Agree. Over the years I gave away all of my vinyl, dumped the turntable and moved to CD's. Then fell into the streaming cult and sold all of my CD's and Stereo equipment. Ten years ago, I got back into vinyl and stereo. So glad I returned to where it started. Not sure it could have gone another way, but I am back into vinyl full tilt and analog is the only thing I listen to these days and I am not going back.
I went through a painful divorce a few years ago (I'd wanted a divorce, but NOT the need to get a divorce, if you get my drift). I hadn't discarded my gear or media in the interim (it went into storage) and my lawyers fees didn't get as bad as they could have- but after more than a decade I returned to a full system, and the capacity for analog as well as digital playback. My 'rebuilding' was more in the emotional realm. In my experience, with pain and losses can come certain soothing gains/returns to parts of one's previous life.
Similar story, had a nice technics simple set up, turntable, amp cd player& mission speakers. Then started tinkering with minidisc, equalizers then surround & kind of lost my way. I gave my albums to my son then settled for streaming my phone music in mp3 to my portable speakers, what a disaster. After 10 years in the wilderness I longed for my early days of vinyl so with a redundancy package leaving my job I bought a Rega Planar 3, Marantz cd6007usb & 6007 amp with q acoustics 3020i which I liked but realised I fancied the B&W 607 s2 anniversaries, woe & behold 2 days later my wife treat me to them. I am happy again, my son still had my albums & returned them to me (good lad) I now buy cheap cds for 1/10th of what they used to cost & have a couple of thousand hi-res flac albums for the marantz cd usb player or stream from my pc. Its a good & even better & cheaper this time round.
Sold my LP collection and LP12 20 years ago to focus on CD. This made sense for me as CD is better for me being a classical buff - never looked back. (surface noise - storage - cost of LPs - availability of titles(20thC classical) - turning over/changing disc mid piece...etc etc)
I downsized homes in 2008 which led to downsizing my CD collection from about 3,000 to 1,100. I went from a house to small condo and there was simply no room for many things and those 1,900 were part of the cut. 12 years later, I retired and moved to a house where I now have plenty of room and I very much regret getting rid of those CD's. Many times I have found myself in the mood to hear something, and invariably discover it's one of the CD's I had gotten rid of years earlier...This is actually what led to finally giving streaming a try.
Steve is right about a certain level of quality and you know CDs ... wow ... were any ever quality? No they used to wear out and stick on tracks and all the rest. Low quality plastic I guess. I have 'value' Audio, Radio Shack ... you know ... harman/kardon used to boast, you can't spend your money better than spend it with us. But these 'value' systems, they're not hi-end but they're fantastic as top of the range items. Optimus X-100 wasn't top, that honor went to the T-200. But hi-End is different, but well, only for the world's luckiest people, I guess.
@@keplermission I've heard so many people say they've had trouble with CD's peeling and degrading etc, but I've never had that issue. Not once dating all the way back to the mid 80's....I grew up with a Realistic all in one stereo/cassette/phonograph system from Radio Shack when I was a teenager. I still have it and it still works. It must be 45-46 years old by now. I don't care what anyone says. It wasn't audiophile, but they made quality stuff.
@@melprophet1936yeah no I'm totally in agreement, I have absolutely never in the history of buying CDs from 1991 all the way till today have I ever had a CD ever degrade, except for possibly getting so scratched that it was unreadable. I still have CDs though that I bought from 92 that are still playable and still work just as good as they always have. Personally when I see people talk about CD's degrading over time, I always seem to notice it's from people who are 25 or younger, and it seems to me that they honestly do not know what they are talking about. And it's always such a shame because it's a fantastic format and I hate the idea of somebody using a position of influence to influence others based upon wrong information.
@@melprophet1936 Yeah - same with CDs - got some from the 80s - all work fine. The single issue was a DG box set with a foam inlay which degraded, stuck to the CD, and destroyed it! 2nd hand discs are a lot more reliable too than 2nd hand vinyl - and post friendly!
I sold my fabulous EAR 509 mono blocks and Gamut L5 speakers when my son started beating on the latter with wooden spoons. Seemed like a crime. I sold the amps to buy active ATC speakers and parked the Gamuts in my garage for three years hoping to bring them back up again. After three years in the garage and immersing ever more deeply into dad mode, I thought my days of focused listening were over, so I sold the Gamuts. Fifteen years later, I purchased another pair of L5 speakers, which I love, again. I still use the ATCs in my home theater, by the way. I've never sold off my vinyl, though I'm leaning toward culling my collection of LPs of music I no longer listen to and some LPs I keep around because . . . it's a special band, even though I don't listen to them any more. I love thirty seconds of Led Zeppelin (and a few others) and then . . . I've heard those songs so many times over 50 years, I can't listen to a whole song again let alone a whole album. If I regret my decision, I think youtube will suffice, at least for awhile.
i watched this video yesterday, and i just couldn't sleep. I realized than a year ago i made the choice to step down from my really nice NAIM amp and CD Player, aswell as my MHDT Lab Tube DAC to use instead a simple AV Receiver and it just never sounded as good but i did this for simplicity. and so i woke up this morning and i decided to disconnect the AV receiver and put back the NAIM amp and nice DAC that were in storage and oh well, tears coming to my eyes as i just rediscovered the sound that i was loving so much thank you
We moved to a smaller house 8 years ago and sold our Klipsch towers, turntable, LP collection, and half of our CDs. HUGE mistake. We decided during covid to get back into vinyl. Well, now we are replacing LPs at great expense. Not only that, we could now accommodate the tower speakers. Luckily we were able to find some Heresy IIs to rebuild, so all is not lost. It's nice to be back in the groove. Thanks
TIME is the GREAT HEALER. I once had to return a set of used speaker cables that cost thousands of dollars when new. Financial reasons. I couldn't stand to listen to my system right after that. I bought some older used Zu Audio cables thinking they would be a substitute. Nope. The clarity, openness, bass depth was gone. Massed strings on classical music sounded particularly sick and grey sounding. I had to take a month sabbatical and let my mind sort of forget how it used to sound with the better cable. Good that the trial period with the expensive cable wasn't long enough to hear that many of my albums. Maybe they would have been ruined forever, by the remembrance of how the cables showed me how the music could sound, or is supposed to sound. But just like the loss of a loved one, our sorrow and vivid memory of them fades quite a bit with time, so does ones memory of that extra bit of sound quality we once had. Your ear readjusts and life is fine, and you learn to live with what you have. Perhaps a more interesting scenario than about someone having to have gone down a grade or two in sound quality, is someone who had to go from serious equipment down to something like a Soundesign system. Remember them? With the turntable and receiver, all in the same little cabinet. Could someone used to really great sound, ever get used to going down to something like that? That probably doesn't happen often. Maybe somebody downsizing to a cheap receiver from seperates, would just get rid of those nasty sounds by turning down the treble control and be done with it; and I think you could get used to it, and live happily ever after. But it would be mpre dull; both the sound and the experience.
About 1990 I gave away all my LPs and the LP player and went full CD. Even if many audiophiliacs swear by vinyl I went to optimize my digital system in the direction of CD and streaming audiophile and am very satisfied with it and have no desire for the vinyl more
Hi , I sold everything (audio research) lp12 , Wilson’s….. because I moved to France. Still have ALL my records in Seattle. CAREFULLY chose an amazing streaming system here in France. Spendor D9 Auralic Vega G2 Aries G2.1 Moon amp ….. Digital/ bass wise and in many other ways best system ever….. So my downsizing turned out well…. 🤩
Ten years ago we downsized our living situation and sold most of our record collection, about 5k records. We hadn’t listed to them in years and didn’t have a good sound system. Just recently I tried to improve the system with an EQ and a phono amp, but decided not to throw good money after bad and UPGRADED the whole thing with used McIntosh equipment and open box scratched Elysian speakers. What a huge improvement !!!! We started going to our local record store, online retailers, and youtube discovering new music, bands we missed the first time around, and some great mofi and SACDs. We also stream high res. It’s a fantastic new world of music out there!!!! We have no regrets selling our former record collection as the records we did save from it are hella scratched with the covers falling apart. I joke to my husband that we should get a used reel to reel, but I think I am really serious about that. This could not be more fun….love your channel
I did downsize, went from a 5.2 HT, to an uber complicated modern 2 channel system and finally found the sound I was looking for. I went through tens of thousands of dollars of gear in the past two years, before getting a pair of Zu Omen DW speakers... Then I saw a video regarding vintage Sansui receivers and the Zu's... All of the modern gear is pretty much gone... We now have a Sansui 4000, a PS Audio Gaincell as a DAC/Pre for the digital stuff, a WiiM Pro streamer and a Mofi StudioDeck TT. It all fits nicely on a Pangea Vulcan rack and sounds simply INCREDIBLE! Not looking back. And on edit: I am adding to my vinyl collection, as the Sansui does something magical to the vinyl with its built in phono preamp.
I could never really get along with vintage audio, no matter what I try and i'd even bought supposedly restored items, but no matter what I try I always end up with some really cool vintage receiver or amplifier that I just love the sound of but 4 months go down the road in the damn thing won't turn on. So I've made the personal decision as hard as it was, to never buy vintage amplifiers or receivers. I've had tremendous luck with vintage tape decks and vintage speakers and hell I've even had a few vintage turntables that hold up and work well, but I can't seem to get a good source of amplification to save my life
@@Audiorevue Understandable, and that sucks. I picked up two units for that reason, if one goes down, I can slip the other in. I found a local shop that has a tech that loves vintage Sansui, he owns a few. And he does not mess around, I had my Sansui 2000 tuner repaired, I had it back in three days. Other shops around me are telling me 6 months or longer. Another shop told me to scrap it and find another unit! This vintage audio sounds like a dirty game to me, with more than a few dirty players, especially these shops. So, I can understand folks not wanting to get involved with this gear.
Great message from Steve! My personal experience: 15 years ago, go married, had kids, had moved from my apt into a very crowded townhouse- greatly scaled down my system but stored the gear and the media (in this case lps; there was room for most of my cds) I had no room to set up/use. Years later, circumstances evolving, having the space for a full system/listening room again, I'm glad I didn't dump what I had. While I had some great listening experiences in-between, I definitely often missed my full system/collection.
Steve, Once an individual eats Steak, a Prime steak, they can't eat Hamburgers !! But if you have a great Hamburger that you have come to like, you continue eating that hamburger. That's why your friend could withstand the $1K replacement Preamp. This does point out what i didn't realize...How Much a Preamp can affect the quality of sound in a stereo system. Two weeks ago, I've had the happy event of finding about 80 LPs that I had stored in a Plastic container in my garage for over 20 years. I went through them since, cleaning them carefully and playing them. They escaped pretty much unscathed (the old ones which were played on inferior equipment many years ago had issues). The LPs had a broad range: the wife's LPs, some of my Brother's and mine. From Arlo Gutherie to The Who [Live at Leeds]. I am playing all my Chuck Mangione LPs now - enjoying them immensely - forgot how good his music was & excellent recordings. As an "experiment: , I'm playing the LPs and then Stream it via Tidal, etc. to hear the differences. There are some !!
First of all, let me preface my remarks by saying that I've enjoyed your comments/reviews over the years (decades actually). I too (once) had many large systems including the likes of IMF Transmission line monitors, Conrad Johnson and Threshold electronics, Irving M. Fried speakers, KEF, and the list goes on. Then I got married and wallaaaaa - all those outlays of cash and desires went out the window (well, somewhat). But now that I'm in my 70's, I've greatly had to downside (scale-back, if you will) to a nicely set-up desktop nearfield-system - and to be honest, I've never been happier. No mind you, I'm still looking at quality components, however, this time around, they have to be very compact. This confines me to smaller book-shelf speakers with a powered subwoofer under the desk, audiophile level cables of all types, and various class AB and class D amplifiers (of which many are relatively inexpensive, yet whose performance levels punch far above their price points), and DAC's. So in my case (and I'm sure there are others also who fall within this category, I've become quite satisfied with this downsizing arrangement. Just my two cents worth here... Keep up the great work Steve....
