View Full Version : Value of music collection, against your system
good vibes
09-03-2012, 17:36
Am I to assume most members might have invested as much, if not more money on their actual Hi Fi system, than they have on their vinyl/cd collection!
Just wondered what the average members ratio is for music versus machinery they play it on...:scratch:
It's very hard to calculate, Mark, because of the lowering of CD prices over the years and unavailability of much of my vinyl. Many years ago I did the exercise and it was about the same value collection as system. Now my system value has gone up and so has my collection size, but a lot of it is truly irreplaceable.
For insurance purposes I have them valued 66% system and 33% collection. Taking the two together, they represent 75% of everything I have insured. The insurance company were not very happy about that, but I convinced them.
I'd need to do the sums, but I'm pretty sure that my music collection has still cost me rather more than my system, considering that most of my gear is vintage/second-hand (although heavily modded), and that the majority of my (approx) 3500 CDs and vinyl albums were bought brand new - and mostly not from discount retailers!
I also have a few highly collectable and rare vinyl albums worth a fair bit of dosh.
Marco.
Erm, leme think. :scratch:
(now how did that nice man from Hart Audio work that out?)
Oh arr, sqeakers, yep a couple of grands worth of bits, a few years of development. Oooops, forgot the X4 multiplier. Best add another 1000% coz they're unique.
Ohhh millions. :eek::D
Maybe I cant price my kit.
Music Server. Been messin about with that for months, got to be another lots of thousands. :D
Tunes, yep lotsa tunes. A couple of thousand plus CDs. Then there are my tapes from back in the day when we put bands on. Lets ignore the fact that time has made some of them virtually unplayable and we wuz well out of it when we recorded them.
Nope cant price that either and of course the assumption is everyone has paid for their music :eyebrows:
Nope, gonna have to pass on this one. :)
I did this not too long ago - for insurance purposes - my music is insured for about £20k and the system for about £9k - not that it cost me that but insurance has to be "new for old" so for instance my Spendor SP1s equivalent replacement today is the SP1/2R which are £4k new.
good vibes
09-03-2012, 20:29
So from the comments so far it seems to be about 50/50, or even 60% for the music collection and 40% for the hi fi in terms of value.
It will also depend a lot on how big peoples collections are to start with in the first place, and if mostly mainstream new purchases, as opposed to rare collectors items, such as 60s/70s first pressing/private press stuff for example.
Reid Malenfant
09-03-2012, 20:47
I'd need to sit down & do some serious thinking :eek: I do have some very rare CDs & then I also have some that are common as muck. On top of that my system is both audio & video, so I'd need to factor in DVDs & about 700+ blu rays :rolleyes:
I reckon without working it out that even though I have nigh on 2000 CDs that I may well have spent more on the music playback side of things than the CDs cost, but that's only because some of the music kit does multichannel as well.
If I ignore any music equipment that caters for the film side then I have spent more on the media :scratch:
It'd probably work out around the same or 50/50 at the end of the day :eyebrows:
Interesting thread that may well give me a headache if I actually decide to truly work things out a little closer to the mark :cool:
I suspect my current hi-fi is worth somewhat less than 10% of the value of my music collection :eek:
Ali Tait
09-03-2012, 22:00
Erm, leme think. :scratch:
(now how did that nice man from Hart Audio work that out?)
Oh arr, sqeakers, yep a couple of grands worth of bits, a few years of development. Oooops, forgot the X4 multiplier. Best add another 1000% coz they're unique.
Ohhh millions. :eek::D
Maybe I cant price my kit.
Music Server. Been messin about with that for months, got to be another lots of thousands. :D
Tunes, yep lotsa tunes. A couple of thousand plus CDs. Then there are my tapes from back in the day when we put bands on. Lets ignore the fact that time has made some of them virtually unplayable and we wuz well out of it when we recorded them.
Nope cant price that either and of course the assumption is everyone has paid for their music :eyebrows:
Nope, gonna have to pass on this one. :)
:lol:
I have no idea - and if I sat down and thought about what I've spent on the equipment alone, I would probably have a bit of a shock, even though most of my gear was bought second hand.
Likewise, I don't really know what my music collection is worth. Many LPs are irreplacable, some are worth over £100 apiece. However many of my CDs are now available from the likes of Amazon for somewhat less than I paid in record shops.
But I have a horrible feeling that I have spent more on the hardware than the software! :rolleyes:
[Rough estimate on spend: equipment > £10,000, music ~ £10,000]
The Grand Wazoo
09-03-2012, 23:49
How does this work - amount when it was spent, or current value?
I have albums that I bought when I was 15 for £2.99 that are now changing hands for well over a hundred quid.......and lots of 'em!
