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If you had to choose b/w them, which would you keep, your hi-fi or your music collection? And, why. (Please no comments like "What good's a music collection without a hi-fi?", or vice-versa. You can sort out what's missing later...)
Best,
Barry
:mental:
Music every time - been there and done it many times...
Have to keep the music
Without even having to bat an eyelid, it would be my music collection.
Most of my kit could be replaced (even some of the highly bespoke stuff I own), but much of my precious music collection couldn't! :)
You may find that folks with file-based systems have a slightly different take on this ;)
Marco.
Thats like saying your b***s or your c**k. Sorry to be rude lolololol:lol:
Dom
If you've only got little ones, Dom (so Natalie says), I guess it matters less! :D
;)
Marco.
It's a bit of a silly question but if I had to start again I'd keep my music. You can always rebuild a system, but a system without music is a bit like a car without fuel.
That's kind of a redundant question isn't it - music of course, it's the only reason I have a Hi-Fi, or am I missing something :scratch:
Considering it's cost me so much money & Grief to get the equipment i have to mint condition. dump the music for me...
I'd dump the music.
I have nevered told you anything about that, you little rudey lol:lol:, but your right about one thing if you have got special edition vinyl that you just cannot buy anymore, it would be pretty difficult to choose between vinyl and your hifi. Dom keeps all his vinyl in sealed containers in the garage, so that tells me some of his unreplaceable vinyl is just that unreplaceable. Although, I think he would be very upset if he had to give up any of his turntables.
Natalie;)
I'd dump them both - they are just "things'" after all.
Andrew
For me, my favourite music is much more than just simply a 'thing'... It's a big part of what makes me who I am.
Marco.
Once the last of my vinyl is transcribed to digital, I would be happy to ditch my entire LP and CD collection, forever chased into purgatory by suits claiming breaching breach of copyright due to no longer having the originals.... I can always update the audio to a post-war less non-revealing system later...
I have no paranoia with computers nor sentimental attachments to the medium, only the music, so can this way have my cake and eat it, so to speak.....
Absotively & posolutely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
The gear is just the key that opens the door. What's on the other side of the door is magical.
Hi Bob,
What about the tactility of the physical media itself?Quote:
I have no paranoia with computers nor sentimental attachments to the medium...
Music aside, for me one of the attractions of vinyl is handling the (often) beautiful gatefold sleeves, enjoying the artwork and reading interesting information pertinent to the music and artist(s) one is listening to.
I love lying back on the sofa, sipping a nice glass of wine, doing just that, whilst listening to my favourite records. Not having access to the physical media in that way would, for me, greatly devalue the whole music listening experience.
Marco.
in my view the older you get, the harder it is to replace a particular LP CD or tape, especially if it was never main stream to begin with, where as you can always get a new stereo ;)
Think that sums it up:cool:
definitely the vinyl - the stuff I bought in the 70s & 80s has such strong memories. I have mental pictures of the records lying all over the floor in my uni-digs, or of heading off to the old Sound Org (Cathedral St) with a sainsburys bag containing FGTH Pleasuredome etc.
I don't really have anything like the same attachment to the CDs.
Phil
Another vote for the music. It's like a diary, particularly the records that I bought in the 70s and 80s. I can remember where I bought them, the bus journeys or long walks to get to the shops, the weekends away in other towns when I found them, the friends I was with, the weather, the hopes and fears of the time, everything really...
I even have some of the bags (farewell Adrians and Selectadisc) and the price stickers are on some of the sleeves. £2.99 for Queen II in Woollies, was it all a dream ?
Pete
I've been there mate when the ex dumped all my LP's and stereo, now i've got hi fi gear all over the house, but the LP's that were skipped have been more difficult to get either because they aren't available, the second hand copy you buy is so worn to a point of being unplayable or ridiculously expensive.Quote:
Originally Posted by F307
Trust me you can ALWAYS get a new hi fi;)
That sums it up Marco ;) and is probably why they have never been able to kill vinyl off, it's not just the music, it's the whole experienceQuote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Each to their own Marco. The physical link is there should I wish to retrieve it from archive boxes. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
I am listening to the music, which is of greater consequence and emotional bond than the object to my senses. :D
I have a world of information to call on beyong the sleeve notes as and when required, and the ability to browse my catalogue at will, glass of Rioja in hand. :eyebrows:
Hmm :hmm: ... I find this is actually quite a tricky one for me.
Yes, sure, the whole point is the music, but ....
Umm, I think I'd keep the audio kit and start again with a music collection. A conclusion which surprises me.