Had to pause the video to comment. A good friend of mine said just a few days ago, and I had to agree, because I literally just experienced this. Behind loudspeakers, the preamp can be the most important component in your system. I’ve had 2 pre’s in house for the last 20 years. One a solid state, the other a tube. The tube pre had to come out for a few days so I could put fresh tubes in. The SS, same manufacturer by the way,….just didn’t cut it anymore. Soundstage was not as wide or deep, and it has just enough sheen on top I noticed it. Things did not sound as natural. So your friend had the bad mis-fortune of having the ❤ of his system cut out😊 Now I’ll watch the rest
Stand Up. I am an Audiophiliac. Haven't listened to a top end system for 37 years 3 months and 2 days. I was a LP12 based system in the early 80's and only listened to albums that I was advised to with Good Production. It was lovely. One day I woke and realised that I was missing music. I starting listening to radio in the kitchen. Did a major house move and changed to CD. Didn't involve me in the music but I was hearing Punk!!! Now 65 with sonus throughout the house. Mainly bbc radio but also deezer FLAC. I do have a little room with sonus amp and a nice pair of 80's bookshelf that I enjoy. Don't be to serious with Music. It's good in the kitchen/car/beach too!
My biggest regret in life is selling my vinyl collection. I do not regret downsizing my system though. I'm tired of too many wires and 50+ lb amplifiers. Very happy with my all-in-one Lyngdorf TDAI-1120.
Hi STEVE love your channel! In 1999 I was married for my second time and ready for a clean start. So I downsized. I gave my new father in-law my small record collection. I was no audiophile at the time, and didn't know they existed but just didn't have the room. Fast forward 20 years and my father in-law still had my collection. I became quite sick and unable to work and watch a lot of UA-cam. I came across you and learned about audiophiles and all the crazy gear. I slowly built up my stereo system and wanted to get back into vinyl, so I called up my father in-law to get back my record collection. And as my luck would have it he had given it away the week before. I almost cried! I have since been able to accumulate around 350 records that resemble the lost collection of my youth. I have learned so much from your channel and hope to someday send pictures to you for "viewer system of the day" 😊
10k£ full-size system in two large bookcases. CD/Amp/Speakers, wires out back. 800+ Cds on the shelves. 2 LP's for Art (on rotation). UK size bedroom. Best sounding system I have ever had, because it's in exactly the right space. Never owned a seperate dac or done 'streams'. Thanks and happy listening to you, Steve, and all your viewers😊
I did this in the milennium &;for years not had a hifi. Around 2017 I had to rebuild a whole new system based on vinyl, cd's & high res files. I AM BORN AGAIN.
i have had to sell my Hi-Fi equipment when things got tough and needed the money for the children at Xmas but the one thing that i never parted with was my Records no mater how down i was they stayed with me, and i am so glad that i did as they hold a lot of memories
Analog is cool, but I love the modern era where anyone with a cell phone, powered speakers and headphones can listen to the world's music at a very high level of audio fidelity.
Sold my house, moved into a condo. Put away the Proceed Amp&Pre, the Marantz CD5000, B&Ws, Nakamichi DR-1 and Philips TT. No where to put in condo. Recently bought The Fisher 400 and a pair of Heresy's! I'm going to add 1 more piece... technics sl1500c. And that's it. 2 speakers, 1 TT and The Fisher! I'm so excited to have such simplicity
Steve, great video, as always. Like many, when CDs were new, I started down that path but never gave up on vinyl. My collection spent a few years in a closet but I resurrected my Pioneer PL530 (bought new in 1975) and started playing and collecting vinyl again. Years later I moved up to a used Rega P25 with an Ortofon 2M Red and continued to upgrade my whole system. But, in preparation for retirement and a move to a condo in Florida, I sold perhaps half of my vinyl. At that time I also downsized my Focal Profile 918s to a pair of Joseph Audio Pulsar3 Graphene with custom stands from SoundAnchor. I miss the albums I sold but I sure haven't missed the Focals. The Pulsars are fantastic. Since arriving in Florida I have upgraded my turntable to a new Rega P6 with the Asia MC cart and added the PS Audio Stellar phono preamp and a P12 regenerator to my system. The biggest downside of selling vinyl is the replacement cost. Most of what I sold were albums I purchased in the 70s and were in great shape, some of which can't be replaced. Thanks for your efforts.
Have a small room w/ 10,000 cds in it and and a closet full of LPs. Getting rid of hard copies of recordings is off the table for me. I sold a big vinyl collection for peanuts in the early 90's and probably shouldn't have. A couple of years ago I figured getting an integrated w/a phono stage would optimize space and open things up for the speakers, so an Aavik U-300 moved in (w/RCA inputs and outputs only). It certainly didn't sound bad or significantly reduce my listening time, but my cd player according to the manual performs best using the XLR signal path. This nagged at me so the Aavik got replaced w/ separates. Can't really assign a percentage to the perceived improvement after going w/ mono blocks, a line pre amp and phono amp, but it is tangible. For sure the Clayton M-300 monoblocks made the lower frequencies sound richer and more controlled, but they produce a ridiculous amount of heat.
In the 80s sold my 300 plus record collection and replaced with a 450 cd collection.2012 heard streaming music , and then sold my cds and stream for $10 dollars a month no regrets . To my ears the quality Is better than ever.!
Love this topic Steve. I play CDs, LPs, and Stream….enjoy all venues and the interaction with my multiple musical playback system when mood suites. Let’s face it …much of our hobby is the feel, look and interaction with our system, while chasing our personal musical taste and sound. Waaaay cool and fun. I have had to hold, (having children) downsize, and then build again in a lifetime of listening….My best moment was retirement as I build and tweak a hobby that I love….Great video! 😊
Dean a Great Post! I'm Kinda in the same boat, enjoying all the mediums available. Retired now, at 71 yo, (and a Resurrected Rock and Roll Drummer after 50 Years!). Music is a love of mine as it is to all the posters / viewers here. I have my GOTO LR system in the house "created" in 1987: NAD 1300 Preamp, NAD 2600 Amp, Dual CS5000 TT, a Onkyo 6-disc CD player & a Pair of KEF 104/2 that play as well as when new. For my Drumming activities / Hobby, I amassed a new Stereo system in the Finished basement - "Studio /Mancave" [I hate that term, but it fits for now] during COVID Hibernation to provide music playing that I play along to. I can play Cassettes, LPs, CDs, and Stream all the Music that I enjoy.
I recently "downgraded" - I sold my B&W 702s2 speakers ($7000) and put my OLD Monitor Audio RS6's ($1,000 in 2006) back in play in my main system. Front end is Bluesound Node 2-->Schiit Freya+-->Pass Labs XA25 and I am INFINITELY happier. While the RS6's are significantly smaller and less detailed, they are much more musically satisfying. Story #2: I got ride of my 1000+ CD collection when I moved houses around 2 years ago. I was already using Apple Music lossless at the time and that continues to be my primary source. After 2 years without my CDs, I can say that I haven't missed having them a single time. Final downsizing story: I replaced my Parasound A21 with my current Pass Labs XA25 around a year ago. The Pass is significantly more expensive but far lower power (around 80w/ch as compared to 250w/ch on the Parasound). Even in my relatively large listening room, I have never missed the extra power and am much more satisfied with the higher quality watts from the Pass amp.
Over the years I sold CDs I grew tired of to second hand vendors or donated others to friends' collections which in retrospect I sometimes regretted. At one point I disposed of many CDs that I felt were poor recordings, not worthy of a place in my "audiophile" collection. Certainly a big mistake.
I decided to store best of my CD music (and also LP) on magnetic tapes - with 3,75"/cm it is the same (or better) impression and with 2 hrs tape I have 4 CDs stored (it all tracks) or 8-10 if selected only It saves me occupied space few times. Mostly because I do not trust in timeless CDs and CD playing and fear of my unique very good pickup damage in careless use With R2R I worry only about having spare belts
I have kept every album, 45, CD and DVD I've bought since I was 13 years old. I'm in my 60's today. I came close to downsizing source material a couple of times, but I resisted even after I signed up for Tidal. Today, I use a mix of all forms of audio sources. As you accurately point out, I do not hear as well these days, but you are absolutely correct that I can discern differences in vinyl today. I have a 1970's album that sounds much better than a 1-year-old new album from the same artist. You're also right about the memories. My first Mothers of Invention album almost gave my mother a stroke and I had to hide my Rolling Stones "Sticky Fingers" album like porn. All great memories! Thanks for an awesome video!
I had a nice system back in the 1980's, NAD, Pioneer, Polk, nice but not expensive. I was fascinated by the gear, but never that connected to the music, CD's, which I still have but never listen to and cassettes which I have given away along with all that vintage gear. Never had any vinyl back then, though I do have my parent's record collection. I rediscovered music recently, and it was through a quirky pair of speakers I built myself, which astonished me and since I have bought a very cheap tube amp, class A point to point wired, and made several kits, like the ACA amp, and several by Bottlehead. My taste in music has changed a lot, streaming has enabled me to explore, and I feel way more connected to what I listen to now, so I don't miss my old collection, or my old gear, which I don't remember sounding anywhere near as good is me current rig that I'm in love with. I'm having a blast, and no regrets at all. Rather it seems to have been a journey I had to make to really discover music.
Steve , great topic! I started purging my record collection in March, attempting quality over quantity, I never Imagined it would take me this long and it would be so difficult, several lp’s headed out have found a way back in after listening as part of the evaluation…I find it surprising but it speaks to your point; some of these records after not listening in years (decades) are now sweet music to my aging ears and soul, a satisfying revelation! Thank you 🙏🏽
Those darn shiny disks in the late 80s prompted me to trade in my vinyl (much of it BlueNote) at Honest John's in London. Doh! Building it back up again with the nice Tone Poet releases. Best downsize was ripping my large CD collection to FLAC, those plastic jewel cases take up too much space and were mostly cracked anyway! Maybe one day I'll move to an integrated from separates and a DAC with built-in streamer...
The music collection is the centerpiece of my system, whatever the system may be. I downsized the collection physically from 50 tapes and 5,000 LP and CD albums to a 10TB harddrive (+ backup) holding flac files and laptops as players. The former tapes, mixtapes with carefully selected tracks, are still there as playlists. My first tape recordings of hits and LP tracks from a transistor radio in the early '70s are still available, just in a converted format.
@@BrianGarside It was a project, and it looked daunting at first but luckily it was less work than it seems. The album collection was 1,000 LPs and 4,000 CDs. Most LPs also on CD, leaving about 250 LPs. Buying 2nd hand CDs for 1 or 2 euros apiece reduced that to about 100 LPs. Recording LPs to PC is not much different than to reel-to-reel, just hook up the PC and let the turntable do its thing. The tapes were mostly selections from the albums, mine or from friends. 10 to 12 of the tapes held tracks from albums not available anymore or unique recordings from the radio. I'm so glad I did this. Fully digital there's fewer components in the system to upgrade, so within the overall budget there's more budget available per component. No downsizing there 😊
Hi Steve, This video goes straight to the heart of my musical madness. Sold all my vynil, which to this day I regret (years of teenage ill caring, a rotten turntable...) started a CD collection from scratch. Even though most of my listening I stream through Tidal and Qobuz, don't want to let go of my CDs, they represent decades of searching, countless happy hours in record shops, a lifetime love affair. Equipament wise, I've bought and traded to the point of reaching a very respectable hi fi system, in fact, two systems (one manifestly better than the other). Neverheless, how I wish I could've kept all the amps and speakers I let go of. But this hi fi thing is already so so irrational that somewhere along the line we have to be reasonable - we cannot buy and keep everything.
My first mistake on the advent of CD was in ditching 2,000 LP's, mostly first issues of classic rock and pop, in favour of CD's. I've since spent the last few decades re-buying the same LP's often in less good condition or in inferior re-issues. My second much more recent and at least partial mistake on retiring along with moving to The New Forest and downsizing our house, was to similarly downsize my system and music collection. My CD collection topped 3K. 2K of these I burnt to my Aurender N10 and I'm pretty happy with the results, I've retained all my SACD's and favourite CD's. Less happily I had to cut down my by then 5K LP collection since there is simply not enough space in our new house. I've kept the very best 2K and am managing to squeeze in a few new purchases as time goes by. What I remember with a pang of regret, was how good my previous system sounded: All Esoteric amps (pre, power, E03 phono and XT5 CD/SACD player, a DCS Debussy DAC, a Brinkmann La Grange turntable, 10.5 tonearm and EMT cartridge, all into Tannoy Kensington speakers). I now have a rather more modest Hegel 360 amp, Clearaudio Performance DC wood deck, Satisfy Carbon arm and Essence mc cartridge, a Tom Evans Groove Anniversary phono stage, the Aurender N10, an X-Sabre Pro MQA dac and a Marantz Ruby CD/SACD player. The speakers are ATC SCM 40's. This all sounds pretty good and sometimes extraordinarily good but there was a certain magic to my old set up that I can't recapture. On a retirement income the heady days of top end kit is out of my reach anyway and 99% of the time I'm more than happy with what I've got. The 1% can be assuaged with a good Negroni.
