I'm a collector.
So much stuff that I can't remember what I have but it is all tidy. It is either displayed on racking or stored away in boxes or cupboards, because I can't stand clutter.
Location: Near Saffron Walden, Essex
Posts: 7,090
I'm Dave.
I'm a collector.
So much stuff that I can't remember what I have but it is all tidy. It is either displayed on racking or stored away in boxes or cupboards, because I can't stand clutter.
Btw, Martin, in terms of this:
If it is, too bad and tell them to fuck off! Don't allow yourself to be judged that way.
It's YOUR house, so when they come to visit, they should be there to see YOU, not criticize your lifestyle or impose their standards upon you. I'm a firm believer in the saying 'You take me as you find me' (or our house as you find it) - and anyone who doesn't sign up to that philosophy knows where they can go...!!
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!
Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!
On a serious note, I would say a bad sign is when you feel you need to defend yourself against accusations of hoarding. It is not just about having a lot of stuff. Serious hoarding is not merely an issue of tidiness, but an issue of safety and good mental health. I have known people with this serious mental issue and it has destroyed their families!
Geoff
Last year the company I do work for were given the task of clearing a house and making it saleable. The old lady living there had died, and with no living relatives, I was told the house becomes the property of the Crown. Is this correct? Doesn't matter, because no-one is going to part me from my "find of the year".
The lady was a serious hoarder, with every room filled halfway to the ceiling, and a path through each room, that made you feel like you were walking through a canyon.
Amongst all the stuff that the house clearance blokes had earmarked for the next skip, was a 70's record case. Inside it, along with a lot of Max Bygraves and Des O'Connor, were virtually mint copies of "Please Please Me", "With The Beatles", Beatles For Sale", "Hard Day's Night" and "Help". All Early pressings. Black shiny vinyl, and virtually silent (apart from the music).
A few record begs as well, from Hardman's and Brady's (probably won't mean anything to anyone outside Preston).
Nobody wanted them ("Who bothers with records any more?")
If this makes me sound smug, that's because I am! But I also feel a bit sad for the old lady, who lived out her years with no family and just a houseful of tat for company.
Its very sad when a mental illness develops but my point is I dont like being judged as if I have some sort of problem when clearly I am far from the sort of extremes that they see on television.
There are levels of healthy collecting and dabbling long before it becomes a substitute for human company or other activities. I dont fill houses full of newspapers or have corridor walkways through piles of junk. Sure a couple of my rooms look busy but I enjoy the stuff I have in there. They are just busy in the way a Stereophile reviewers room might be
I went to one guys place and all he had was a telly and an old games console with one game. By those standards we are all hoarders. I dont go to his place and ask him why he seems to have damn all.
Its seems more odd to me why someone doesnt have a healthy smattering of music and film about the place.
I gets me when people have no books in their homes. I've seen this.
My spare room is a disgrace to humanity. But I find closing the door and pretending it doesn't exist helps.
Technics SP10 mk2
Jan Allaerts MC 1 Boron mk1 cart
Miyajima Shilabe cart
Hashimoto HM-X SUT
Siggwan (gimballed not unipivot) Cocobola 12"
Aurorasound Vida LCR Phonostage
The Truth linestage
Dave Slagle Autoformer Volume Controller
Cary 805c SET amps
Audio Note ANe-SPX speakers
Townshend Isolda speaker cables
Cardas Golden Presence interconnects
If we had a 'How bad is your spare room?' photo competition, I reckon I'd win gold. I'd have to clear stuff away just to get in there to take the photo.
Every year I say I will have a spring clean but it never happens. Last time was 2004. I've got boxes of equipment in there that I've never even opened since they arrived. And a couple of tea-chests still waiting to be unpacked from when I moved in here. That was 20 years ago at the end of this month. But hey, I'll get round to it all at some point. Just not today.
Current Lash Up:
TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.
Every room I have looks like a spare room at the moment.