What's Worth More on the Open Market - Your Records or Your Audio Gear
Have anyone of you actually calculated this ?
What's your personal ratio ?
I have not looked into this in any detail, and have if anything, only recently.....
Told family members (not my wife) 8^0..........something along the lines of ........." this piece of equipment is worth ......this (xxxx) ......."
I have, told all family members that they could probably start an Ebay Record Selling Career; if their own career doesn't pan out.... with what is contained in the house. I don't think they are buying this idea ......right now.
This has me a little concerned.
I assume the good records will only go up in value.
Some gear I own, I believe is in this same state of fluctuating upward values.
Interested in your opinions, and findings on the subject. Have you crossed this bridge yet ?
glupson "...and will have no idea why anyone would possess thousands of pounds of discs that take up so much space."
I am already wondering, and I do own some.
^^^^^ There are those "disillusionment" words again. Now if you don’t own a working turntable, then I am wondering too. Unless one is in the business of buying and selling online records.
otherwise.
I am reminded of this guy I know that has a farmers field. This guy doesn’t grow anything, but he has amassed a large number of boats on it. All kinds.....small, large, aluminum tinnies to larger boats with stoves and beds.
People ask him why he has so many boats. He will never be able to use all of the them. He says, "because each one floats, and is able to take me to a special place".
Maybe instead of "disillusionment" it could be called "reality check" or something along those lines.
I have some records and a working turntable, connected, oiled regularly, and all that.
I used to pick which cassettes to take for a trip. How many could I take not to become too bulky, what my mood might be, etc. You might have had similar experience in the past.
Now I have a Walkman, digital one, and all the music I have, minus some records that I simply outgrew so to say, is on it. Hundreds of CDs, many records (tens? a hundred? I am not really sure). I think total is in 1500-2000 album range. Records are now in DSD format, and that one is a space hog, and all the rest is in 16/44.1 FLAC or whatever was the highest available resolution. Two or three songs are in mp3. It all fits on one microSD card. I do keep absolutely every record and CD I have ever had, but what is the point of it, I truly do not know.
One may argue that records sound better, but what good is that when they are stuck in some place far away and can be used only on special occassions requiring more time than the length of that record? And that at the cost of storage space and possible clutter.
Younger heirs, mentioned earlier in the thread, have, for last ten years, had everything in the palm of their hands. Not many will cherish inconvenience of the record collection they inherit.
Going back to lighter topics, the original topic, I think my equipment would fetch more than my music collection but not much more. iPhone 11 would be much easier sell.
Interesting question. My collection would fetch a good buck If the full extent of it could be catalogued and advertised. My issue is that I have what must be one of the most unique collections around. I've gone to unusual lengths in the past 50 years in pursuit of an obsession that I'm not sure I'm over. Much of what I have are one of a kind open reel studio tapes as well as cassette tapes from our local coffee house and other sources. I always involved myself where I could in lending a hand in things like archiving and preserving recordings. I've spent an obscene amount of money in the past running down leads to more music. I've been warned by the owners of the intellectual property NOT to distribute it.I'm looking forward to the day when I can transfer much of it to CDR to preserve for all time. But sell it one day? Probably not. Joe
"...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
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.
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.
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.
I've started a 3-year downsizing process and have a Discogs store (discogs.com/seller/jazzhotnj) where have 2,000 CDs/LPs listed (out of a total of 20,000) and list new items every day. CDs are easy to list using their UPC but for LPs I have to take a close look at their
Matrix/Runout.
I'm getting emails at a2zrecordsandcds@aol.com from buyers looking for items I haven't had a chance to list.
I think most of us realize selling a collection as a "whole" is a great way to get pennies on the dollar, or less, for it. Going the DiscOgs route and listing individually is the only chance many of us have to see decent return on our collections, albeit at a very large cost of time.
Selling a gear "system" is also terrible for this reason. Nobody wants YOUR collection of gear or music. They want their OWN collection, and at best they may be interested in one of your pieces here or there. With hifi systems, at least there's maybe only a dozen or 2 components at most, and they're each a large average value, so it's definitely worth the extra effort of selling piece by piece.
On Ebay, my 25,000 LPs/7,000 78s/7,000 CDs have a probable sale value of $225,000 (but it would take yeas to sell). Gold jazz/rock DCC CDs are quite valuable as are the obscure violinist LPs ($150 to $500 each) and original stereo Decca LPs (similar range). Then there is the rare ethnic 78s and LPs worth $20 to $75 each. Otherwise, most of my records would garner 25¢ to $2 each (especially my 5,000 Opera/Vocal LPs). Despite mostly mint condition. I have a collection for sale of 2,000+ unused 78s mostly orchestral and 15% vocal, mostly HMV and European Columbias from the 1930s and 1940s for $1,000 (I'm not about to put them on ebay or ship them). I sold the Resphigi MSFL Maazel LP for $225 in 2019. Ridiculous as I found it to sound terrible as do my mastering engineer friends. However, there are about half a dozen listed for more than that and they generally are so sellers at $300+.
I also sold half a dozen Disney LPs for $50 to $90 on ebay in 2018, again rare stereo versions of Funicello, etc. LPs
So there is a reasonable market price on ebay. Most ebay sellers are unrealistic as to the value of their records (too high or condition is inferior in their listing).
So, I am being realistic in stating that my music collection is worth somewhat more than my equipment. Without the music collection, my audio is worthless. With even a cheap audio system, my music collection is my treasure.
Selling much of my spare audio gear would be a cinch as I have Mac 30s, amps, Fisher 400 and 500 receivers and other classic tube gear that has greatly appreciated in value in the past decade. I think they will continue to appreciate. My unused EAR equipment is depreciating but has a level value at about 40% to 60% of new price and would sell fast.
The above GIF link gives you a glimpse into someone's record collection, presented in a way I have not seen before. Sure beats having to zoom into the labels.
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An article I came across from Forbes that shows more recent data on used sales which were never calculated before.
I had friends who had 1 million (Music Man Murray) and 1.5 million (Chandler's records). Their warehouses contained most of their records. Tom Null just died and he had about 200,000 LPs and tapes (of course he created recordings on Newport Classics and Varese Sarabande).
As to your intelligent video for advertising LPs for sale-yes that's great. Unfortunately, I have 2,000 78s which have mostly non-descript album covers and probably half are in sleeves only, just as shipped in cartons from Europe. So, that would not work for me (and taking photos of 1,000s of 78s for 50¢ an average sale price is way too consuming for my life).
My large CD collection contains a treasure trove of superbly remastered rare and expensive 78s of classical, opera vocalists and jazz. I wouldn't want to collect the 100,000s of 78s that they were made from and certainly don't have a lifetime to spend equalizing and speed correcting the acoustic 78s individually. Nearly all these 78s are not available for streaming or downloading (only the Naxos label has a tremendous source of these records) namely Marston and Romophone CDs.
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