Thanks for this advice. I have this ancient set of huge speakers that are uglier than sin itself, but they sound awesome. I’m going to set them up again someday and I’m not downsizing, dammit!✌️
That's aspirational! After a long time mostly away from the gear (naturally still enjoying the music), I was finally able to return to it and enhance the musical experience overall.
My biggest regret is donating some of my LPs and CDs to Goodwill due to an international move in 1999. I had started my LP library in1962 when I was given a suitcase record player for Christmas. You are entirely correct Steve when you said the memories of when, where, who sold it to you and what was going on in your life come flooding back as soon as you see the spine, covers and label. The non-audiophile people in my family cannot understand why I still have so many LPs and CDs because "how are you going to listen to them all at your age!" 🤣
My main system totals over £54,000, my second system comes in at just under £2000 and I love it. No, it is obviously not as good as my main but it has great synergy and really sounds fantastic. I enjoy both. Many years ago I had over 8000 albums and a couple of thousand singles. Now I only stream and prefer the convenience.
That's a great observation. Many of us have memories of enjoying a song when we 1st heard it on a tiny radio. Some music has a different "personality" when heard on a nice, but modest desktop system.
My Magnepan 1.7i’s are in the shop for a minor repair and, alas, I need to depend on my backup speakers, Klipsch Forte II’s (circa mid-1980’s). Since I got the Maggie’s a couple years ago, I would occasionally swap them out for the Forte’s. I’d listen for a couple days (with some disappointment) and then go back to the Maggie’s. This time, as usual, at first all I could hear was what I was missing from the Maggie’s-their massive “wall of sound”, high-end detail, and great detail. After a while, maybe a week, I really started to appreciate what I was hearing from the Forte’s-their dynamic sound, low end presence, and horn-inflected vocals. I’ve been living with them now for a couple weeks and, truth be told, I could live with them forever. Sure the Magnepan 1.7i’s are better and I’m looking forward to getting the Maggie’s back. I’m certainly I’m going to love them. But it’s been quite the pleasurable experience with the Forte’s. The lesson for me is that sometimes you “like what you eat” not just “eat what you like.”
Steve, 4 years ago this summer I moved over 2,000 miles to be close to family. That forced lots of downsizing. A big part of that was simply getting rid of components I no longer used, a surprising collection once all pulled together. I didn't own that many CDs, less than 400. But I gave away or donated nearly half. My LP collection was something more than 3,000. Realistically at my age I knew I wan't likely to listen to them all again. So a bit of a painful and time consuming task to sort through them all to decide which 1,000 or so were my "favorites" to make the trip. I'd run out of time (that's a different story) so I had to sell them all to a local dealer rather than directly myself. Less money but much more convenient. Now I wonder if I'll listen to all of those 1K records? ;^)
Haven't downsized but I have a small Onkyo bookshelf system I use on the main level when I'm working around the house, cooking dinner, relaxing after work, etc. I also have a 2 channel system that's over 10X the cost and is the one I use for really sitting down and listening. It's certainly more enjoyable and sounds better, but...I still do most of my listening on the other system. They both have their place in my life. As for the CDs and LPs...nah, couldn't downsize that. There are CDs I haven't listened to in years and albums I've only played once but they just couldn't generate enough cash to make a difference in my life. I'd rather have them on the shelf in case I ever get a wild nostalgic thought and want to dust something off I haven't heard in a long long time.
Hey Steve, About 10 years agoI got tired of hauling my Lp's and gave them to a fellow worker. He was a lover of vinyl so I knew he would appreciate them. Five years later I started building a new system and got a turntable. I call my buddy and asked if he would mind giving me back my records, he had them in storage and some of them had gotten wet. He couldn't find all of them but returned the majority. I was so happy to get them back. I won't do that again!
I definitely think us older audiophiles hear deeper into the music. Love your channel. But to see other’s gear I prefer Facebook - I get to choice what brand/ type of gear and can chat with the owners.
I only add records to a collection I started when I was eight. I only replaced my 41-year-old speakers because they broke down. Still use my now 42-year-old turntable. So I don't downsize nor do I upgrade! I take my good time making my choices and then typically enjoy what I have selected for its lifespan.
I worked at a HiFi store, so I still have a ton of CD's, I do stream and I burned most of my CDs to HD drives... I keep on talking about downsizing but frankly my room is dialed in and I customized it to make any speaker sound better.. I will send you some pics Steve, been reading your reviews for 20 years since college days and always appreciate your simple approach to making this hobby fun, as it should be..
I have Premium Spotify now and use a DAC. Many of my old LPs and CDs, were purchased as demos. I got rid of my 45s many years ago. And I know which LPs are very rare now like some imports from England back in the late '60s. The last audio equipment I purchased was a "Nitty Gritty Record Cleaner".
Stopped listening 20+ years ago... Just bought a house and I have no wife to talk sense to me... I have an ARC SP3A1, first one in Michigan... Bought in 81 from original owner who owns a shop in the burbs of Detroit... His name was Harry and I don't recall the name of his shop... Had Maggie's MG2A and eventually went to Vandersteens 2CEs... Also a Luxman turntable with a Magnapan tonearm with an Audioquest cartridge... Here comes the bad part... I gave the turntable to a friend and when he was getting the table, I also gave him the Maggie's... Fortunately, our tastes in vinyl so I'm getting most of my records back... I also have 3 ARC amps... A D76, a D30 and a D110... All of these have set idle for 25 years... So.... To try to determine what needs attention, I bought Emotivas XDA preamps and their stereo amp that puts out way more power than I usually run... So, over the next period of time, I'll be figuring out what's what and if any of it needs work, try to find someone id trust with my goodies... Hope to have it up and running tomorrow... I really enjoy your shows and commentary... We listen alike... Thanks Ken in Berlin NH
I downsized from separates to an Integrated. Said goodbye to my TT and now stream. Sold the oversized, rollout speakers in favor of 2 way standpoint with a sub. Upgraded my ethernet cables to AQ Dragons. Added EMI absorbing sheets Now have an even better sound with less gear and love it!!
I have sold most of my lps from the seventies. My taste changed to jazz and classical. I don't miss them, I'm not sentimental. I did keep some Zappa records though.
I sold two huge boxes of LPs prior to moving from Missouri to California in 1982. The owner of the store drooled with delight at my incredible collection. Also sold my sound system. Since we can access almost any album with Tidal, there are few LPs I miss. There are a few LPs I can't find on Tidal, but the point of selling all those possessions was the spiritual lesson of non-attachment. Couple years later I bought a terrible sounding boom box, but didn't care much. I've since bought an excellent system from Craigslist for a fraction of the retail price and I'm very happy with it. Denon receiver; Sony DVD player and EMP Tek towers with an Emotiva Bas X S12 subwoofer. For about $500.00 I get a system that shakes my chair with excellent dynamics, but has excellent control and detail as well. But 95% of my listening is on Klipsch powered speakers and the Emotiva sub...
In the UK it is rather difficult, in 30 years each new house has been smaller than the last, when we started a family I simply had no room for the thousands of record and had to sell most of it. The bigest downsize, downgrade, is modern flimsy small houses. Here I am trying to get back into it, convenience plays a big part, but so does space, when you have used large speakers for decades, its simply too difficult to fall in love with todays tiny speaker systems. My equipment has sat on shelves unused, unplugged, for years, all sorts of problems now need addressed, once I get all the issues repaired, I need to revisit and re-evaluate where I am going with it all. Problem is, todays replacements are prohibitively costly, and the service work is at prices that make simply purchasing a second hand alternative often a more cost effective viable option. Which sucks.
I am in the process of downsizing my system so this video is timely. I am tired of turning on multiple pieces just to listen to music. The replacement will either be a Kiii system or an all in one (DAC and amplifier) with my Aurender. I want simple and I willing to take a hit from the super high end system I have now. As for downsizing my CD collection, well once you burn the CD's to the Aurender, you can store the CD's. Every piece of music in on the server which makes life easier.
For once I disagree with you Steve. I’ve recently downsized to the point that I only have an all-analog system consisting of turntable, SUT, preamp with onboard phono, amp and full-range floorstander speakers. No digital, no outboard power supplies, no power conditioners, no subs. I have a grand total of three power cords and three pairs of interconnects. I absolutely love its simplicity - the short signal path really gives me great sound. As for the LP collection, I sell off records if I’ve replaced them with better pressings or if I never listen to them. I try to take a curated approach that values quality over quantity. Currently a bit more than 1,000 records, with another 200 in the “sell” pile.
I‘m Collection music since 1982 but I live in the middle of a big tön, so my space is limited. If I want to enjoy new music, I have to give up older stuff. And that‘s ok. I loose something but I also get something in return. Live changes constantly and so do I. Thanks for your wonderful videos. Greetings from Cologne Germany. 👋
Sometime around 2010, I digitized all 1600-ish CD’s I owned and threw them in boxes which eventually were donated to a used record store who didn’t really want them. Have not regretted it in the least and never play CD’s anymore. Around 2018 I discovered hi-res streaming services and that was a game changer, as so many titles sound better than I remember. Certainly not all sound great and some are worse than the CD but the access to nearly everything for a reasonable monthly fee that’s less than the cost of one year’s worth of CD buying back in the day is just fantastic. I love DJ’ing my way through an evening being inspired as I listen (one track reminds me of another and so on)-no way to do that with physical media. I love all my LP’s too, have definitely weeded out the sucky ones and sold those to used record stores but I continue to acquire. I prefer buying audiophile releases on vinyl for the sonic experience and streaming everything else.
I love Steve and all of my audiophiles. I disagree we all are going to die at some point and no one should be left with all our crap to deal with. Downsize, sell and donate fifty years and over. For the love of all things pure😂
I gave away a 50-year collection of classical LPs to someone on NextDoor who was very excited to be getting into vinyl. I'd already ripped the few that I didn't think would make it to CD, and the giveaway emptied a closetful of boxes. I don't miss them, and someone else is certainly enjoying them!
I unloaded my LP collection about 10 years ago. While I occasionally miss them for that tactile reason you describe, Steve, the fact is they were no longer in good enough condition to enjoy. Too many wild parties and careless roommates had put some serious hurt on them! At this point in my life (66 years old) getting back into vinyl just isn't worth the time and money. I'd rather spend money on gear upgrades. For all the folks young and old buying vinyl my reaction is "go for it". All the fun and satisfaction of discovery and listening I had assembling my collection is an experience everyone should enjoy. Shout out to you Steve for showing those Crites speakers. Bob's son Michael has taken over running the company since Bob's death a couple of years ago. They build a great box and fill it with quality components that crush that mass market horn speaker maker who shall remain nameless. Keep an eye on them because Michael tells me new designs are on the way that will compare well with some of the boutique makers such as Volti you recently reviewed.
Hi Steve! Good topic. I’ve done it! Rega Planar 1 + Fono Mini A2D+Rega Apollo CD+ Ruark Audio MRII. Best decision I’ve ever made! The main reason was to have a compact system that performed very well at low to medium volume levels! I still buy CDs and Vinyl, but I use Spotify via Bluetooth most of the time. This system gives me all I need! Best Regards!
Thanks for bringing this topic up Steve. I'm not a big believer in downsizing myself and that's why I brought up another UA-cam channel in which downsizing what is the topic
I sold many of my Rolling Stones albums after university due to financial pressures. The only records I kept were the mono copies that the record stores didn't want. It was 1990 and CD's were taking over. Mono pressing were considered as unsaleable. A few years later I got to meet Mick Jagger and he was open to signing my mono records. He joked around, writing "monoly yours..." I totally regret selling my records. I would have had more signed records. I also have memories of digging through crates at Vortex, the Vinyl Museum, and other long gone used record stores in Toronto and experiencing the triumphant joy of finding clean, barely played Stones records from the 1960's. Those records are gone forever. I have the memories but not a physical object that I can hold and reconnect with that moment. I'm also spending serious $ rebuilding my collection. I can't change the past. But I now appreciate what I have more.
