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Why Do You Still Have Vinyl if You Don't Play it?

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I own 3,000 plus lp's that I just don't play anymore. I told my 14 year-old son that he can have them when he starts college. He said no thanks, he said that he can carry around that much music in his back pocket in his iPod. I tried to explain to him that if he played LP's in college, he'd easily be one of the coolest students on campus. He told me to "get real" and thanks, but no thanks. I think I just may have to go through the task of grading each LP and selling them off. I've tried to convince myself that I will one day play them. I was just fooling myself. For the last fifteen years, I play one or two LP's a year just for the hell of it. I do like looking at them in their Ikea racks and marvel how I assembled my collection over nearly 40 years. I do like it when visitors comment on them and look through them. Cd's killed my vinyl and now my Squeezebox is finally going to bury it.

How many of you still have a sizeable vinyl collection that you don't play, but refuse to let go of?

I think it's time for me to let go.
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mitch4t
minorl
1,019 posts
 
Every recording and/or playback technology will have drawbacks. Vinyl is better than current digital at the moment. But with rediculously expensive digital system, they are sometimes better. The analog to digital converters and clock system must be top notch and sample at rates so high the resulting signal will look like analog. We aren't there yet. So, I have both analog and digital. When I really want to hear the soul of music, it is definitely analog. However, my digital rig is very good also. My CD transport through my DAC sounds wonderful. I do remember however, that back in the day, reel to reel blew away vinyl. But it was a serious pain to record to tape unless you bought directly from the master tape recording to reel to reel. But I can tell you that tape produced that way was much better (to me) than vinyl.

But for now, until digital surpasses vinyl, which it will eventually in one form or another, a very good vinyl rig is still better. But not by much anymore. However, a very good vinyl rig will seriously blow away an inexpensive digital set up if the DAC is not very good.

enjoy
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t OP
1,611 posts
 
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Just to put everyone back on track again with the original post. I was asking why do you still have vinyl if you DON'T PLAY IT. The intent of the post was intended for those who have pretty much given up on vinyl and play digital 99% of the time. The argument about whether one format is superior to the other has no place in this thread. Also, if you are still playing a lot of vinyl and prefer playing vinyl over digital, this thread is not intended for you. So please, no more posts here about how great vinyl is, this thread is for those of us that have left vinyl and have moved on.

Again, I have TWO TURNTABLES and spend more time dusting them off and keeping them clean than I do playing them. So, I already know how good vinyl is, I have 3,000 LP's to remind me....that was never the point.
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
Mitch -- I agree, this shouldn't be a discussion about formats. Which is why I proposed the idea that there are no "old formats". I realize now that 'old' was a poor choice of words; by 'old' I didn't mean a format's chronological age. so much as a format's viability as a storage medium for MUSIC. In other words, I believe ALL formats are viable means for storing music.

So, assuming the MUSIC is the issue, and not the records per se, when you say "I think it's time for me to let go." I take it to mean that you are OK with letting go of the MUSIC on those LP's, and with it, the LP's themselves. And that's a perfectly legitimate position; especially if you've taken the time to transfer ALL that music to another (more convenient) format. Why not? You can have your cake and eat it too ;--)

For me, there are additional reasons why I would hang on to the LP's themselves (rather than transfer their contents to CD's, tape, or a hard drive.) So, assuming I have room for them, here are some of those 'other' reasons I keep my LP's:
1.) I'm lazy: I don't want to lose any of the music, but don't want to take the time to transfer it.
2.) I'm cheap: I don't want to buy the hardware necessary to do the transferring properly.
3.) Even if 1 and 2 were not factors, I'd still worry about losing the transferred content -- both physically, and/or to some as-yet-unrecognized form of 'digital' deterioration'.
4.) And, as others have mentioned, my not wanting to give up (or have to transfer) that (sometimes great) cover art and liner notes -- which I still enjoy reading or re-reading.

And Mitch, despite the wording of your title, even YOU admit to playing your vinyl SOMETIMES ;--) You've bought the gear; you have the room (I assume); so why pitch it? You'll never get the money out. Are you worried about what happens when you croak?!

Don't!
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mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t OP
1,611 posts
 
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1.)I’m lazy: I don't want to lose any of the music, but don't want to take the time to transfer it.
2.) I'm cheap: I don't want to buy the hardware necessary to do the transferring properly.
3.) Even if 1 and 2 were not factors, I'd still worry about losing the transferred content -- both physically, and/or to some as-yet-unrecognized form of 'digital' deterioration'.
4.) And, as others have mentioned, my not wanting to give up (or have to transfer) that (sometimes great) cover art and liner notes -- which I still enjoy reading or re-reading.


Nsgarch, your four points are dead-on. I guess I just
didn't want to face it or admit it. I don't know what it's
going to take for me to let go.
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tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
Or maybe another reason, unconscious perhaps, is what happened to me the other day, spending an afternoon listening to some great music on a pair of Quad 2905s on a really fine vinyl rig, a "you are there" joyful experience that never happens with digital as much as I enjoy the convenience of that format. I'm no vinylphile either, believe me, and it isn't this vs that however.....

I would keep your beloved recordings and dump the rest. What is for sure is that if you do have any regrets later, probably unlikely but still possible, you can't go back to where you are now so maybe a compromise is in order, for now. One of those experiences may happen to you at some time in the future and your interest may be rejuvenated, another perspective.
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