi
If I value LPs and CDs at $5 per item (probably optimistic), I come up with $35,000. That is a little bit more than the value of the midrange drivers in my speakers, so I am way into the gear side.

@larryi

Larry
I’m not touching the midrange driver comment, except to say blessed is the audiophile that finds their audio nirvana on a budget 8^0. but ... re your price for LP and CD. I think the CD estimate is high. Here’s why.

First an observation.

My wife’s car did not come with a CD player. Wasn’t even an option. The expectation is people are now using their phones with Android Auto / Apple Carplay, Sirius, Radio, or a USB stick containing MP3, flac, etc...files.

So CD is/has, become obsolete and in the same boat as LP and cassettes for cars. And I have seen old advertisements for turntable players in cars.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/555840/highway-hi-fi-chrysler-car-record-player

This reduces the CD value.

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My local Good Will stores have many CD’s and LP’s for sale, each priced same ratio like your estimate, but at $1.99 each. But there is a big difference between these CD’s and LP’s that are selling at Goodwill.

One finds a wide selection of popular music on CD. A first visit for someone looking for CD, one can come home with an armload. The same is not true of LP.

The LP search is more akin to a treasure hunt, lucky to find one album you are remotely interested in, and then the condition of the record especially if it was popular, probably makes it an option for only Record Jacket Wall Art. IMO.

CD’s are more durable with use. Scratched CD’s files may be able to be saved with computer and a CD re-burned .... if you can find blank cd’s 8^0.

With proper use the LP lasts a long time. But once damaged from even one mishandling - its game over - to the audiophile. We have all had an LP slip when being handled, and our fingernail, or worse the ground did the damage. This makes that LP finds more precious - imo.

For this reason, and excluding special and rare music CD’s, I would value popular everyday CD ’s lower than popular LP’s which are in good playable condition.