It's funny you say that in the '90s the mono versions were considered unsellable, because nowadays typically the mono versions are the most desirable and the most valuable.
My recordcollection -mostly classical music- had become unplayable. Despite careful handling and keeping. I got rid of it. Now I only listen to CD's and streaming. I'm enjoying listening to music more than ever. Did'nt come to regret it. Thanks for your nice and informative videos.
I'm curious how it was unplayable, I mean you know I have a friend of mine who has records that he's physically owned from the '70s and the late 60s and he plays them regularly and on a good turntable I don't hear any issue with them, matter of fact they sound fantastic. Given that I'm just kind of curious what you mean when you say that they were unplayable despite careful handling and so forth. Perhaps it was your cartridge that was worn out or various other things, I mean I'm not questioning you intelligence or your sincerity regarding the issue, I guess just makes me wonder. On further thought it could be that the records were simply dirty, you know especially on older records the more you play them over time with dust and so forth no matter what you do they can accumulate dirt in the grooves and not sound as good as they once did, so it is a good idea to invest in a record cleaning machine of some variety so as to maintain that pristine sound.
@@Audiorevue Thank you for your answer. What's done is done. If I had still had my records and turntable I certainly would follow your advise to invest in a disc cleaning machine. It might have saved the day. At the time of dispensing of the discs I was very little savvy of hifi audio and its possibillities. Too late to change things. I will now stick to my digital music. Thanks again, anyway.
This has so happened to me. I have sold and donated large colllections and hardware. Then got back into it. Then donated massive collections again and then reacquired. In my defense I just couldn't find adequate storage at times. By the way, your channel is great!
Just downsized in June in my move from a big house in an undesirable part of CA to an apartment less than half the size but in lovely San Diego. It was worth it to ditch the extra gear that wasn’t even being played. Sure there was a piece of gear I’ve could’ve kept as backup but overall No Regrets. Especially now I’m focused on building a new 2-channel stereo setup as my primary listening station.
I trimmed my LP collection from about 400 to 300 twenty years ago. There are a few obscure, out o' print records I miss. I didn't play those often, but now that I'm in internet radio I'd like to have a copy of "White Lightnin'" or "Running Bear" to add to the playlist! Also, I made the mistake of digitizing some songs via the Aux jack on my laptop. (Yikes! Rookie mistake.) Later, I bought a Scarlett interface with a good ADC. I still have really special LPs like the 2nd Kate Bush LP that I wrote & asked EMI to send me when I was a college DJ. I moved many of my jewelcase CDs to looseleaf albums to save space.
I'm in my 70s now. When I was in my 30s I was planning to go abroad as a missionary, but that plan didn't come about. I had given away my LPs and system. I didn't go! So after a while I got back into hifi and started to rebuild my system and music collection, and I bought again many of my LPs. It took me some time, and some LPs were no longer available. Recently I had to get rid of some of my cds, a need to down size. I haven't missed those cds yet.
I am one of these hoarders who can't bear to get rid of any gear or music formats, unless I am selling to upgrade. Mostly I stream but some days it's vinyl, next might be Atmos Bluray, then SACD. I still have cassettes and, God help me and much to my wife's irritation, I have just bought an early 70s reel to reel. Happily I haven't been in a situation where I needed to sell stuff for financial reasons, but that would be miserable. I can't throw out or sell books either. If it wasn't for my Kindle the house would be overrun. I digitised all my 1000 or so cds years ago but they are all still in a big box beside the system. I am truly a lost cause.
I was never a high end audiophile, but I had a reasonable stack of components and speakers. Then I made an international move and the system went away but I kept the CDs. For the longest time my music system was a CD Walkman and some headphones. Sure, I’d get an idea here or there to get a system but sometimes lacking funds, time or space it never became a reality. And I sort of realized it’s all about the music anyway. These days my CD Walkman has become an iPhone and I ripped all my CDs as lossless files and I rotate them on and off the phone as mood strikes. I have some Sennheiser cans for when I’m in the mood for just music, and some Bluetooth earbuds when I’m at work or multitasking. I have some powered mini monitors on my desk, they’re not great in any way, but a good performance, recorded well, is still very listenable. I mean, it’s all about the music.
Totally agree, I gave away my Pioneer system and Celestion Ditton CS7's to a relative 25 years ago who never spoke to me again, because my wife said it all took up too much space! Since I retired I got rid of the mini-system I replaced my original gear with and have replaced it with great new-old stock and an incredible pair of Mordaunt Short Avant speakers and it all sounds better than before. I have also dived into the vinyl market and filled in the gaps in my music collection, but of late have started buying CD's because vinyl prices have gone crazy! I am back and love the hobby and now developed a second system! Love it love love it! And love your show too!
I have no plans to downsize my system (quite the opposite). However I recently set up a system at my parents' apartment for a fraction of what mine cost (they are not into sound the way I am). It's still a blend of vintage and modern gear, and we all agree it sounds amazing. Receiver is a Scott 342c (compact solid state c.1969 but with very warm, satisfying sound). Source is currently a Topping DX3Pro which streams music from an ipad (yes, it's bluetooth for now, possibly a future upgrade). Speakers Kilpsch RP600m. We were all amazed not only with the quality of the sound, but that it could fill the huge dining/living room space in their home. All of this cost less than the price of my receiver alone. As for my collection, have never downsized. When my parents moved I took my of the vinyl I grew up (Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, etc), still have my Sesame Street childhood records, entire CD collection starting from the 90's, and some favorite cassette tapes. I was laughed at for keeping the CDs once I had them scanned as MP3s.. lol. But I never like to give up originals whether its recordings or photos. There's no replacing those, plus cd's do sound different than streamed music (and there's currently no way to stream the Beatles in Mono).
I set my equipment aside for a few years, but kept everything. Even though I upgraded to new Forte speakers, I still have my Heresys from 1985. I also still have my 2 old receivers. Also, I still have all my cassettes, LPs, and Cds. Even a few 8-tracks. Fun to pop in a cassette every now and then as well as LPs. It’s fun having all this old stuff and the new.
I still have all my CD's (a couple hundred from when I was a kid in the 90s). I was smart enough to keep the cases (as the style at the time was to put then in CD books which I did). Years later when I wanted them back in their cases, I found the storage bin with all the jewel cases and inserts and said "glad I kept those". I only had like four cassettes when I was a kid (as I got a CD player when I was nine) and funny enough I kept those. Now, I started to get into vinyl around 2008 and really only had DJ records. I wanted a nice 80's/90's collection, but didnt know where to start. Then I got the bright idea to keep going to a Goodwill for two years straight (nothing but slim pickings, you know Johnny Mathis and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass records for days.) Then one day, I hit the motherload. Some DJ from the 80s/90's unloaded their entire collection (300-400 records), and I happened to be there when they were put out. I grabbed every single one and have them to this day. Ill carry them up a skyscraper if need be (stuff like Bobby Brown, Madonna, Prince, Devo, Tears for Fears etc.)
Great topic Steve! I downsized from LPs when I started buying CD versions. Kept the rare stuff, about 100. I’ve moved from a 2 channel system to a 7.2 HT and now back to a 2 channel system with the best equipment I’ve ever had with a CD player and streaming. Downsized all the cassette tapes I made of LPs years ago. Burned all my CDs to my computer but back to buying CDs and love it. Gave a lot of my old gear to friends and family over the years. No regrets as far as music. Listening to music is better than ever! music can be played in every room of the house, in the car, boat and anywhere else with all the in place and portable equipment with streaming. So much music and so little time to listen!
I gave up my system and room for my wife to teach quilting classes back in 2000. Six years later I put together a system with small monitors on stands, integrated amp, turntable and cartridge. Later picked up a small subwoofer. Fast forward to now and I'm back to separates and high end gear. Currently have Van Alstine DVA M225 mono blocks, Benchmark LA4 line level preamp, Playback Design Edelweiss MPD-6 Dac w/ streamer option, Marantz ND 8006 CD player used as a transport, updated and modified Pioneer tuner TX 9100, and ModWright PH 9.0x phono preamp with NOS tubes. All playing through Joseph Audio Perspective 2 graphene speakers. Great sound for a box speaker but considering going back to panel, Ribbon or electrostatic. I auditioned a pair of ribbon speakers from Diptique(DP 107's) and they sounded great, but more interested in their soon to be released MKII versions of their larger speakers. Enjoying the journey having been an audiophile for over 50 years. Love you videos too!
I've been through two big cullings. First, in the 90s I divested of virtually all of my LPs; something like 2000 of them. I kept 50 or so special ones, including a number I had written the liner notes for. I can honestly say, I never missed them or the fussiness of living with vinyl. Secondly, I "deleted" about half of my classical CD collection ten years ago; taking up too much room in a small bungalow. To this day, even now and then I'll go looking for a title I'd like to hear...that happens to have gone in 2013. No biggy, really. I did, though, keep almost all of my jazz CD collection. That I will never sell. My two audio systems are pretty static and pretty basic. Nothing like the high end stuff seen here, but they do the job for me. One indulgence, only-an Audio Research preamp.
Your mentioned touching your records. A small record shop popped into my mind. I was a teenager and never bought very many records as I moved a lot. In the sixties the was a record store name Sane and Insane(at least that what I remember) run by a prettiest woman that sold really great records. It was on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. I was surprised that I can still see that shop and her in my mind just when you mentioned touching your records.
Hi Steve, very interesting topic. I would never downgrade my system. My system is around $120,000 and I would only upgrade. As far as my music collection I haven’t gotten rid of any of that but I don’t buy anything anymore. I have an excellent streamer/dac and stream about 90% of the time. Very happy with that decision.
Great video as usual Steve, I rather enjoy your content when it’s about the hobby, you have a knack for picking the simple things and bringing light to them. Viewers systems were and are, A Okay!✌️
About 15 years ago I culled my CDs because I was running out of storage space. I got $150 for them at the local Newbury Comics and never missed them. When CDs were replaced by remasters I gave the old CDs to relatives. Recently I decided I didn't like some of the remasters and swapped the CDs with my bemused relatives! My old trusty DVDA player (and all my other players) could not play a newly acquired used scratched CD but an unused Sony Blu-ray played it fine, so I changed players. Sometimes there's a good reason to change!!
Very good topic. I have the same situation. The point is: These things are part of your own biography and cannot be brought back in identical form for the rest of your life. If you give them away, it starts to hurt for years. Be careful before doing so and think about the personal meaning that cannot be replaced. I donated my whole CD and DVD collection and gave away parts of it to my family for free, because I wanted to use only downloads and streaming. Now I regret it and got around 25 discs back from the family. The rest of roughly 200 discs is lost. I also sold a Sony MDS-JA30ES Mini Disc deck with a Mini Disc collection and still am insecure if this was right. Some music albums even are not available as a download or stream at all. Please learn from the mistakes others have made. Not everything that was wrong has to be repeated on and on. It hurts less if you think about it for a long time before you act.
Well Steve, you certainly hit a nerve amongst your viewers with this subject! I’m not one for comments but on this topic I felt I had to have my say. I have been streamlining my system for a few years, getting the box count reduced. I still play records, CDs and occasionally cassettes along with streaming. To my ears I don’t think the overall sound quality has suffered too much from my streamlining project. I’m a very contented listener. Here’s wishing you all Happy Listening 🎶👍
Just to clarify it is actually known as the law of diminishing returns (rather than the point). It is an accepted Economic principle which refers to the change in relationship between price and intrinsic value of manufactured items often (but not solely) caused by the reduced cost of mass producing items compared to lower volume production. It is a continuous law which applies all the way up the price scale and does not have specific kick-in point. That is a simplified description and the law applies to many different things. For example a $50k amplifier will not sound 100 times better than than a $500 amplifier!
I got back to hi fi audio recently. Started with streaming, then SACD/CDs, finally I got the McIntosh MT10 turntable, I couldn’t be happier. My lasted upgrade is the FYNE F1-12. So good !
I've been downsizing my system lately, getting into gear I can lift myself, I'm 65. I've been very careful with what I've purchased, the sound quality hasn't suffered much.
When I was younger I went from moving magnet cartridge to moving coil. It seemed the next step up and the right thing to do. About four years ago I went back to moving iron. I don’t call it down sizing but coming home again. Some people would call it downsizing though but my ears tell me different.
