Which would you keep?

[The Grand Wazoo]

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?

[jandl100]

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.

Well, why would it have been wasted time? Have you not enjoyed the journey?

And how exciting might it be to start out on a new journey!

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?

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,

[The Grand Wazoo]

Well, why would it have been wasted time? Have you not enjoyed the journey?

And how exciting might it be to start out on a new journey!

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!

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,

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.

[bobbasrah]

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.

[jandl100]

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!

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!

Does the idea of starting afresh and discovering new things beyond your current musical horizons not appeal at all?

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.

Well, by the sound of it, you need to dig yourself out of the "staples or standards" mainstream rut, Chris.

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'.

[MartinT]

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.

[Jac Hawk]

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

[griffo104]

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.

[Rare Bird]

Trust me you can ALWAYS get a new hi fi

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.

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

[MartinT]

their hi-fi is modern junk