.... whilst it is true that my music collection represents a potted history of what it is to be me, by the same token a lot of it is history and doesn't get played much any more cos my tastes (for better and/or worse) have moved on.
Yep ... I'm head over heels in love with the capabilities of my current audio system, and would very much enjoy rebuilding a music collection although I would definitely wish to re-obtain quite a few discs.
An unexpected result to a thought experiment!
Can't believe this thread has reached three pages, when the answer is obvious:
IT'S THE MUSIC THAT MATTERS!
The equipment is just a means to an end.
Even though most of my equipment is 'vintage', all of it is still available from shops selling used gear or on eBay. Many of my LPs are not!
Apropos Jerry's thought provoking post, those items that I know I'll never play again, I give away. Some are nostalgic and get played every so often when I want to have a 'wallow'.
To be fair, the majority of us have been saying that, Barry :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
I'm 100% with you on this one Marco.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Even though it has taken me years to get where I am with my system it is just nuts, bolts and electronics and I would lose it in the blink of an eye to keep my music collection.
All the music I own links me to part of my life. It's far more than the case of something being a good tune. There are memories attached to much of my music and even to the buying experience. I own a CD by Billy Joel entitled Stormfront. This is one of his best albums in my opinion and I enjoy listening to it very much. However when I do listen to it I am reminded of the old boy who sold it to me in 1996. He ran a small secondhand emporium on Heacham High Street in Northwest Norfolk. I discovered his little shop shortly after moving into the village, and considering the fella was in his late 70's, his knowledge of music from days gone by up until the present day was immense. Fully a third of his small shop was reserved for music on all formats and none of it was tat and just about all of it was 'as new'.
I miss the old boy and his shop. On a recent visit back to the village I wasn't surprised to hear he had past away. That was upsetting enough but then I learned that he had been hounded out of the village shortly after I moved out to Kings Lynn by a group of snobby bastards who decided he and his shabby little shop lowered the tone of the village :mad:
Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk
No need to shout, Barry, no need to shout. ;)
Having slept on it, I find that my conclusions remain the same.
In fact, the idea of starting my music collection again actually appeals quite strongly and feels quite exciting!
Right, I'm just about to load up my car with 3000 CDs, 300 LPs, 120 cassettes and 600 minidiscs and I'm off down to the council tip to dump the buggers ....
What a superficially silly, but thought-provoking thread! :thumbsup:
Surely you of all people would enjoy building a new system, Jerry?
Sure, but I do that all the time! :D
The idea of starting afresh with music, and perhaps getting to new destinations by exploring new routes, is very appealing.
There are literally millions of musical recordings out there that I'll bet none of us have ever heard.
It goes back to a thread I started a few months ago about us (well, OK, me, but lots of folks agreed) being a bit stuck in our own musical ruts without realising it.
As Barry so redly pronounced, it really is all about the music - and starting again, perhaps with a slightly more open mind, may well be a good way to truly serve the music?
That's just a thought that popped into my head as I was typing this response. I may have to think about it a bit more! .... :)
Like Marco I tend to feel the music I enjoy is part of who I am.
Also my taste has never been mainstream so a lot of my collection would be quite hard to get I have a lot of albums limited to a 1000 pressing I have a few limited to 500 so it just be impossible to replace
I could always build a new system but having to rebuild my music collection would be to hard and painful I have to strong of a emotional bond to it
It's an interesting thought Jerry, but when I think of the time I've invested in creating my music collection, I shudder to think that it might have been wasted.
Do you think that if you were to start from scratch again, with no prior knowledge of what you now have, you'd end up with a vastly different collection?
Well, why would it have been wasted time? Have you not enjoyed the journey?Quote:
Originally Posted by The Grand Wazoo
And how exciting might it be to start out on a new journey! :eek:
You know, I think I might. If I really tried to keep an open mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Grand Wazoo
You know sometheing else? I honestly think that we ALL would!
----------------------
I can feel myself getting further and further out on a limb, here, :lol:
Yes I have enjoyed the journey immensely. But Jerry, the thing is, I sadly don't have the time or the money to travel it again!Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
It would be interesting to find out - the trouble is, you just can't forget what's gone before. I'd expect a lot of the core of my current collection would be reproduced, as they are kind of staples or standards, but the stuff around the periphery, that I listen to once in a blue moon, would be what got replaced for something different.Quote:
You know, I think I might. If I really tried to keep an open mind.
You know sometheing else? I honestly think that we ALL would!