Downsize started to become a trend with so many 5" speakers being pushed, causing the idea of large speakers to fall out of fashion due to things like "WAF" and other interior deco trends. Mainstream audio started to be taken over by what amounts to a bunch of henpecked men who weren't 'allowed' to have big speakers in hunny bunny's bless'd (albeit unlived in) living room. Now because they aren't allowed to have big speakers, nobody should. I never gave into that, and have known since the '80s that my sweet spot woofer size is 15" for life-sized audio, with 8" being the minimum for near field. My desktop system is built around 12" monitors and 12" subs. I can downsize, but it would be a robust portable system that can comfortably reach 90db while still maintaining low distortion, even if I have to keep it stashed in a closet and brought out to save space, instead of it having to be installed permanently.
Agree. Over the years I gave away all of my vinyl, dumped the turntable and moved to CD's. Then fell into the streaming cult and sold all of my CD's and Stereo equipment. Ten years ago, I got back into vinyl and stereo. So glad I returned to where it started. Not sure it could have gone another way, but I am back into vinyl full tilt and analog is the only thing I listen to these days and I am not going back.
@Steve_Guttenberg_Audiophilliac sweet what did I win?
Don't ruin that pin Dennis!😏And don't let that imposter fool you...
Went through a divorce years ago. Lawyer fees and smaller digs caused me to downsize. Got back on my feet and gradually rebuilt. Killer system again!
Sorry to hear, so unnecessary but recognisable. Good luck my friend.
@@guus007 Thank you for your kind commiseration.
I went through a painful divorce a few years ago (I'd wanted a divorce, but NOT the need to get a divorce, if you get my drift). I hadn't discarded my gear or media in the interim (it went into storage) and my lawyers fees didn't get as bad as they could have- but after more than a decade I returned to a full system, and the capacity for analog as well as digital playback. My 'rebuilding' was more in the emotional realm. In my experience, with pain and losses can come certain soothing gains/returns to parts of one's previous life.
Yep, join the club.
Divorciophiliac……downsizing with lawyers fees 😅
Thank you Steve for showing my system and the nice comments at the end.
Nandu (UK)
Similar story, had a nice technics simple set up, turntable, amp cd player& mission speakers. Then started tinkering with minidisc, equalizers then surround & kind of lost my way. I gave my albums to my son then settled for streaming my phone music in mp3 to my portable speakers, what a disaster. After 10 years in the wilderness I longed for my early days of vinyl so with a redundancy package leaving my job I bought a Rega Planar 3, Marantz cd6007usb & 6007 amp with q acoustics 3020i which I liked but realised I fancied the B&W 607 s2 anniversaries, woe & behold 2 days later my wife treat me to them.
I am happy again, my son still had my albums & returned them to me (good lad) I now buy cheap cds for 1/10th of what they used to cost & have a couple of thousand hi-res flac albums for the marantz cd usb player or stream from my pc. Its a good & even better & cheaper this time round.
Sold my LP collection and LP12 20 years ago to focus on CD. This made sense for me as CD is better for me being a classical buff - never looked back. (surface noise - storage - cost of LPs - availability of titles(20thC classical) - turning over/changing disc mid piece...etc etc)
Been there done that, huge mistake!!!! Thousands of dollars later I'm back ( 2.1 Stereo only)
I downsized homes in 2008 which led to downsizing my CD collection from about 3,000 to 1,100. I went from a house to small condo and there was simply no room for many things and those 1,900 were part of the cut. 12 years later, I retired and moved to a house where I now have plenty of room and I very much regret getting rid of those CD's. Many times I have found myself in the mood to hear something, and invariably discover it's one of the CD's I had gotten rid of years earlier...This is actually what led to finally giving streaming a try.
Steve is right about a certain level of quality and you know CDs ... wow ... were any ever quality? No they used to wear out and stick on tracks and all the rest. Low quality plastic I guess. I have 'value' Audio, Radio Shack ... you know ... harman/kardon used to boast, you can't spend your money better than spend it with us. But these 'value' systems, they're not hi-end but they're fantastic as top of the range items. Optimus X-100 wasn't top, that honor went to the T-200. But hi-End is different, but well, only for the world's luckiest people, I guess.
@@keplermission I've heard so many people say they've had trouble with CD's peeling and degrading etc, but I've never had that issue. Not once dating all the way back to the mid 80's....I grew up with a Realistic all in one stereo/cassette/phonograph system from Radio Shack when I was a teenager. I still have it and it still works. It must be 45-46 years old by now. I don't care what anyone says. It wasn't audiophile, but they made quality stuff.
@@melprophet1936yeah no I'm totally in agreement, I have absolutely never in the history of buying CDs from 1991 all the way till today have I ever had a CD ever degrade, except for possibly getting so scratched that it was unreadable. I still have CDs though that I bought from 92 that are still playable and still work just as good as they always have. Personally when I see people talk about CD's degrading over time, I always seem to notice it's from people who are 25 or younger, and it seems to me that they honestly do not know what they are talking about. And it's always such a shame because it's a fantastic format and I hate the idea of somebody using a position of influence to influence others based upon wrong information.
@@melprophet1936 Yeah - same with CDs - got some from the 80s - all work fine. The single issue was a DG box set with a foam inlay which degraded, stuck to the CD, and destroyed it! 2nd hand discs are a lot more reliable too than 2nd hand vinyl - and post friendly!
@@robh9079not true I'm 73 years old, I have LPs I bought in the 60s that is still playing fantastic.
I sold my fabulous EAR 509 mono blocks and Gamut L5 speakers when my son started beating on the latter with wooden spoons. Seemed like a crime. I sold the amps to buy active ATC speakers and parked the Gamuts in my garage for three years hoping to bring them back up again. After three years in the garage and immersing ever more deeply into dad mode, I thought my days of focused listening were over, so I sold the Gamuts. Fifteen years later, I purchased another pair of L5 speakers, which I love, again. I still use the ATCs in my home theater, by the way. I've never sold off my vinyl, though I'm leaning toward culling my collection of LPs of music I no longer listen to and some LPs I keep around because . . . it's a special band, even though I don't listen to them any more. I love thirty seconds of Led Zeppelin (and a few others) and then . . . I've heard those songs so many times over 50 years, I can't listen to a whole song again let alone a whole album. If I regret my decision, I think youtube will suffice, at least for awhile.
i watched this video yesterday, and i just couldn't sleep. I realized than a year ago i made the choice to step down from my really nice NAIM amp and CD Player, aswell as my MHDT Lab Tube DAC to use instead a simple AV Receiver and it just never sounded as good but i did this for simplicity.
and so i woke up this morning and i decided to disconnect the AV receiver and put back the NAIM amp and nice DAC that were in storage and oh well, tears coming to my eyes as i just rediscovered the sound that i was loving so much
thank you
We moved to a smaller house 8 years ago and sold our Klipsch towers, turntable, LP collection, and half of our CDs. HUGE mistake. We decided during covid to get back into vinyl. Well, now we are replacing LPs at great expense. Not only that, we could now accommodate the tower speakers. Luckily we were able to find some Heresy IIs to rebuild, so all is not lost. It's nice to be back in the groove. Thanks
TIME is the GREAT HEALER. I once had to return a set of used speaker cables that cost thousands of dollars when new. Financial reasons. I couldn't stand to listen to my system right after that. I bought some older used Zu Audio cables thinking they would be a substitute. Nope. The clarity, openness, bass depth was gone. Massed strings on classical music sounded particularly sick and grey sounding. I had to take a month sabbatical and let my mind sort of forget how it used to sound with the better cable. Good that the trial period with the expensive cable wasn't long enough to hear that many of my albums. Maybe they would have been ruined forever, by the remembrance of how the cables showed me how the music could sound, or is supposed to sound. But just like the loss of a loved one, our sorrow and vivid memory of them fades quite a bit with time, so does ones memory of that extra bit of sound quality we once had. Your ear readjusts and life is fine, and you learn to live with what you have.
Perhaps a more interesting scenario than about someone having to have gone down a grade or two in sound quality, is someone who had to go from serious equipment down to something like a Soundesign system. Remember them? With the turntable and receiver, all in the same little cabinet. Could someone used to really great sound, ever get used to going down to something like that?
That probably doesn't happen often. Maybe somebody downsizing to a cheap receiver from seperates, would just get rid of those nasty sounds by turning down the treble control and be done with it; and I think you could get used to it, and live happily ever after. But it would be mpre dull; both the sound and the experience.
About 1990 I gave away all my LPs and the LP player and went full CD. Even if many audiophiliacs swear by vinyl I went to optimize my digital system in the direction of CD and streaming audiophile and am very satisfied with it and have no desire for the vinyl more
Thanks for sharing!
Hi , I sold everything (audio research) lp12 , Wilson’s….. because I moved to France.
Still have ALL my records in Seattle.
CAREFULLY chose an amazing streaming system here in France.
Spendor D9 Auralic Vega G2 Aries G2.1
Moon amp ….. Digital/ bass wise and in many other ways best system ever….. So my downsizing turned out well…. 🤩
Ten years ago we downsized our living situation and sold most of our record collection, about 5k records. We hadn’t listed to them in years and didn’t have a good sound system. Just recently I tried to improve the system with an EQ and a phono amp, but decided not to throw good money after bad and UPGRADED the whole thing with used McIntosh equipment and open box scratched Elysian speakers. What a huge improvement !!!! We started going to our local record store, online retailers, and youtube discovering new music, bands we missed the first time around, and some great mofi and SACDs. We also stream high res. It’s a fantastic new world of music out there!!!! We have no regrets selling our former record collection as the records we did save from it are hella scratched with the covers falling apart. I joke to my husband that we should get a used reel to reel, but I think I am really serious about that. This could not be more fun….love your channel
I did downsize, went from a 5.2 HT, to an uber complicated modern 2 channel system and finally found the sound I was looking for. I went through tens of thousands of dollars of gear in the past two years, before getting a pair of Zu Omen DW speakers... Then I saw a video regarding vintage Sansui receivers and the Zu's... All of the modern gear is pretty much gone... We now have a Sansui 4000, a PS Audio Gaincell as a DAC/Pre for the digital stuff, a WiiM Pro streamer and a Mofi StudioDeck TT. It all fits nicely on a Pangea Vulcan rack and sounds simply INCREDIBLE! Not looking back.
And on edit: I am adding to my vinyl collection, as the Sansui does something magical to the vinyl with its built in phono preamp.
Hi Mike!
I could never really get along with vintage audio, no matter what I try and i'd even bought supposedly restored items, but no matter what I try I always end up with some really cool vintage receiver or amplifier that I just love the sound of but 4 months go down the road in the damn thing won't turn on.
So I've made the personal decision as hard as it was, to never buy vintage amplifiers or receivers. I've had tremendous luck with vintage tape decks and vintage speakers and hell I've even had a few vintage turntables that hold up and work well, but I can't seem to get a good source of amplification to save my life
@@Audiorevue Understandable, and that sucks. I picked up two units for that reason, if one goes down, I can slip the other in. I found a local shop that has a tech that loves vintage Sansui, he owns a few. And he does not mess around, I had my Sansui 2000 tuner repaired, I had it back in three days. Other shops around me are telling me 6 months or longer. Another shop told me to scrap it and find another unit! This vintage audio sounds like a dirty game to me, with more than a few dirty players, especially these shops. So, I can understand folks not wanting to get involved with this gear.
Great message from Steve! My personal experience: 15 years ago, go married, had kids, had moved from my apt into a very crowded townhouse- greatly scaled down my system but stored the gear and the media (in this case lps; there was room for most of my cds) I had no room to set up/use. Years later, circumstances evolving, having the space for a full system/listening room again, I'm glad I didn't dump what I had.
While I had some great listening experiences in-between, I definitely often missed my full system/collection.
Steve, Once an individual eats Steak, a Prime steak, they can't eat Hamburgers !! But if you have a great Hamburger that you have come to like, you continue eating that hamburger. That's why your friend could withstand the $1K replacement Preamp. This does point out what i didn't realize...How Much a Preamp can affect the quality of sound in a stereo system. Two weeks ago, I've had the happy event of finding about 80 LPs that I had stored in a Plastic container in my garage for over 20 years. I went through them since, cleaning them carefully and playing them. They escaped pretty much unscathed (the old ones which were played on inferior equipment many years ago had issues). The LPs had a broad range: the wife's LPs, some of my Brother's and mine. From Arlo Gutherie to The Who [Live at Leeds]. I am playing all my Chuck Mangione LPs now - enjoying them immensely - forgot how good his music was & excellent recordings. As an "experiment: , I'm playing the LPs and then Stream it via Tidal, etc. to hear the differences. There are some !!
