What to do with my legacy CD collection?

I would put them in a pile (s) and pick them up one at a time. Those that make you feel happy keep and rip. Those that don't really connect pass on to someone else. Who has time to listen to 6000 CD's? Just keep the ones that move you, rip them, and keep the physical media as backups or sell them (ebay/agon/or pawnshop)

I had a similar problem, although it only totaled about 100 CD's. After I made sure I had two compete HD backups, including one in fireproof file cabinet, best bet is to give them away locally. I gave mine away to folks who were more interested in the music then the jewel cases/artwork. I would suggest putting them on a local app like Nextdoor/Craigslist. If you really want to get money for them, you can try setting up a table at a flea market, or hold a garage sale (but you'll get a buck or two for them and not sell them all). Last post them as a collection on sites like this, since there are plenty of folks who will burn them. I know I would if the price was just to cover the shipping and packaging. 

Not everyone has streaming and many just like spinning CD's even now and owning the music. Hope this helps a little.

I buy music CD’s all the time, new and used and for me the big problem with buying collections is

1) What to do with copies of the titles you already own

2) What to do with said copies if there is no jewel case/artwork

3) Can the collection be broken down by genre or does it have to taken as a whole

4) Where is the collection and is it worth the shipping cost

5) Is the price realistic for what is being offered 

Some people are very diligent with their collections and go as far as to catalog each title via Discogs or on spreadsheets. I think in your case you would have very good luck selling the Mofi, SACD and HDCD titles separately or grouped by artist as there seems to be demand for these amongst collectors when the price is right.

As for CD’s with jewel cases/artwork there is some value there but it doesn’t seem to ever equate to large amounts when considering the price per unit. Some local stores in my area will pay (when they pay) as little as $0.50 and up to $2.00 depending on the disk but most of the time you’ll see a larger amount working it as trade in value/credit.

The discs without jewels or sleeves/booklets are pretty much worthless when it comes to in store trade’s although some folks who don’t care may be interested in buying for a much lower price.

IME with rippers/servers and discs I would say please keep the discs that are important to you even after ripping/backing up. Even with multiple drives things can go wrong and at this point you already own the media so unless you just don’t want it around the only penalty is storage.

Streaming is nice but I still prefer discs! Be confident when selling/purging that you won’t want to repurchase if you change your mind at a later point.

Hope some/any or all of this helps and like I said I’m always looking for music. If you’d like to send me a note describing what you have I’d be interested.

Be an early Santa and give away these CDs who might appreciate them more. 

Hi I’m looking for obscure CDs:

Electronic, Ambient, Dub, German Standard, Japanese Funk. If you have any of those, please IM me.

Format does NOT matter. Artists only

@czarivey okay I will keep you in mind as I am plowing through my collection and ripping them to FLAC flies.

I have given away half of my 2,000. The others are acting as wall treatments.

I don’t understand why some have this obsession with the elimination of physical recordings? Has your taste in music turned 180 degrees? Do you believe FLAC files and streaming has better SQ then a world class CD player/Transport/DAC? Media pressure telling you CD’s are outdated? Or is this just an emotional cleansing issue? How much space can 2500 CD’s in binders take? Upgrade your Oppo 105, problem solved.

+1 @dayglow 

@dayglow I understand your point of view.  My objective is primarily motivated out of convenience for the 2,500 CDs you refer to above.  I fully expect to continue to use my Modwright Oppo 105 when SQ matters, such as SACDs, Dvd-Audio, HDCD encoded discs, SBM discs, Mofi, DCC, etc,

That is where my head is that at this point.

@drlou77 
Why not make sure that SQ is the same, or better with ripped and streamed music? This and your raid + cloud backup should make physical media redundant, except for SACD albums that aren’t available as high resolution files.

Keep all the special CDs that aren’t available to stream and donate the rest to a worthy cause, charity, library, etc.  I’d try to pick one that would get you a tax deduction so you at least get something for them.  If you buy CD cases in bulk you might be able to get all those naked CDs in cases for very little cost and may make them more desirable to the place you choose to donate and will protect them for the next user.   Just a thought, and best of luck.

@vonhelmholtz Thanks.  Good idea!

@soix great idea.  Thanks!

Try and see if your local library wants them.

That is a great suggestion @wsrrsw 

@drlou77 

I think that my suggestion was a bit obscure and definitely costly.  You haven’t posted your system under your profile, so this post might be unnecessary.  I’m suggesting that you use a very high quality streamer like an Aurender N-20 and better.  Also, a quality DAC.  This is what probably makes your streaming as good, or better than your player.  I can’t directly make this claim because my goal was to raise my streaming and CDs to the same level as my analog.  Early on, I decided that it was no longer necessary to spend $4-6K on a Cd transport.