I can feel myself getting further and further out on a limb, here, :lol:
As a further thought Marco, I can see that for those who are 100% LP or CD the medium would be priority to be retained as that is the only logical perspective to hold, irrespective of any emotional attachment.
But it also occurs to me that there are a number of perspectives on which this must be based, such as availability of the medium of choice, the recordings themselves, availability of equipment, or indeed the domestic environment, location, etc.. Desert Island with discs and no kit would be a glum fate...
As I have moved around in the last few years, my equipment and library have innevitably but slowly trailed after, and that has probably imparted a differing perspective to your own relatively stable lifestyle.
File based audio is for me a natural progression from the CD form (data storage), whatever or however it's shortfalls may be perceived. Let me give an analogy -
Having spent most of my life rummaging through record plans, maps, as-builts, and files to resolve problems, these conveyed not only information but snapshots of a bygone era in their physical form. Some older plans were almost works of art, painstakingly assembled, and a joy to examine. This format required huge storage areas, and maintenance of filing systems to record details for later retrieval, in itself a laborious task.
GIS, Autocad, etc., now contain all of the required information, including scans of originals, which can be made portable for immediate access to information anywhere. I can carry 2 complete storage rooms of information on an object the size of a book available for instant access and manipulation using a commonplace tool, the computer.
In otherwords, however detached or clinical the format, I can carry my entire musical library in a briefcase to wherever I need to be. That would not be possible in it's original form.
Well, this is just a thought experiment - I'm not really in the process of loading up my car with all my music to go and junk it!Quote:
Originally Posted by The Grand Wazoo
Does the idea of starting afresh and discovering new things beyond your current musical horizons not appeal at all?
Well, by the sound of it, you need to dig yourself out of the "staples or standards" mainstream rut, Chris. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by The Grand Wazoo
Only joking :) .... but I do find myself listening to and enjoying things way beyond the "classical music core" that dominated my early years. And I have to say I am enjoying the journey hugely. Each week brings something new and previously unexplored - some of it good, some of it not to my taste, but all of it is interesting.
I feel sure that would be true for any musical genre.
Maybe it's an age-related thing - I've just passed my 56th birthday and with much of the "staples and standards" I feel more than just a touch of 'been there, done that, time for something new'.
I can see why you would want to hear new music, I think we all like discovering new things. However, staples and standards are what get to the heart of our emotions - for each of us, different music does it. I wouldn't want to lose those.
I would estimate that I'd gravitate towards about a third of my collection again and the rest would diverge into new and different things.
Being in the situation of having literally to start again with my Vinyl, i have found myself tracking down the LP's I would in the past have played over and over again, in my view i bought the LP again not cos i wanted those tracks again, to be honest if it was just the tunes i could have used spotify and saved a whole load of cash, for me it was owning the vinyl again, and like Marco has said, sitting back with a glass of what you fancy and being able to read the blurb on the cover
ditch the hifi, although I'd be holding on to my Orbe until my fingers bled.
My music collection has grown with me during my life, it maps every major event since I was about 16.
How could I get rid of the record my Dad bought me just before he died ? I can't rip that to a computer the object has immense meaning to me, just like the dark, miserable music I listen to at 17, stuck in my dark room going through a (very) acne driven teenage mess.
Or the Lucinda Williams album my other half bought me not long after we met or the Lou Donaldson she bought me for our first Xmas together.
hifi is just an object, your music collection is your life.
As mentioned it's took me a considerable amount of time, grief & money to get this vintage kit A1..The music doesnt matter to me one bit anymore, to be honest i listern to no where near as much music i used to & don't care about collections anymore, i'm not really intrested in it too much nowadays.. What i do listern to a lot nowadays is easy to get hold of, so i still stick to keep the gear.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jac Hawk
Some people are the reverse in the fact their hi-fi is modern junk (pardon the expression) you wouldnt loose sleep over & can be easily replaceable (people cant keep equipment two mins without farting about anyway) where as their record collections may be as hard to re locate as getting my equipment to the stage it is now..
Which ever ways best for each individual then
:eek: :rfl:Quote:
Originally Posted by F307
Jerry, have you thought of adding a computer to your listening habits ?Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Since having my PS3 hooked up to my hifi with the Music Unlimited service I've found so much new music - all at my finger tips and as you only pay the tenner a month it doesn't really cost you unless you feel like buying the actual product itself.
It's really helped transform my listening habits since doing all this at Xmas.
Nothing better than finding new music you've never heard before and getting that excited feeling of a new discovery.