First of all, let me preface my remarks by saying that I've enjoyed your comments/reviews over the years (decades actually). I too (once) had many large systems including the likes of IMF Transmission line monitors, Conrad Johnson and Threshold electronics, Irving M. Fried speakers, KEF, and the list goes on. Then I got married and wallaaaaa - all those outlays of cash and desires went out the window (well, somewhat).
But now that I'm in my 70's, I've greatly had to downside (scale-back, if you will) to a nicely set-up desktop nearfield-system - and to be honest, I've never been happier. No mind you, I'm still looking at quality components, however, this time around, they have to be very compact. This confines me to smaller book-shelf speakers with a powered subwoofer under the desk, audiophile level cables of all types, and various class AB and class D amplifiers (of which many are relatively inexpensive, yet whose performance levels punch far above their price points), and DAC's.
So in my case (and I'm sure there are others also who fall within this category, I've become quite satisfied with this downsizing arrangement. Just my two cents worth here...
Keep up the great work Steve....
Had to pause the video to comment. A good friend of mine said just a few days ago, and I had to agree, because I literally just experienced this. Behind loudspeakers, the preamp can be the most important component in your system. I’ve had 2 pre’s in house for the last 20 years. One a solid state, the other a tube. The tube pre had to come out for a few days so I could put fresh tubes in. The SS, same manufacturer by the way,….just didn’t cut it anymore. Soundstage was not as wide or deep, and it has just enough sheen on top I noticed it. Things did not sound as natural. So your friend had the bad mis-fortune of having the ❤ of his system cut out😊 Now I’ll watch the rest
Stand Up. I am an Audiophiliac. Haven't listened to a top end system for 37 years 3 months and 2 days.
I was a LP12 based system in the early 80's and only listened to albums that I was advised to with Good Production. It was lovely. One day I woke and realised that I was missing music. I starting listening to radio in the kitchen. Did a major house move and changed to CD. Didn't involve me in the music but I was hearing Punk!!! Now 65 with sonus throughout the house. Mainly bbc radio but also deezer FLAC. I do have a little room with sonus amp and a nice pair of 80's bookshelf that I enjoy.
Don't be to serious with Music. It's good in the kitchen/car/beach too!
My biggest regret in life is selling my vinyl collection. I do not regret downsizing my system though. I'm tired of too many wires and 50+ lb amplifiers. Very happy with my all-in-one Lyngdorf TDAI-1120.
Hi STEVE love your channel! In 1999 I was married for my second time and ready for a clean start. So I downsized. I gave my new father in-law my small record collection. I was no audiophile at the time, and didn't know they existed but just didn't have the room. Fast forward 20 years and my father in-law still had my collection. I became quite sick and unable to work and watch a lot of UA-cam. I came across you and learned about audiophiles and all the crazy gear. I slowly built up my stereo system and wanted to get back into vinyl, so I called up my father in-law to get back my record collection. And as my luck would have it he had given it away the week before. I almost cried! I have since been able to accumulate around 350 records that resemble the lost collection of my youth. I have learned so much from your channel and hope to someday send pictures to you for "viewer system of the day" 😊
10k£ full-size system in two large bookcases. CD/Amp/Speakers, wires out back. 800+ Cds on the shelves. 2 LP's for Art (on rotation). UK size bedroom. Best sounding system I have ever had, because it's in exactly the right space. Never owned a seperate dac or done 'streams'. Thanks and happy listening to you, Steve, and all your viewers😊
I did this in the milennium &;for years not had a hifi. Around 2017 I had to rebuild a whole new system based on vinyl, cd's & high res files. I AM BORN AGAIN.
i have had to sell my Hi-Fi equipment when things got tough and needed the money for the children at Xmas but the one thing that i never parted with was my Records no mater how down i was they stayed with me, and i am so glad that i did as they hold a lot of memories
Analog is cool, but I love the modern era where anyone with a cell phone, powered speakers and headphones can listen to the world's music at a very high level of audio fidelity.
Sold my house, moved into a condo. Put away the Proceed Amp&Pre, the Marantz CD5000, B&Ws, Nakamichi DR-1 and Philips TT. No where to put in condo. Recently bought The Fisher 400 and a pair of Heresy's! I'm going to add 1 more piece... technics sl1500c. And that's it. 2 speakers, 1 TT and The Fisher! I'm so excited to have such simplicity
I'm still regretting the great vinyl purge of '92 when I sold most of my original vinyl collection at a yard sale. Oy vey!
Steve, great video, as always. Like many, when CDs were new, I started down that path but never gave up on vinyl. My collection spent a few years in a closet but I resurrected my Pioneer PL530 (bought new in 1975) and started playing and collecting vinyl again. Years later I moved up to a used Rega P25 with an Ortofon 2M Red and continued to upgrade my whole system. But, in preparation for retirement and a move to a condo in Florida, I sold perhaps half of my vinyl. At that time I also downsized my Focal Profile 918s to a pair of Joseph Audio Pulsar3 Graphene with custom stands from SoundAnchor. I miss the albums I sold but I sure haven't missed the Focals. The Pulsars are fantastic. Since arriving in Florida I have upgraded my turntable to a new Rega P6 with the Asia MC cart and added the PS Audio Stellar phono preamp and a P12 regenerator to my system. The biggest downside of selling vinyl is the replacement cost. Most of what I sold were albums I purchased in the 70s and were in great shape, some of which can't be replaced. Thanks for your efforts.
Have a small room w/ 10,000 cds in it and and a closet full of LPs. Getting rid of hard copies of recordings is off the table for me. I sold a big vinyl collection for peanuts in the early 90's and probably shouldn't have. A couple of years ago I figured getting an integrated w/a phono stage would optimize space and open things up for the speakers, so an Aavik U-300 moved in (w/RCA inputs and outputs only). It certainly didn't sound bad or significantly reduce my listening time, but my cd player according to the manual performs best using the XLR signal path. This nagged at me so the Aavik got replaced w/ separates. Can't really assign a percentage to the perceived improvement after going w/ mono blocks, a line pre amp and phono amp, but it is tangible. For sure the Clayton M-300 monoblocks made the lower frequencies sound richer and more controlled, but they produce a ridiculous amount of heat.
In the 80s sold my 300 plus record collection and replaced with a 450 cd collection.2012 heard streaming music , and then sold my cds and stream for $10 dollars a month no regrets . To my ears the quality
Is better than ever.!
Love this topic Steve. I play CDs, LPs, and Stream….enjoy all venues and the interaction with my multiple musical playback system when mood suites. Let’s face it …much of our hobby is the feel, look and interaction with our system, while chasing our personal musical taste and sound. Waaaay cool and fun. I have had to hold, (having children) downsize, and then build again in a lifetime of listening….My best moment was retirement as I build and tweak a hobby that I love….Great video! 😊
That’s it! “Playing” with our stereo equipment is half the fun! That, and handling the media and reading the notes.
Dean a Great Post! I'm Kinda in the same boat, enjoying all the mediums available. Retired now, at 71 yo, (and a Resurrected Rock and Roll Drummer after 50 Years!). Music is a love of mine as it is to all the posters / viewers here. I have my GOTO LR system in the house "created" in 1987: NAD 1300 Preamp, NAD 2600 Amp, Dual CS5000 TT, a Onkyo 6-disc CD player & a Pair of KEF 104/2 that play as well as when new. For my Drumming activities / Hobby, I amassed a new Stereo system in the Finished basement - "Studio /Mancave" [I hate that term, but it fits for now] during COVID Hibernation to provide music playing that I play along to. I can play Cassettes, LPs, CDs, and Stream all the Music that I enjoy.
I recently "downgraded" - I sold my B&W 702s2 speakers ($7000) and put my OLD Monitor Audio RS6's ($1,000 in 2006) back in play in my main system. Front end is Bluesound Node 2-->Schiit Freya+-->Pass Labs XA25 and I am INFINITELY happier. While the RS6's are significantly smaller and less detailed, they are much more musically satisfying.
Story #2: I got ride of my 1000+ CD collection when I moved houses around 2 years ago. I was already using Apple Music lossless at the time and that continues to be my primary source. After 2 years without my CDs, I can say that I haven't missed having them a single time.
Final downsizing story: I replaced my Parasound A21 with my current Pass Labs XA25 around a year ago. The Pass is significantly more expensive but far lower power (around 80w/ch as compared to 250w/ch on the Parasound). Even in my relatively large listening room, I have never missed the extra power and am much more satisfied with the higher quality watts from the Pass amp.
Over the years I sold CDs I grew tired of to second hand vendors or donated others to friends' collections which in retrospect I sometimes regretted. At one point I disposed of many CDs that I felt were poor recordings, not worthy of a place in my "audiophile" collection. Certainly a big mistake.
I decided to store best of my CD music (and also LP) on magnetic tapes - with 3,75"/cm it is the same (or better) impression and with 2 hrs tape I have 4 CDs stored (it all tracks) or 8-10 if selected only It saves me occupied space few times. Mostly because I do not trust in timeless CDs and CD playing and fear of my unique very good pickup damage in careless use With R2R I worry only about having spare belts
I have kept every album, 45, CD and DVD I've bought since I was 13 years old. I'm in my 60's today. I came close to downsizing source material a couple of times, but I resisted even after I signed up for Tidal. Today, I use a mix of all forms of audio sources. As you accurately point out, I do not hear as well these days, but you are absolutely correct that I can discern differences in vinyl today. I have a 1970's album that sounds much better than a 1-year-old new album from the same artist. You're also right about the memories. My first Mothers of Invention album almost gave my mother a stroke and I had to hide my Rolling Stones "Sticky Fingers" album like porn. All great memories! Thanks for an awesome video!
I had a nice system back in the 1980's, NAD, Pioneer, Polk, nice but not expensive. I was fascinated by the gear, but never that connected to the music, CD's, which I still have but never listen to and cassettes which I have given away along with all that vintage gear. Never had any vinyl back then, though I do have my parent's record collection. I rediscovered music recently, and it was through a quirky pair of speakers I built myself, which astonished me and since I have bought a very cheap tube amp, class A point to point wired, and made several kits, like the ACA amp, and several by Bottlehead. My taste in music has changed a lot, streaming has enabled me to explore, and I feel way more connected to what I listen to now, so I don't miss my old collection, or my old gear, which I don't remember sounding anywhere near as good is me current rig that I'm in love with. I'm having a blast, and no regrets at all. Rather it seems to have been a journey I had to make to really discover music.
Steve , great topic!
I started purging my record collection in March, attempting quality over quantity, I never Imagined it would take me this long and it would be so difficult, several lp’s headed out have found a way back in after listening as part of the evaluation…I find it surprising but it speaks to your point; some of these records after not listening in years (decades) are now sweet music to my aging ears and soul, a satisfying revelation!
Thank you 🙏🏽
Those darn shiny disks in the late 80s prompted me to trade in my vinyl (much of it BlueNote) at Honest John's in London. Doh! Building it back up again with the nice Tone Poet releases. Best downsize was ripping my large CD collection to FLAC, those plastic jewel cases take up too much space and were mostly cracked anyway! Maybe one day I'll move to an integrated from separates and a DAC with built-in streamer...
I got rid of my mono blocks and preamp and went with an integrated.
I'm pleased
Upgrade in sound for me and the extra room is great
The music collection is the centerpiece of my system, whatever the system may be. I downsized the collection physically from 50 tapes and 5,000 LP and CD albums to a 10TB harddrive (+ backup) holding flac files and laptops as players. The former tapes, mixtapes with carefully selected tracks, are still there as playlists. My first tape recordings of hits and LP tracks from a transistor radio in the early '70s are still available, just in a converted format.
That's the smart way to downsize. Exact copies of CD digitized. I've been doing the same.
How did you digitize the music from tapes?
@@Mark_2GP I used Audacity and the computer had a sound card that had audio inputs
@@colanitower The same for the LPs as well? Wow that must of been a lot of work vs CDs....