Keep them if you rip them. Only sell those that you haven't ripped. If you do otherwise Lars from Metallica will be mad.

Easy answer - donate them & ship them to me.  I will sort through them for you!  LOL

Just went through this. Gave some to my friends. Sold some for an average of $1 each. Just purchased a Innuous Zenith with 2 tb hard drive. Ripped them all and backed up on 2 different hardrives. Have about 300 stored in Zenith and have 90 percent capacity left. Running through a Lab12 Referenc Dac. Did an A/B test tonight with my turntable. I am thinking the vinyl may go next.

Never get rid of hard copies, that's just me. I don't stream much so can't relate. Much easier just to toss a cd, tape or record on...all these hoops to jump thru just for convenience is not me, and probably will never be. I like my physical media.

I ripped several thousand and then stored them in boxes.

It won't be worth your while to try to sell them.  If you have friends or neighbors who would like them and it would make you feel good to give them away, do that.  Otherwise, donate them to your nearby thrift stores (and get receipts).  The purchasers will enjoy the CD's, and the charities will enjoy the sales revenue, and you will enjoy the charitable deduction. 

Ripped cds surpassed the Sq you get from a world class cd player over 15 years ago. I sold my multi-thousand $$ highly rated cd player 14 years ago and never looked back. I have been transporting thousands of cds around with me for over 20 years and I wished I sold all of them years ago. I still have a highly rated cd/sacd player that has played maybe a couple of silver discs during the last 10 years

@melbay So how do you like the Zenith?  Any tips for me before I fire it up?

@horchai - Fantastic suggestion. I’m with you. Be an early Santa and find an organization that could provide them to others who might appreciate them. Lots of great charities out there. 

So how do you like the Zenith?  Any tips for me before I fire it up?

I know this question was asked to a different poster, but allow me ...

I owned the Zenith MK3 up until very recently. For the money, I think this is one of the best streamers out there with great sound quality and features. Once you get around to it, try swapping the fuse with Synergistic Research Purple Quantum fuse. I was not a believer in fuses but boy did this fuse rock my world. I usually am not a fan of hyperbole when it comes to describing tweaks but this is one time when I make an exception to say that the increase in SQ was jaw dropping! The purple fuse is $200 with a 30-day return policy and fairly easy to swap.

Pre-Covid, I had two bookcases full of CDs in the garage, buried behind everything else.  I rarely listened to them.  Ripped them all to the hard drive of a dedicated laptop that streams to my stereo.  Now I listen to them all the time.  I just hit shuffle and go..."I don't remember this."  I use Roon to organize them.  

When I took them to local used CD stores, they bought (credit to buy more) maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of them.  The rest I gave to a friend.  Probably still in the back of his truck.   

I will purchase your Cds not SACD's for 50 cents each.  I am a seller and buyer.  So if interested in selling them by all means contact me.  Thank you.

I really like the Zenith also. I think it took 1 miute to plug in .Another minute to download app. Connected right up and I was good to go. Ran it through a good DAC and i can almost forget vinyl. will try a fuse for my next upgrade. 

I bought some transparent plastic wallets just wide enough to fit the CD back artwork, the little booklet and the CD in, then threw away the jewel cases. Much reduced mass. Then popped them all in big cardboard boxes and stored them.

@drlou77  I’m in the same boat. I ripped all my cds and sacds of to my NAS and now I have them just sitting in my case. I recently got on Quobuz but still have bought new cds and downloaded new music. At this point Quobuz is so good I’m not sure why I’d do that anymore. What a conundrum. So, I’m just as interested in what to do with all my cds and sacs as well. I’m glad you brought this up! I guess we’re evolving.  

I went through this a couple of years ago.  Put them on Craigslist,  I had people wanting to see them. People would come to by my collection then they would low ball me or not show up then the worst of them would go through them a say could I buy x amount.  My opinion make someone happy give them away.

1. See if any local college radio stations want them. Donate and take a tax deduction. We have a couple who play jazz.

2. Ck local used CD & Lp shops . They buy.

3. Last resort sell on Craigs List, eBay etc.

Don't expect much money. Just shlepping them around is a big pain.

+1wsrrsw,

Donate over 2,3,4 years and take the max tax deduction each year. 

What genres? I'll take em if you want! I love CDs

I just went through this, gave them to my kids. They were very thankful.

