I'll probably give it to my nephew. He has taste in music and a good house to put it into. I'll leave an amount of cash equal to the value of the stuff to my niece. If my neph wants to give it to someone else, that'll be nice, too.
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I laughed when I read your heading but it does have merit. My kids do not enjoy music the way I do and my equipment would not fit into their houses. When I sold my last house the people demanded my two-channel system as part of the deal. At first, I was pissed and said no. After thinking about it I changed my mind. It helped me close the deal and I got to pick out a whole new system which was fun. So, in my case, I would assume my kids will sell my house with the equipment in it.
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It's bad enough worrying about my material possessions while I'm alive. After that, someone else can worry about it.
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Perhaps a worthy local Audio group?
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Find a friend or relative who would be willing to sell your system, either at retail or at wholesale to someplace like The Music Room or a local hi-end dealer. Add a codicil to your will, give the friend a commission on the sale, and the balance of cash goes into your estate. At the end of the day, it's just "stuff," just like your furniture and clothing. Your family will want to get everything sold or given away as quickly as possible and move on.
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It will be sold off and the proceeds will become part of the estate.
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I want my system to go to a garage in Buffalo with my soul. For those of you that remember George Carlin.
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Let's get morbid its fun!!
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To someone who appreciates it.
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Ask you family to bury you in the backyard with your system.
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My audio guy has instructions to sell it and give the funds to my partner. it is of high enough worth to of material value.
I have a best friend who is into high end audio… but never completes anything… so if he got it, it would sit in boxes while he tried to,get around to setting it up… in the mean time he would die.
No one else that I know would appreciate it.
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One last thing to worry about indeed.
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Reality-most people could care less-just a bunch of boxes taking up space.
Off to the dumpster.
Cash or real estate, then everyone lines up with their hands out.
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My wife asked me this very question.
I told her to surprise me.
DeKay
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I'm with carlsbad - I'd have it buried with me, so I could have a good listen on the other side of the River Styx (but no Styx records are coming along)....🤣
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This is something many do not consider, as most family's have no idea what the equipment is worth or where to sell it.
I'm going through this now helping a friends wife sell off his equipment, records, and odds and ends after his sudden passing. its a big pain in the you know what, fortunately my friend was at the OCD level for keeping box's paperwork etc. that helps immensely. Also communication to your family before you die is very important specially if there are specifics to an item like a custom made item.
Do some work to organize things while your alive to help your family move on and not lose their shirts selling your gear, music collections and all the small stuff like wires, set up items, etc, etc. The small items are the things that end up in the trash as they are hard to sell, so have a plan.
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I had once hoped to pass my equipment to my sons, but they have neither interest nor room for it.
If I had the time, I would designate each piece to be disposed through an appropriate channel -- some on Audiogon, some on eBay, some on Craigslist, some to Buy Nothing, some to Goodwill, and some to friends and/or relatives. Some things would be disposed of together, like my Pass Aleph electronics.
As messy as it sounds.
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After I went partially deaf, I broke down my big system and give some of my prime gear to my nephew. He's into it and will know what to do with my remaining stuff. But I'm tempted to give more of my gear away to others if the opportunity arises.
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My oldest son has already inquired about it. He said he has vivid memories as a little guy of me building speakers, listening to music, and tinkering with the system. He’s shown ample interest, has started to put together a decent system of his own, and all of the other kids have all the system they want, plus have other "significant" items from me, so I’m on board with it.
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This is something I've thought about since building enormous DIY corner horns. A lot of resources got poured in to them and they make me happy for now. When I go I hope they don't go to landfill. They don't have the benefit of a famous maker's name, never been reviewed, require an active network and 6 channels of amplification to run, are complex to disassemble for transport and complex to reassemble, and they're huge. I think at some point before I'm too old I'll need to seek out a younger person who would be happy to have them and initiate a transition of ownership. Or at least make sure they know how to set the speakers up and then put them in my will.
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For me it's more about what happens to my music than the gear. I have carefully built a collection over several decades that is a reflection of who I am and what moves and inspires me so I really don't want to see that broken up and scattered to the winds. I am hoping my son will be at a point in his life where he can happily accept the whole lot and get some deeper insights into me via the artists I love as he works his way through my LPs. It would be great if he were into the gear as well and recreated my system in his space but I'd be just as happy if he sold it all and took a nice vacation.
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My oldest son (52 now) will no doubt want my Tannoys, but he's more into HT than music listening. His brother, a part time musician, may want some pieces of it. I hope someone will be able to enjoy it on some level.