@@BrianGarside It was a project, and it looked daunting at first but luckily it was less work than it seems. The album collection was 1,000 LPs and 4,000 CDs. Most LPs also on CD, leaving about 250 LPs. Buying 2nd hand CDs for 1 or 2 euros apiece reduced that to about 100 LPs. Recording LPs to PC is not much different than to reel-to-reel, just hook up the PC and let the turntable do its thing. The tapes were mostly selections from the albums, mine or from friends. 10 to 12 of the tapes held tracks from albums not available anymore or unique recordings from the radio.
I'm so glad I did this. Fully digital there's fewer components in the system to upgrade, so within the overall budget there's more budget available per component. No downsizing there 😊
Hi Steve,
This video goes straight to the heart of my musical madness.
Sold all my vynil, which to this day I regret (years of teenage ill caring, a rotten turntable...) started a CD collection from scratch. Even though most of my listening I stream through Tidal and Qobuz, don't want to let go of my CDs, they represent decades of searching, countless happy hours in record shops, a lifetime love affair.
Equipament wise, I've bought and traded to the point of reaching a very respectable hi fi system, in fact, two systems (one manifestly better than the other). Neverheless, how I wish I could've kept all the amps and speakers I let go of. But this hi fi thing is already so so irrational that somewhere along the line we have to be reasonable - we cannot buy and keep everything.
My first mistake on the advent of CD was in ditching 2,000 LP's, mostly first issues of classic rock and pop, in favour of CD's. I've since spent the last few decades re-buying the same LP's often in less good condition or in inferior re-issues. My second much more recent and at least partial mistake on retiring along with moving to The New Forest and downsizing our house, was to similarly downsize my system and music collection. My CD collection topped 3K. 2K of these I burnt to my Aurender N10 and I'm pretty happy with the results, I've retained all my SACD's and favourite CD's. Less happily I had to cut down my by then 5K LP collection since there is simply not enough space in our new house. I've kept the very best 2K and am managing to squeeze in a few new purchases as time goes by. What I remember with a pang of regret, was how good my previous system sounded: All Esoteric amps (pre, power, E03 phono and XT5 CD/SACD player, a DCS Debussy DAC, a Brinkmann La Grange turntable, 10.5 tonearm and EMT cartridge, all into Tannoy Kensington speakers). I now have a rather more modest Hegel 360 amp, Clearaudio Performance DC wood deck, Satisfy Carbon arm and Essence mc cartridge, a Tom Evans Groove Anniversary phono stage, the Aurender N10, an X-Sabre Pro MQA dac and a Marantz Ruby CD/SACD player. The speakers are ATC SCM 40's. This all sounds pretty good and sometimes extraordinarily good but there was a certain magic to my old set up that I can't recapture. On a retirement income the heady days of top end kit is out of my reach anyway and 99% of the time I'm more than happy with what I've got. The 1% can be assuaged with a good Negroni.
Thanks for this advice. I have this ancient set of huge speakers that are uglier than sin itself, but they sound awesome. I’m going to set them up again someday and I’m not downsizing, dammit!✌️
That's aspirational! After a long time mostly away from the gear (naturally still enjoying the music), I was finally able to return to it and enhance the musical experience overall.
Got tired of my 7.2.4 system,ripped out the wires, now very happy with my 2.2 system. Less is sometimes more.
In this age of "The Internet of all Changes", it's refreshing to hear Steve use "Man" in his conversations. You rock Man. Greetings from India
My biggest regret is donating some of my LPs and CDs to Goodwill due to an international move in 1999. I had started my LP library in1962 when I was given a suitcase record player for Christmas. You are entirely correct Steve when you said the memories of when, where, who sold it to you and what was going on in your life come flooding back as soon as you see the spine, covers and label. The non-audiophile people in my family cannot understand why I still have so many LPs and CDs because "how are you going to listen to them all at your age!" 🤣
My main system totals over £54,000, my second system comes in at just under £2000 and I love it.
No, it is obviously not as good as my main but it has great synergy and really sounds fantastic.
I enjoy both.
Many years ago I had over 8000 albums and a couple of thousand singles.
Now I only stream and prefer the convenience.
That's a great observation. Many of us have memories of enjoying a song when we 1st heard it on a tiny radio. Some music has a different "personality" when heard on a nice, but modest desktop system.
Upsized my set up. New(er) speakers, restored receiver, cd jukeboxes, old-timey turntable, eq, new gently used cds and 33s. I enjoy it all.
My Magnepan 1.7i’s are in the shop for a minor repair and, alas, I need to depend on my backup speakers, Klipsch Forte II’s (circa mid-1980’s). Since I got the Maggie’s a couple years ago, I would occasionally swap them out for the Forte’s. I’d listen for a couple days (with some disappointment) and then go back to the Maggie’s. This time, as usual, at first all I could hear was what I was missing from the Maggie’s-their massive “wall of sound”, high-end detail, and great detail. After a while, maybe a week, I really started to appreciate what I was hearing from the Forte’s-their dynamic sound, low end presence, and horn-inflected vocals. I’ve been living with them now for a couple weeks and, truth be told, I could live with them forever. Sure the Magnepan 1.7i’s are better and I’m looking forward to getting the Maggie’s back. I’m certainly I’m going to love them. But it’s been quite the pleasurable experience with the Forte’s. The lesson for me is that sometimes you “like what you eat” not just “eat what you like.”
Steve, 4 years ago this summer I moved over 2,000 miles to be close to family. That forced lots of downsizing. A big part of that was simply getting rid of components I no longer used, a surprising collection once all pulled together. I didn't own that many CDs, less than 400. But I gave away or donated nearly half. My LP collection was something more than 3,000. Realistically at my age I knew I wan't likely to listen to them all again. So a bit of a painful and time consuming task to sort through them all to decide which 1,000 or so were my "favorites" to make the trip. I'd run out of time (that's a different story) so I had to sell them all to a local dealer rather than directly myself. Less money but much more convenient.
Now I wonder if I'll listen to all of those 1K records? ;^)
Haven't downsized but I have a small Onkyo bookshelf system I use on the main level when I'm working around the house, cooking dinner, relaxing after work, etc. I also have a 2 channel system that's over 10X the cost and is the one I use for really sitting down and listening. It's certainly more enjoyable and sounds better, but...I still do most of my listening on the other system. They both have their place in my life. As for the CDs and LPs...nah, couldn't downsize that. There are CDs I haven't listened to in years and albums I've only played once but they just couldn't generate enough cash to make a difference in my life. I'd rather have them on the shelf in case I ever get a wild nostalgic thought and want to dust something off I haven't heard in a long long time.
Hey Steve, About 10 years agoI got tired of hauling my Lp's and gave them to a fellow worker. He was a lover of vinyl so I knew he would appreciate them. Five years later I started building a new system and got a turntable. I call my buddy and asked if he would mind giving me back my records, he had them in storage and some of them had gotten wet. He couldn't find all of them but returned the majority. I was so happy to get them back. I won't do that again!
I definitely think us older audiophiles hear deeper into the music. Love your channel. But to see other’s gear I prefer Facebook - I get to choice what brand/ type of gear and can chat with the owners.
I only add records to a collection I started when I was eight. I only replaced my 41-year-old speakers because they broke down. Still use my now 42-year-old turntable. So I don't downsize nor do I upgrade! I take my good time making my choices and then typically enjoy what I have selected for its lifespan.
I worked at a HiFi store, so I still have a ton of CD's, I do stream and I burned most of my CDs to HD drives... I keep on talking about downsizing but frankly my room is dialed in and I customized it to make any speaker sound better.. I will send you some pics Steve, been reading your reviews for 20 years since college days and always appreciate your simple approach to making this hobby fun, as it should be..
I have Premium Spotify now and use a DAC. Many of my old LPs and CDs, were purchased as demos. I got rid of my 45s many years ago. And I know which LPs are very rare now like some imports from England back in the late '60s. The last audio equipment I purchased was a "Nitty Gritty Record Cleaner".
Stopped listening 20+ years ago... Just bought a house and I have no wife to talk sense to me... I have an ARC SP3A1, first one in Michigan... Bought in 81 from original owner who owns a shop in the burbs of Detroit... His name was Harry and I don't recall the name of his shop... Had Maggie's MG2A and eventually went to Vandersteens 2CEs... Also a Luxman turntable with a Magnapan tonearm with an Audioquest cartridge... Here comes the bad part... I gave the turntable to a friend and when he was getting the table, I also gave him the Maggie's... Fortunately, our tastes in vinyl so I'm getting most of my records back... I also have 3 ARC amps... A D76, a D30 and a D110... All of these have set idle for 25 years... So.... To try to determine what needs attention, I bought Emotivas XDA preamps and their stereo amp that puts out way more power than I usually run... So, over the next period of time, I'll be figuring out what's what and if any of it needs work, try to find someone id trust with my goodies... Hope to have it up and running tomorrow... I really enjoy your shows and commentary... We listen alike... Thanks Ken in Berlin NH
I downsized from separates to an Integrated. Said goodbye to my TT and now stream. Sold the oversized, rollout speakers in favor of 2 way standpoint with a sub. Upgraded my ethernet cables to AQ Dragons. Added EMI absorbing sheets Now have an even better sound with less gear and love it!!
I have sold most of my lps from the seventies. My taste changed to jazz and classical. I don't miss them, I'm not sentimental. I did keep some Zappa records though.
I sold two huge boxes of LPs prior to moving from Missouri to California in 1982. The owner of the store drooled with delight at my incredible collection. Also sold my sound system. Since we can access almost any album with Tidal, there are few LPs I miss. There are a few LPs I can't find on Tidal, but the point of selling all those possessions was the spiritual lesson of non-attachment. Couple years later I bought a terrible sounding boom box, but didn't care much. I've since bought an excellent system from Craigslist for a fraction of the retail price and I'm very happy with it. Denon receiver; Sony DVD player and EMP Tek towers with an Emotiva Bas X S12 subwoofer. For about $500.00 I get a system that shakes my chair with excellent dynamics, but has excellent control and detail as well. But 95% of my listening is on Klipsch powered speakers and the Emotiva sub...
In the UK it is rather difficult, in 30 years each new house has been smaller than the last, when we started a family I simply had no room for the thousands of record and had to sell most of it.
The bigest downsize, downgrade, is modern flimsy small houses.
Here I am trying to get back into it, convenience plays a big part, but so does space, when you have used large speakers for decades, its simply too difficult to fall in love with todays tiny speaker systems.
My equipment has sat on shelves unused, unplugged, for years, all sorts of problems now need addressed, once I get all the issues repaired, I need to revisit and re-evaluate where I am going with it all. Problem is, todays replacements are prohibitively costly, and the service work is at prices that make simply purchasing a second hand alternative often a more cost effective viable option. Which sucks.
I am in the process of downsizing my system so this video is timely. I am tired of turning on multiple pieces just to listen to music. The replacement will either be a Kiii system or an all in one (DAC and amplifier) with my Aurender. I want simple and I willing to take a hit from the super high end system I have now. As for downsizing my CD collection, well once you burn the CD's to the Aurender, you can store the CD's. Every piece of music in on the server which makes life easier.
For once I disagree with you Steve. I’ve recently downsized to the point that I only have an all-analog system consisting of turntable, SUT, preamp with onboard phono, amp and full-range floorstander speakers. No digital, no outboard power supplies, no power conditioners, no subs. I have a grand total of three power cords and three pairs of interconnects. I absolutely love its simplicity - the short signal path really gives me great sound. As for the LP collection, I sell off records if I’ve replaced them with better pressings or if I never listen to them. I try to take a curated approach that values quality over quantity. Currently a bit more than 1,000 records, with another 200 in the “sell” pile.
That is called an UPGRADE not a downgrade. It might be smaller but not really downsized, because the sound is more.
Quality over quantity. Always. 👍
I‘m Collection music since 1982 but I live in the middle of a big tön, so my space is limited. If I want to enjoy new music, I have to give up older stuff. And that‘s ok. I loose something but I also get something in return. Live changes constantly and so do I. Thanks for your wonderful videos. Greetings from Cologne Germany. 👋
Thanks for sharing, I appreciate your perspective.
