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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?

sokogear

Showing 2 responses by td_dayton

td_dayton
320 posts
 

can't speak for anyone else, but i will never stop buying records. at any given time i have between 2-5k on hand, but i trade and/or sell by the hundred or so - so my collection is always in flux. the most i've ever had at once was around 10,000 - i sold about half of those when it came time to move, and went on a nice vacation. 

there are around 1500 12"s and 250 or so 45s that i will probably never get rid of, but beyond that it really depends on what type of digging and listening i'm doing. there are periods where i listen for 7, 8 hours a day, and then other periods where i only want to play a single album or two late at night. sometimes i'll go to 2 or 3 stores in a day and come home with 100, other times i won't buy a record for months and just dig through what i have, pulling out 'must keep' and 'must sell' and 'give away' as i go.

i do replace things from time to time, but rarely have doubles of anything - i keep the one that sounds better and usually give the other away (unless the version i'm selling costs a lot). 

 

td_dayton
320 posts
 

@sokogear i am not a dealer - i just listen to a lot of music and enjoy the hunt. i work from home which helps - probably listen to more music than most people for that reason. i sell and trade because space is limited, and my tastes and interests are constantly evolving. 

as far as not listening to hundreds, it really depends. much of what i buy is singles, so it's not a 40 minute commitment every time. other times i scan through albums i'm unfamiliar with and decide whether they merit a proper listen. 

as to whether i'm an audiophile - i care a lot about getting the most out of my records, and i appreciate great sound, and i enjoy trying different equipment. so i'd say yes

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