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Moving to NV where I don’t know anyone and having friends that are as old or older than I am I had to think about this for everything recently.
My audio gear, records and CDs go to my local audio repair shop. He appreciates and repairs the old hardware.
My guns go to my favorite gun store.
My jewelry and precious metals go to a friend.
My hobby collection goes to a computer museum.
Everything else gets sold for cash and joins the bulk of my estate. Which is then distributed to museums and animal rescue organizations.
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There's a few 'items' I own that I have let me brother who is my executor know are to be treated differently - specifically they are his to do what he pleases with. The items are my watches, cars and audio equipment.
The remaining items - my real estate, furnishings, etc. to sell.
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Going to pre-dig a really big hole and take all my cars and sound equipment with me. Bought them, built them, listened to them, taking them ! Lol
Cheers
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Almost everything we own was put into a trust, so when we’re gone, everyone can fight it out. Unfortunately, there is nobody in my family or hers that have any interest hifi audio. I doubt it will go into a dumpster, but there will probably be no one who will get as much enjoyment out of it as I do.
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I would say probably to one of my kids. They are all music fans, though they are busy and probably don't listen too much, but maybe in the future!
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I feel extremely blessed that all the people in my life important enough to care about, would love to get any piece of my stereo. It was important to me. It will be important to them. The equipment is just the more tangible part of our experiences with music at a level few in my circle can afford. It really is about the music.
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Unfortunately my kids would not be good custodians of my gear, I don't think either one of them could even figure out how to fire it up and get sound.
My future son in law has the best chance of getting it when I take a dirt nap..... He is the only one drooling over my Toolshed 300b...... A few months ago I gave him my Grado RS2e so he could have a taste of good sound and he loves them so ......
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Truth to the question is and as a financial advisor it is the same response I give to clients. When we talk about collecting social security benefits the question is to start right away or delay. Some times it make sense to delay but they all come back and say “I have paid in my whole life and I want to get all my money back before I die”. My answer to them and my answer to this question is “ you are dead so that will make you the first person to not know”!
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We have two nephews that are into vinyl. One is our executor so I will let him decide what to do with everything.
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I have a similar concern. Though My setup isn't as costly as many of the folks here, it is still a pricy bit of kit, for those of the middle-class group of people. I tried to show my little brother how it was set up and even labeled the cords as to how things should be set up, he is totally clueless. I mean I got him a pair of Warfdales for Christmas last year and he still thinks on his 1980s-era $100 stereo, the Bose 901s he bought years ago sound better than the Warfdales I got him. I totally believe it will end up at Goodwill or in the dumpster. As far as my Music collection goes, It will probably be a total loss. The common masses don';t want to hear quality music or sounds.
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I am surprised no one has said they want to be buried with their headphones on.
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I woke up this morning feeling pretty good about life. Read the thread. Now I'm depressed. I've tried various combinations of mood lighting, surfed the streaming services for various mood enhancing genres, but nothing seems to help. Thought of getting ladder, climbing on top of one of my 6'-4" speakers and jumping off, but the ceilings are too low for me to fit. Binge-watching the Hallmark channel brings me back up for a bit. But, the thought of how much money $10K worth of audiophile cables will fetch at an estate sale puts me back in the dumpster.
Think I do a burn out in one of my hot rods. That usually helps. And, when I'm gone I'm pretty sure it will go someone who appreciates it.
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I care to the point of not wanting to trouble my wife with anything that she would consider a bother or headache or yes, some pile of crap to deal with. Fortunately, she doesn't like to be bothered with very much, so my guess is that 1-800-Got Junk or something similar would be the beneficiary. Is what it is.
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Too funny... just yesterday I bought three albums, in a record store I rarely visit, as it is 50 miles from my house (but I had the time/opportunity while my wife was doing wifey things). On our drive home, my wife asks "when the Time comes, what am I going to do with all this junk you keep bringing in...and your stereo?'
I told her I have a loose pact with some friends in our Vinyl Club. There are three of us who have mid to large size collections AND decent audio systems (many vinyl collectors have "barely adequate" playback systems). We have discussed dispersal arrangements several times... maybe time to put them in writing? Kinda like a secondary will? Hmmmm...
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Yes, a loyal dog is always a good choice.....my cat is a bit too much into "techno" for my taste.