I couldn't possibly begin to work it out. God forbid that I might ever trust it to an bleedin' insurance assessor!
I once had a claim on a knackered Koetsu and the guy who came to assess it's value initially said (....and this is a direct quote) "Well it's Japanese, so it can't be worth much"
How does this work - amount when it was spent, or current value?
I have albums that I bought when I was 15 for £2.99 that are now changing hands for well over a hundred quid.......and lots of 'em!
I couldn't possibly begin to work it out. God forbid that I might ever trust it to an bleedin' insurance assessor!
I once had a claim on a knackered Koetsu and the guy who came to assess it's value initially said (....and this is a direct quote) "Well it's Japanese, so it can't be worth much"
Funnily enough I had something similar when i tried to insure my kit.
I had to do a price break down of the loudspeaker components.....the rep looked at them with his head on one side like a myopic sparrow and said "they dont look much thought do they" :lol:
I couldn't insure them in the end.
Thankfully, what with having a terrible taste in music and most of it being file data I just keep one a couple of drives at a mates.
Amps etc insured though.
good vibes
10-03-2012, 09:56
The reason I originally asked the question was when I picked up my MF 270 - II amp and MF MTV pre amp from a HI Fi dealer back in the early 2000s he had a £10,000 Chord amp and £8000 speakers, but only had about 25 - 30 records!!!
Found that a bit strange that he had so little music, as I'd spent 20 odd years up till then spending all my money on records, before I got to actually buy some proper hifi bits...
Do we just value the kit in use or all the other junk lying around unused? Does an RCM count? It is an essential if using vinyl.
If it is just the stuff in current use and the RCM my current 2 channel system was £2200 (unadjusted). - my cdp was £40 off e-bay :)
I have about 300 CD and 500 vinyl (rough estimate) so at say a conservative average £6 a recording (what I spent not current value) thats £4800 on music - more than 2 times...
The Black Adder
10-03-2012, 12:01
Mine once used to be more expensive but recently I've been shedding some due to space, now my system is much more expensive.
I saw The Beatles White Album on ebay for £10,000... No. 0000007 - I did think of selling the car!
My hardware is all listed on a spreadsheet with serial numbers, a copy kept in the cloud (Skydrive) and a copy with the insurers. Values are the original prices as on receipts but the policy is supposed to be new-for-old. Hmm, I don't trust insurers and hope I never have to make a claim.
As others have said, there's far too many 'imponderables' to make an accurate assessment. Last time I did the sums, taking £5 a CD/LP as a guide, ignoring rarities or freebies, and doing a 'new for old' guesstimate for hifi, value of music was about twice that of hifi. But I've bought more 'stuff' since then.
stupinder
10-03-2012, 21:56
My hif is worth a few grand i suppose but to replace my tunes would cost thousands and thousands. I sold 2 or 3000 vinyl records 15 or so years ago and still regret it to this day!! I have no chance of replacing some of the stuff.
I sold 2 or 3000 vinyl records 15 or so years ago and still regret it to this day!!
My partner dumped her collection and she is seriously regretting it now that she can hear how my turntable performs.
Rare Bird
10-03-2012, 22:31
My prog Vinyl collection would now have had an estimated value of £125.000 if i still had it
jandl100
11-03-2012, 07:36
Mine's kind of hard to judge ... but allowing £5 per CD and £2 per LP it's about equal expenditure - so 50/50 for me.
sq225917
11-03-2012, 09:11
i'd say it was about 50:50 about 15k each.
Ammonite Audio
11-03-2012, 09:26
I've just completed ripping my CD collection to the PC, but since much of the artwork didn't pop up automatically, I went to Amazon for the images. Much to my surprise, I find that I have quite a few relatively valuable CDs (mostly not, of course), so I do recommend anyone to go online and find out what their music collection is worth.
That said, and to answer the original question, I reckon about 50:50.
Artifolk
11-03-2012, 09:26
I'd say mine is approx 60/40, in favour of the music.
Erm, leme think. :scratch:
(now how did that nice man from Hart Audio work that out?)
Oh arr, sqeakers, yep a couple of grands worth of bits, a few years of development. Oooops, forgot the X4 multiplier. Best add another 1000% coz they're unique.
Ohhh millions. :eek::D
Arf arf arf :lol:
Hmmm what is value? I've a lot of hifi, some of which would be worth a lot if working. I've an alright amount of music but how do you price it?
I've not actually that much music in a sense - when I look at my records, a lot is rubbish that I picked up at charity shops and probably still rubbish. CDs are now probably only worth £2 each on average if that ... Sold as a job lot I doubt you'd get even 50p a CD these days.
