1) There are always exceptions to every rule.
2) My exact quote was: "Within my circle of friends." That's what's known as a "small sample size."
Record collecting versus hoarding
At what point does "collecting" records become hoarding? Unless you are in the business of selling records either primarily or even secondarily, why do so many people here talk about having 2,3,4,6,10,000 records and CDs? It's not stamps or coins.
Let's say you listen to records 15 hours a week (a good estimate for me) that equates to about 750 hours a year or 1000 records a year. I like to listen to mine at least once every three months - I have 300 records and change. In the rare instance when I replace one for a better sounding one (I've done it maybe 4-5 times), I immediately sell the old one - with only one exception. The Sgt Pepper UHQR. I already had it on the Beatles Collection and do occasionally listen to it when I want a treat. It does sound better than the regular Mofi one, which sounds great to me.
Why would you have multiple copies of the same record and not just listen to the best sounding one and sell the rest?
Why would you want records you listen to less than once a year?
Maybe some people listen a lot more than me (and replace cartridges/styli pretty ofter or have a bunch of them)?
The reason I bring this up is because Acoustic Sounds is releasing Steely Dan's studio albums from the 1970s on their UHQR brand (not sure how they now own the name and not Mofi, but that is not the point), I am a huge fan and will be getting a few of these overpriced (IMHO) records, which will replace a few of my non-audiophile (except the Aja Mofi) records. I plan to sell the Aja Mofi immediately after getting the UHQR, which I am sure will sound much better. That is worth a few bucks, but the others I sell should be worth $10-15 in trade at a record store.
Anyone with records they play less than once a year or keep multiple pressings of a single album, please let me know your rationale.
Are you a hoarder? Too lazy to get rid of them? Like the way they decorate your room?
Showing 4 responses by mitchagain
Within my circle of friends it is evenly split between the hoarders/collectors and the audiophiles. The one thing the collectors have in common is that they own a lo - fi or less audio source (in one case only a boombox), while the audiophiles tend to have a reasonable sized music collection. Not surprisingly, the higher up the food chain (or budget) of the audiophile's system, the smaller the music collection gets. I guess it's all about what your individual priorities are. To each their own. |
@sokogear , I think that the equipment hoarder is a very rare beast when compared to the hoarders of the physical music media (albums, cassettes, CD's). Some of the things that perplex me about the music hoarders are: 1) How do you find the space for all of that music? 2) How do you find the time to listen all of that music? 3) How can you ignore the importance of the equipment to better enjoy all of that music? I too have re-bought many albums that I regretted selling as my musical tastes either changed; or, more likely circled back to where they used to be. Fortunately, in some of those cases, I've managed to find some remastered copies that were better than the original (sometimes drastically better). On that subject (and current forum thread), I'm really looking forward to hearing from my friends about what they think of the newest Joni Mitchell remasters (Asylum Years). Funny thing is, the "hoarder" group of friends will probably be the first ones to buy those. |
I think the one important word that has not been mentioned yet is "completist." That obsession leads to collecting and/or hoarding; so, different people will define those two words in different ways. I think there are probably more "music collectors" who focus on the size of their collection, rather than the value of the collection. This reflects their passion for music; but, many collectors (based on the ones that I know) will rationalize their probable hoarding with statements about the future collectible value of their collection or certain segments of it. |