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Whatever your plan is make sure your family knows real market value of your system. Just in case put good visible price stickers on the back of your components :)
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I am at the stage where I don't sell my extra stuff since all will go to my son.
An engineer and former "rock star", he is 2,000 mikes away in Nashville.
May start sending him stuff that I no longer listen to. It will be a task to get the big speakers to him.
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I have the same problem as a lot of you. I don’t know that anyone will care. My sons like music but likely think a good Bluetooth speaker connected to Spotify on their phone is as good as it gets. I know that my sons and a nephew are going to heave on the 67 lbs. amp and say, “Screw this!” I just hope they sell the stuff for something reasonable and not just give it away. I feel of bit of comfort in knowing that there will be less loss from my $10,000 system than if I had $30,000 - $50,000 - $100,000 in it!
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The other day I happened to notice how much several of my larger Grateful Dead boxed sets were selling for online. I made a quick listing of those and all of the other now much pricier boxed sets, from King Crimson to classical and connected her with a close friend that sells a lot on Ebay, so he's up to speed on bids vs buy it now, shipping, making sure the buyers aren't scammers etc.
She would never listen to these boxed sets but enjoys my system enough that she would use it until she passed on, at which time, it gets sold off with proceeds going to the grandchildren and charity.
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My 6'-4" hand-built speakers are a bit daunting for the average living room.
On the bright side, when I'm gone they'll provide someone with very impressive outdoor speakers. For one season.
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Spouse likes 'something simple', so I'm already prepping to fulfill that wish. She like the Maggies, so that's simple enough to follow through with.
Since I've asked to be toasted or dissolved and tossed into the local river (The French Broad, my 'last chance to be in a woman in some fashion'...), burning equipment literally doesn't make a lot of sense, I'll will it to the local Habitat and let the local 'philes fight over it in the auctions they run monthly.
Our local Habitat is the 3rd largest in terms of sales and participation, so it ought to give them a boost in their donations. Any good 'fi' stuff disappears quickly... ;)
No children or grands, so my nephew and niece would be the only direct ones to pester with it. And I doubt they'd have much interest in stuff that would have to travel across the continent.
I doubt any of y'all would be interested, except for some the 2 pair of large Heil amts' or my diy omnis. The latter are already promised, so the Heils' would be the main interest items...
So place your bets, and be patient...I'm in no particular rush.... ;)
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I’m experiencing the same issue. I’ve been in and out of the audio business all my life. From having a small high-end audio store in S.CA back in the late 80’s to working for high-end audio manufacturer’s. Most of my excessively custom over built audio equipment is heavy with large external power supplies, etc. Much of it isn’t that pretty but sounds amazing. I've always been the technician with a champagne taste on a beer budget. I love music and I love modding equipment to get the best possible sound quality from it.
The problem is no one in my family cares about listening to a good system even though they’re amazed at the actual “experience” of listening to my system. I can literally sit and listen for hours in that half-asleep dream state of listening.
My wife asked me one day what she should do with the system if something ever happened to me. All I could think of is my old electronics buddy (whose my age and across the country) that could help her sell my stuff. But then I may out live him so where does it go? The only reason I’d really care, even though I would love for a real music lover to have it, is that the burden of getting rid of a few hundred pounds of equipment wouldn’t be easy! Most young people just don’t seem to care about really experiencing music. About hearing the real beauty in it. It’s sad!
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Mine will go to my youngest Son
He was the victim of numerous A/B double blind tests over the years and has an appreciation for the SQ, though not sure he has the ambition to keep it evolving and healthy
I know he has the attention to detail, but his true passion is on the other end
He writes and records his own music, has made a little money and donates part of the proceeds to charity
For all of his home studio equipment he has maintained all the original packaging and user guides, not sure where he got that OCD habit - haha
The apple didn't fall too far from the tree and he and I still enjoy several extended listening sessions every year, mostly around holidays and bdays
Here's a link to his work over the pandemic
For Christmas he got me the one and only version of it on vinyl
One night I saw his album on a stack, sandwiched between Gregg Allman and the Stones, sort of a proud dad moment
My apologies on the diversion....
Lastly what did I get him for Christmas, tickets to the RHCP in Sep - a double date with me, Mom and his girlfriend
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I was the executor for my mom's estate and when I get to be too old to climb the 15 steps to enjoy my audio system I suspect I'll need to find someone (with a strong back) who appreciates and can accommodate it. The work of an executor is pretty involved, so I'd want to minimize the stress of doing that...for probably my wife.
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