With all the hifi I have not being used and with enthusiasm for classic gear often rising and calculating actual value of my music on a secondhand market, I'd say it was more 90/10. That's probably being generous to the music..
Insurance value is completely different because you have to factor in finding things or price to buy from dealers to get it more instantly. With music that means for CDs you probably have to multiply by 10 or 15 times, records that you bought for £1 you might have to multiply by 15 to 30 for instant replacement.. Hifi, you might have to multiply by just 4 to buy from a dealer.
I reckon Bob Harris would say his music collection is worth more :eyebrows:
I know this isn't all of them either, as I have seen a picture of what I believe is his lounge and there are piles more there, with a Quad 405 nestled amongst them.
http://www.bluedive.co.uk/images/harris.jpg
Is that a Quad pre-power on the cabinet?
I'm a massive fan of whispering Bob, the last of the great elder statesmen of DJ's IMO.
Wow, awesome pic, Tim! :respect:
Pity it doesn't show what T/T he uses.... I bet he's sitting right in front it, too!
Marco.
Wow, awesome pic, Tim! :respect:
Pity it doesn't show what T/T he uses.... I bet he's sitting right in front it, too!
Marco.
I think his T/T is in the house Marco, I will see if I can find that picture? If I remember rightly that's where he keeps his LP collection, the picture here is in his office which is a Portakabin in the garden. He once had is record collection seized in 1992 by bailiffs when he got into financial trouble after losing his job at Radio 1. They arrived at his door early one morning and took the only things of value, his records. It took him 18 months and 5 court appearances to get them back.
Back on track, my album collection comprises LP's, CD's and digital downloads and is worth 3/4 times the cost of my system, or thereabouts :scratch:
I think his T/T is in the house Marco, I will see if I can find that picture?
Yes, please do! :)
Marco.
realysm42
13-03-2012, 22:12
I think it's very difficult to value some items, especially with "opportunists" on the market. I've braced myself to spend up to £150 for a cd and then found it for £20 elsewhere.
Things are worth what people will pay for them.
The Grand Wazoo
13-03-2012, 22:16
It may be worth more, but I wonder how much he spent on his music?
Agreed - are we talking about amount spent or amount worth?
Like many, my house is easily worth 10 - 15x what I bought it for, which is why I estimated I had spent over £10,000 on the equipment, most of which is 'vintage' and 'sought after', so is now worth a lot more than what I spent.
The same applies for the LPs but not for the CDs, so what my music collection that cost me about £10,000 to amass is actually worth I don't know.
And to be perfectly honest, I don't really care!
Regards
The Grand Wazoo
13-03-2012, 22:29
I was rather mischievously alluding to the fact that some DJ's (& I'd imagine one so prominent would be well catered for) get showered with promo discs every day of their working lives!
Yup, but I guess if he didn't love music, he'd just have binned them! ;)
Like John Peel was, Bob's clearly a massive music fan, whether he's actually bought most of his collection or not :)
Marco.
The Grand Wazoo
13-03-2012, 22:43
No malice intended, I'm just jealous!
Indeed - likewise :)
Marco.
And to be perfectly honest, I don't really care!
Regards
Amen to that Barry, it's all rather a moot point TBH. The only true value is what it's worth to me and a lot of my music collection is irreplaceable, as I suspect a lot of the vintage equipment owned by members is too - so how do you value that?
Is that a Quad pre-power on the cabinet?
You've got classic-gear disease, seeing classic gear all over the place.
Looks to me just like any old typical Japanese minidisc or something with a pressed steel case. Both do (although the knob on the top one might suggest it's something broadcast related cos I can't think what it might be).
Nice desk though - looks like an Alice Soundtech desk, typical good broadcast desk.
I've an Alice 828: Specially designed Sowter mic transformers, minimal feedback class-A channel amplifiers and passive mixing.. Apparently they used an 828 on the final mix for James Bond, Thunderball despite having a 3-operator Neve desk in the same room.. cos they liked the sound. Cost me £9.99 (but needed some work).
And to be perfectly honest, I don't really care!
Regards
If only you'd said that as post #2 - forums would take a different form.
If only you'd said that as post #2 - forums would take a different form.
?
Well.... the OP was interested in the comparison between the value of people's kit v their music collection.
It was the OP who cared.. that's how threads start and those who also care about the OP join in.
I wasn't having a go, I promise.
I just found it amusing that a post in a thread ended on "you know what, I don't even care about the OP's question.."
I just found it amusing that a post in a thread ended on "you know what, I don't even care about the OP's question.."
Where did Barry say that? I think you are taking it too literally and have not understand the point Barry was making ...... you have misquoted anyway :scratch:
If people didn't care, they wouldn't bother to post.......
