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

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.

*********************************

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.

 For those who asked questions about my friend’s 2000 LP collection that he sold for $20,000, I am really not intimately aware of the general nature of the records he collected. I can only say that he was not shy about buying expensive re-issues, 45 RPM re-issues, and other audiophile level recordings when he could find them. I am sure also that  his LPs were in mint or near mint condition. There was a mixture of jazz and classical music, it seemed to me. Whenever  I visited him it was to listen to some new piece of gear that he had purchased or to give advice about why something wasn’t sounding as good as it should, so we were focusing on the system, not the music. I would bet there was no junk in his collection, because if he perceived that something was junk he got rid of it.

^^^

lewm - I would bet there was no junk in his collection, because if he perceived that something was junk he got rid of it.

Lewm - for the benefit of those reading the thread with record collections, can you define better what you mean by junk. thanks.

When the CD largely replaced the LP, the monetary value of non-collectable records dropped drastically. Mine retained their musical value to me, and I kept them all. I didn’t start buying CD’s until the music I wanted was available on that format alone. CD’s are now becoming worth pennies, but mine are worth a fortune to me---they contain an awful lot of great music. I’m keeping all them too.

Eric
I hang onto the cd’s for back up / archival purposes. I moved the frequent listens to hard drive long ago but since using Tidal HiFi...well.
Here’s one example. A picture is worth a thousand words.

You mentioned Roseanne Cash as one of your top left cube artists earlier. I like Roseanne Cash but I only have a couple albums, and only on CD.

This is what my Tidal Hi Fi digital choices looks like for Roseanne Cash.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BTXZtkcd8akNvmQB7

New music options opened up.

Now if I owned Roseanne Cash on vinyl ...