+1 Top man, Griffo! :exactly:Quote:
Originally Posted by griffo104
I think that books also come into the same category, which is why a bloody Kindle will never cut it! :rolleyes:
I think that anyone who feels differently about music quite simply hasn't made an emotional connection with it to the same degree, and so those people will never truly 'get' what our favourite albums mean to us. And it's that emotional connection with our favourite music, which makes the experience of listening to it so special.
In that respect, for me, accessing a 'faceless file' from a computer will never evoke the same emotional response as playing a treasured (and often rare) vinyl record; especially when it has major personal significance, thus the enjoyment of the overall listening experience, and what makes it so special, is devalued.
I've found the responses to this thread fascinating, as it has provided an intriguing insight into who people are (i.e. what makes them 'tick') which may not have otherwise surfaced....
Marco.
Hmmmm this is one of my biggest conflicts. I love my books - love them. I love the feel, the smell, the fact the books age with you. I love everything about them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
And then my other half bought me a Kobo for Xmas (WH Smiths version of the the Kindle)
there's no doubt that having one is of great benefit, especially if you travel around a lot, but it does lack that tactile nature of the book. I have to say though that it's won me round and I'll be taking some of by paperbacks down to the charity shop for a clear out but it simply can't replace the great reference books or books with great photos in them.
As a replacement for my Michael Connelly or Ian Rankin then it's fine but replace my big books of the Villa, or the watch books or my art books ? Never gonna happen.
Easy... my vinyl collection a lot of which is no longer available.
You've just described the emotional connection with our prized possessions that, we as humans, love - and which can NEVER be achieved when one attempts to experience a version of those things, through using a computer. The experience can only ever be 'virtual'; never real.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffo104
Whilst I accept that in modern times people's lives have changed, it is *precisely* the dehumanising effect you have just described which I hate (and refuse to embrace) about today's computer-driven, technology obsessed, world.
It's so easy getting sucked into living a life driven by insidious marketing (and in the process technology subconsciously dictating how we live, rather than us using it moderation), to the extent that most folk don't even realise that it's happening to them! :eek:
In effect, we've become a nation of technology tarts. And as such, more robot-like by the day, to the detriment of our ability to function properly as human beings.... One only has to observe the world around us now to see ample evidence of this unfortunate behaviour :rolleyes:
Long may I own the physical and tactile personal possessions which define me as a human being; and most importantly, as an individual. And my treasured physical music collection is one of them.
Marco.
If i had my original vinyl collection from the 70's 80s it would be the hi fi getting lobbed.
As i have only got back into vinyl recently it doesn't hold the same emotional pull as before.
I'am sure it will in 20 years.
I've had to put in a lot of time into searching the web to be able to get a decent setup on a budget of hardly anything.
I could go to a few car boots and buy a job lot of vinyl but to get my system cheap again would be very unlikely.
I can totally understand anyone with an original music collection spanning there lifetime would ditch the hi fi.
Nearly every album i used to have could connect me with a person place and time in my life.
Can't see a download doing that.
Well I've been working in IT since I was 16 (now 41) and I refuse to have a computer in the house. I only have an old one used to sort out the wifi for things such as the BBC iplayer and stuff which my other half likes but it's all done through the PS3 which also doubles up as my bluray player.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
So bearing that in mind I think we are on the same page (to a degree:))
Computers are fine and there's no doubt it's helped bring stuff such as serious photography to the masses but somethings should never really be a 'file'.
We are most definitely on the same page, amigo! :)Quote:
Computers are fine and there's no doubt it's helped bring stuff such as serious photography to the masses but somethings should never really be a 'file'.
Marco.
Hi Stuart,
That's it in a nutshell. Perhaps it's something that the likes of Jerry should consider - how much of his current music collection has been with him during his 56 years on this earth?Quote:
I can totally understand anyone with an original music collection spanning there lifetime would ditch the hi fi.
Nearly every album i used to have could connect me with a person place and time in my life.
Maybe not much, which is why he appears so ready to dispose of it and start again - and perhaps this time round, foster that all-important emotional connection (as referred to above in bold) with his favourite music, which currently seems a little lacking...
NEVER!! :nono:Quote:
Can't see a download doing that.
Marco.
My first girlfriend... 10cc 'I'm Not In Love' from The Original Soundtrack on vinyl.
My first motorbike... Honda CG125 'More Than A Feeling' Boston from the album of the same name on vinyl half speed mastered.
Playing bass in my first band... 'Sweet Home Alabama' again on vinyl.
This is what a posession brings to me. A download... you can keep it thanks, it means sod all.