I refer the honourable member to the OP:
Am I to assume most members might have invested as much, if not more money on their actual Hi Fi system, than they have on their vinyl/cd collection!
Just wondered what the average members ratio is for music versus machinery they play it on...
Nowhere does it refer to worth, only to investment and this was answered in my post (#10). Even then the investement, or expenditure, on both my system and vinyl/cd collection had to be estimated.
The difference between present day value, or worth, and expenditure was raised later, and it was to the consideration of the worth of both my system and the 'software' that I claimed "I didn't really care what my collection was worth".
Of course I have put a figure on it for insurance purposes, but apart from that I genuinely don't really care. If I have any care at all it might be that I have probably spent more on the equipment than the on the music, the 'ratio' of the OP; but then I have enough equipment to support three systems as well as acting as back up.
Now if you feel I have brought the thread to a premature end, perhaps we can continue it by discussing the semantical difference between 'value' and 'worth'?
I'm never quite sure what exactly people mean when they say some of their music is irreplaceable.
I used to think some of my "music" was irreplaceable but bugger me if I haven't managed to replace pretty much all of it.
You just cant keep those digitisers down. ;)
What may be irreplaceable is the medium; not quite the same thing.
Certainly there are some vinyl that can command a rather silly price for those who collect but that isn't really about the music is it (?)
I'm never quite sure what exactly people mean when they say some of their music is irreplaceable.
There's a subtle difference between these two quotes John
Posted by Tim
. . . a lot of my music collection is irreplaceable
If I can explain, yep I agree 'music' can be replaced if it's still in print or often as not out of print too, if you know where to look and have enough cash to buy it. The difference lies in the physical collection and how, where and by whom you collected it . . . this is what makes it irreplaceable. But I think we are quite different on that front John as is often illustrated. To me an LP or CD obtained in certain circumstances from my past is not the same as one I could buy tomorrow from Amazon if it needed to be replaced ;)
But as ever, this thread is getting far too deep for me so I'm out of this one.
:cool:
A lot of the original media is virtually unobtainable due to limited production runs. Where could I obtain another copy of my Crystal Clear Virgil Fox direct cut records vols 1 & 2? Or my James Newton Howard Sheffield Lab direct cut? Yes, I know there are CDs of the tape recording made at the sessions, but they are very inferior.
I can't put that sort of thing on my insurance and the insurers will only apply a bulk value per disc anyway.
jandl100
14-03-2012, 09:13
... Certainly there are some vinyl that can command a rather silly price for those who collect but that isn't really about the music is it (?)
Well, yes, I think it can be about the music.
I (reluctantly!) have to admit that some of the albums I have on both CD and LP sound significantly superior (i.e. more musically enjoyable) on the bloody vinyl copy. :rolleyes:
jandl100
14-03-2012, 09:18
I'd also venture the opinion that it doesn't actually matter what split you have between money spent on equipment and music software.
If it's the music that matters, then even if you only have a single recording that you care about, if you want it played back with state of the art quality you would be justified in spending the appropriate numbers of £100k! (Or at least, equally as justified as someone with a Bob Harris-sized collection).
A lot of the original media is virtually unobtainable due to limited production runs. Where could I obtain another copy of my Crystal Clear Virgil Fox direct cut records vols 1 & 2? Or my James Newton Howard Sheffield Lab direct cut?
Never mind that, what about my Val Doonican records!
Marco.
jandl100
14-03-2012, 09:20
What about them?
Well, they're very special to me. I cuddle them at night in bed and stuff.
Marco.
jandl100
14-03-2012, 09:23
Fair enough - the hole in the middle's the right size for you, I guess. :eyebrows:
Sadly, it slips right through sometimes... :(
Marco.
jandl100
14-03-2012, 09:54
Did anyone follow this eBay auction?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380417095875?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
5 of these LPs to make the same value as my hifi! :eek:
PaulStewart
14-03-2012, 22:57
Thanks for this thread, it makes you realise how much you have invested. On the basis that much of my vinyl is original first pressing and collectable at an average of £10 per record plus the CDs, SACD etc I make that around £35,000 then there are the master tapes and very rare demo cassettes and first recordings by bands that went on to fame. I must find out how much things like an original record company pre release sample of the uncensored version of Pete Townsend's Psycho derelict is worth or a demo by the Clash?
As for kit I've horse traded it and bought second hand etc. But thing like the Monitor Golds are collectors items too, if I had to replace it it would probably be abot the same. Then there is my Video/Audio Sweetening suite, luckily that's covered by my business insurance. I have an agreed value policy with my insurance company, with new for old cover, but they insisted on all the records being listed an valued and that was a long job even with the software from Collectorz.com that I used.
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