Drlou77, what kind of music are you talking about? With all the music lovers on this site alone I’m sure you could drum up some interest. If you check Ebay you could probably find out what CD’s without jewel cases and artwork might be worth.

Someone would be happy to have them at that or any reasonable cost if they are the type of music they enjoy. I’m not that person, as I like my CD’s in their slipcases with the original art. But I’m pretty fussy and stupid about this, where many others who like to have physical media are not, and would probably love to own and listen to the music you’re wanting to move along. Especially if they love your favorite genres of music and may not be financially fortunate to afford being a fussbudget. In my twenties I’d have killed (not literally) to get hold of any of your collection.

Mike

Timely question. I have something like 4500 CDs that I ripped to FLAC. They are stored under the stairs in boxes and I have backups of the 1 TB or so of digital information so I should also consider donating them!

I am in the process of re-ripping my CD collection to FLAC. When I first ripped my collection in the early 00's it was for portability and file size management purposes which mean low quality MP3, M4A, AACs and my CD player had died so I transitioned to streaming. Never got rid of the CDs though. This past year I bought a new CD transport and DAC and started critically and purposely listening to my CDs again and had forgotten, truly, how good they sound.  I'm re-ripping to FLAC as a backup but also for convenience. I'm still buying select CDs by my favorite artists because that's the primary format I have that artist in and some of them never had vinyl releases. 

As a result of re-ripping, I'm culling the herd and will donate what I don't want to a local library/school/charity and keep only the most important CDs to me - special editions, box sets, rarities, & sentimental value. I have the urge to purge some of the detritus of my collective life but also want to pass on these interests to my children. So that's the only reason I still cling to some of these things. Much to my wife's consternation. 

@wspohn keep me in mind!

I agree with some others here.
What is the need to switch from one digital format to another? I don’t get it.

- Are you moving into a much small home?
- You want the convenience of switching content with a remote, without getting out of your chair?

I would stay the course.
Full disclosure: I’ve got 6,000 LPs, I’ll be purging about 600, but remain committed to the format.
ML

I also have 4,000 plus LPs after purging all the ones I wasn't going to listen to again (opera, comedy etc.)  And three turntables to spin them on.

To all, 

my motivation is primarily one of convenience for redbook CDs that are readily available on Tidal or Qobuz.  If I want to listen to Sacds, Dvd audio, Mfsl, and DCC gold disks, I will use my Modwright Oppo 105.

If you're in the SF Bay Area, you could contact the San Francisco Audiophile Foundation.  I don't know if they're actively soliciting donations, but they are a 501c3 organization, so it would be deductible.  I haven't been to a meeting in a while, but they always had boxes of donated CDs & LPs for sale.  I don't recall any w/o the original packaging, though.  They may also accept equipment.

At least you'd know that the first people to get a crack at them would be card-carrying audiophiles!

Also, with respect to the public library, I think they need special licensing from the publishers, and can't use items that were privately purchased.  However, there may be an affiliated "friends of the library"  group that can accept donations and holds periodic sales locally.

Since you are just starting to rip your collection, you should listen to the same files in FLAC and WAV downloads. Completely to my surprise, I could hear a difference. It might be the DAC I'm using (Bel Canto 2.8) or my imagination, but I preferred the WAV copy. I only have about 300 CD's but storage is so cheap these days WAV was the way to go for me.

Jim S.

I started buying those Sony Mega storage units. Mostly the 200 and 300 disc ones.

I use the optical output into a quality DAC via splitters. It is fun to have people over to my house when they discover these "juke box" players. They are amazed.

The primary reason I enjoy these machines is each disc is readily available. No digging thru piles of jewel cases and the resultant mess.

I almost made the mistake years ago of ditching the discs like so many other people did when this "amazing" mp3 format came out. So glad I didn't.  Now, like 35 years and 3,000 discs later, I realize they are a real piece of my personal history. Oddly, I can actually remember the time I bought each disc! A lot of the music is truly awful but it was a "thing" at that moment in time.

I stream via Qobuz and love it but from time to time, I still buy a CD. Often times to support a new or unrecognized artist. I toss the jewel cases once the disc has been entered into one of my machines, never to be touched again. 

Personally, I do not see the reason to rip my CDs. Qobuz and all the other services have done it for me. What a lot of unnecessary work. 

All formats can coexist in one house. 

Decluttr.com

I sold mine there when I switched to streaming. Bits are bits. There's no reason to keep them.

drlou77

Let me know if/when you start to Sell off your CD collections.

Happy Listening!