Sometime around 2010, I digitized all 1600-ish CD’s I owned and threw them in boxes which eventually were donated to a used record store who didn’t really want them. Have not regretted it in the least and never play CD’s anymore. Around 2018 I discovered hi-res streaming services and that was a game changer, as so many titles sound better than I remember. Certainly not all sound great and some are worse than the CD but the access to nearly everything for a reasonable monthly fee that’s less than the cost of one year’s worth of CD buying back in the day is just fantastic. I love DJ’ing my way through an evening being inspired as I listen (one track reminds me of another and so on)-no way to do that with physical media. I love all my LP’s too, have definitely weeded out the sucky ones and sold those to used record stores but I continue to acquire. I prefer buying audiophile releases on vinyl for the sonic experience and streaming everything else.
I love Steve and all of my audiophiles. I disagree we all are going to die at some point and no one should be left with all our crap to deal with. Downsize, sell and donate fifty years and over. For the love of all things pure😂
I gave away a 50-year collection of classical LPs to someone on NextDoor who was very excited to be getting into vinyl. I'd already ripped the few that I didn't think would make it to CD, and the giveaway emptied a closetful of boxes. I don't miss them, and someone else is certainly enjoying them!
I unloaded my LP collection about 10 years ago. While I occasionally miss them for that tactile reason you describe, Steve, the fact is they were no longer in good enough condition to enjoy. Too many wild parties and careless roommates had put some serious hurt on them! At this point in my life (66 years old) getting back into vinyl just isn't worth the time and money. I'd rather spend money on gear upgrades. For all the folks young and old buying vinyl my reaction is "go for it". All the fun and satisfaction of discovery and listening I had assembling my collection is an experience everyone should enjoy.
Shout out to you Steve for showing those Crites speakers. Bob's son Michael has taken over running the company since Bob's death a couple of years ago. They build a great box and fill it with quality components that crush that mass market horn speaker maker who shall remain nameless. Keep an eye on them because Michael tells me new designs are on the way that will compare well with some of the boutique makers such as Volti you recently reviewed.
Hi Steve! Good topic. I’ve done it! Rega Planar 1 + Fono Mini A2D+Rega Apollo CD+ Ruark Audio MRII. Best decision I’ve ever made! The main reason was to have a compact system that performed very well at low to medium volume levels! I still buy CDs and Vinyl, but I use Spotify via Bluetooth most of the time. This system gives me all I need! Best Regards!
Thanks for bringing this topic up Steve. I'm not a big believer in downsizing myself and that's why I brought up another UA-cam channel in which downsizing what is the topic
I sold many of my Rolling Stones albums after university due to financial pressures. The only records I kept were the mono copies that the record stores didn't want. It was 1990 and CD's were taking over. Mono pressing were considered as unsaleable. A few years later I got to meet Mick Jagger and he was open to signing my mono records. He joked around, writing "monoly yours..." I totally regret selling my records. I would have had more signed records. I also have memories of digging through crates at Vortex, the Vinyl Museum, and other long gone used record stores in Toronto and experiencing the triumphant joy of finding clean, barely played Stones records from the 1960's. Those records are gone forever. I have the memories but not a physical object that I can hold and reconnect with that moment. I'm also spending serious $ rebuilding my collection. I can't change the past. But I now appreciate what I have more.
It's funny you say that in the '90s the mono versions were considered unsellable, because nowadays typically the mono versions are the most desirable and the most valuable.
My recordcollection -mostly classical music- had become unplayable. Despite careful handling and keeping. I got rid of it. Now I only listen to CD's and streaming. I'm enjoying listening to music more than ever. Did'nt come to regret it. Thanks for your nice and informative videos.
I'm curious how it was unplayable, I mean you know I have a friend of mine who has records that he's physically owned from the '70s and the late 60s and he plays them regularly and on a good turntable I don't hear any issue with them, matter of fact they sound fantastic.
Given that I'm just kind of curious what you mean when you say that they were unplayable despite careful handling and so forth. Perhaps it was your cartridge that was worn out or various other things, I mean I'm not questioning you intelligence or your sincerity regarding the issue, I guess just makes me wonder.
On further thought it could be that the records were simply dirty, you know especially on older records the more you play them over time with dust and so forth no matter what you do they can accumulate dirt in the grooves and not sound as good as they once did, so it is a good idea to invest in a record cleaning machine of some variety so as to maintain that pristine sound.
@@Audiorevue Thank you for your answer. What's done is done. If I had still had my records and turntable I certainly would follow your advise to invest in a disc cleaning machine. It might have saved the day. At the time of dispensing of the discs I was very little savvy of hifi audio and its possibillities. Too late to change things. I will now stick to my digital music. Thanks again, anyway.
Got ride of all my turntables, 5000 LP's etc, etc, etc, some years ago, couldn't be happier.
This has so happened to me. I have sold and donated large colllections and hardware. Then got back into it. Then donated massive collections again and then reacquired. In my defense I just couldn't find adequate storage at times. By the way, your channel is great!
Just downsized in June in my move from a big house in an undesirable part of CA to an apartment less than half the size but in lovely San Diego. It was worth it to ditch the extra gear that wasn’t even being played. Sure there was a piece of gear I’ve could’ve kept as backup but overall No Regrets. Especially now I’m focused on building a new 2-channel stereo setup as my primary listening station.
I trimmed my LP collection from about 400 to 300 twenty years ago. There are a few obscure, out o' print records I miss. I didn't play those often, but now that I'm in internet radio I'd like to have a copy of "White Lightnin'" or "Running Bear" to add to the playlist! Also, I made the mistake of digitizing some songs via the Aux jack on my laptop. (Yikes! Rookie mistake.) Later, I bought a Scarlett interface with a good ADC. I still have really special LPs like the 2nd Kate Bush LP that I wrote & asked EMI to send me when I was a college DJ. I moved many of my jewelcase CDs to looseleaf albums to save space.
My Point of Diminishing Returns: Magnepan LRS +, REL Tzero MK III, Hegel H95, Bluesound Node, Oppo DV-980H.
I'm in my 70s now. When I was in my 30s I was planning to go abroad as a missionary, but that plan didn't come about. I had given away my LPs and system. I didn't go! So after a while I got back into hifi and started to rebuild my system and music collection, and I bought again many of my LPs. It took me some time, and some LPs were no longer available.
Recently I had to get rid of some of my cds, a need to down size. I haven't missed those cds yet.
I am one of these hoarders who can't bear to get rid of any gear or music formats, unless I am selling to upgrade. Mostly I stream but some days it's vinyl, next might be Atmos Bluray, then SACD. I still have cassettes and, God help me and much to my wife's irritation, I have just bought an early 70s reel to reel.
Happily I haven't been in a situation where I needed to sell stuff for financial reasons, but that would be miserable. I can't throw out or sell books either. If it wasn't for my Kindle the house would be overrun.
I digitised all my 1000 or so cds years ago but they are all still in a big box beside the system. I am truly a lost cause.
I was never a high end audiophile, but I had a reasonable stack of components and speakers. Then I made an international move and the system went away but I kept the CDs. For the longest time my music system was a CD Walkman and some headphones. Sure, I’d get an idea here or there to get a system but sometimes lacking funds, time or space it never became a reality. And I sort of realized it’s all about the music anyway. These days my CD Walkman has become an iPhone and I ripped all my CDs as lossless files and I rotate them on and off the phone as mood strikes. I have some Sennheiser cans for when I’m in the mood for just music, and some Bluetooth earbuds when I’m at work or multitasking. I have some powered mini monitors on my desk, they’re not great in any way, but a good performance, recorded well, is still very listenable. I mean, it’s all about the music.
Totally agree, I gave away my Pioneer system and Celestion Ditton CS7's to a relative 25 years ago who never spoke to me again, because my wife said it all took up too much space! Since I retired I got rid of the mini-system I replaced my original gear with and have replaced it with great new-old stock and an incredible pair of Mordaunt Short Avant speakers and it all sounds better than before. I have also dived into the vinyl market and filled in the gaps in my music collection, but of late have started buying CD's because vinyl prices have gone crazy! I am back and love the hobby and now developed a second system! Love it love love it! And love your show too!
Thanks for sharing your story! And thanks for watching.
I have no plans to downsize my system (quite the opposite). However I recently set up a system at my parents' apartment for a fraction of what mine cost (they are not into sound the way I am). It's still a blend of vintage and modern gear, and we all agree it sounds amazing. Receiver is a Scott 342c (compact solid state c.1969 but with very warm, satisfying sound). Source is currently a Topping DX3Pro which streams music from an ipad (yes, it's bluetooth for now, possibly a future upgrade). Speakers Kilpsch RP600m. We were all amazed not only with the quality of the sound, but that it could fill the huge dining/living room space in their home. All of this cost less than the price of my receiver alone.
As for my collection, have never downsized. When my parents moved I took my of the vinyl I grew up (Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, etc), still have my Sesame Street childhood records, entire CD collection starting from the 90's, and some favorite cassette tapes. I was laughed at for keeping the CDs once I had them scanned as MP3s.. lol. But I never like to give up originals whether its recordings or photos. There's no replacing those, plus cd's do sound different than streamed music (and there's currently no way to stream the Beatles in Mono).
I set my equipment aside for a few years, but kept everything. Even though I upgraded to new Forte speakers, I still have my Heresys from 1985. I also still have my 2 old receivers.
Also, I still have all my cassettes, LPs, and Cds. Even a few 8-tracks. Fun to pop in a cassette every now and then as well as LPs.
It’s fun having all this old stuff and the new.
I still have all my CD's (a couple hundred from when I was a kid in the 90s). I was smart enough to keep the cases (as the style at the time was to put then in CD books which I did). Years later when I wanted them back in their cases, I found the storage bin with all the jewel cases and inserts and said "glad I kept those". I only had like four cassettes when I was a kid (as I got a CD player when I was nine) and funny enough I kept those.
Now, I started to get into vinyl around 2008 and really only had DJ records. I wanted a nice 80's/90's collection, but didnt know where to start. Then I got the bright idea to keep going to a Goodwill for two years straight (nothing but slim pickings, you know Johnny Mathis and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass records for days.) Then one day, I hit the motherload. Some DJ from the 80s/90's unloaded their entire collection (300-400 records), and I happened to be there when they were put out. I grabbed every single one and have them to this day. Ill carry them up a skyscraper if need be (stuff like Bobby Brown, Madonna, Prince, Devo, Tears for Fears etc.)
Great topic Steve! I downsized from LPs when I started buying CD versions. Kept the rare stuff, about 100. I’ve moved from a 2 channel system to a 7.2 HT and now back to a 2 channel system with the best equipment I’ve ever had with a CD player and streaming. Downsized all the cassette tapes I made of LPs years ago. Burned all my CDs to my computer but back to buying CDs and love it. Gave a lot of my old gear to friends and family over the years. No regrets as far as music. Listening to music is better than ever! music can be played in every room of the house, in the car, boat and anywhere else with all the in place and portable equipment with streaming. So much music and so little time to listen!
I gave up my system and room for my wife to teach quilting classes back in 2000. Six years later I put together a system with small monitors on stands, integrated amp, turntable and cartridge. Later picked up a small subwoofer. Fast forward to now and I'm back to separates and high end gear. Currently have Van Alstine DVA M225 mono blocks, Benchmark LA4 line level preamp, Playback Design Edelweiss MPD-6 Dac w/ streamer option, Marantz ND 8006 CD player used as a transport, updated and modified Pioneer tuner TX 9100, and ModWright PH 9.0x phono preamp with NOS tubes. All playing through Joseph Audio Perspective 2 graphene speakers. Great sound for a box speaker but considering going back to panel, Ribbon or electrostatic. I auditioned a pair of ribbon speakers from Diptique(DP 107's) and they sounded great, but more interested in their soon to be released MKII versions of their larger speakers. Enjoying the journey having been an audiophile for over 50 years. Love you videos too!
I've been through two big cullings. First, in the 90s I divested of virtually all of my LPs; something like 2000 of them. I kept 50 or so special ones, including a number I had written the liner notes for. I can honestly say, I never missed them or the fussiness of living with vinyl. Secondly, I "deleted" about half of my classical CD collection ten years ago; taking up too much room in a small bungalow. To this day, even now and then I'll go looking for a title I'd like to hear...that happens to have gone in 2013. No biggy, really. I did, though, keep almost all of my jazz CD collection. That I will never sell. My two audio systems are pretty static and pretty basic. Nothing like the high end stuff seen here, but they do the job for me. One indulgence, only-an Audio Research preamp.
Your mentioned touching your records. A small record shop popped into my mind. I was a teenager and never bought very many records as I moved a lot. In the sixties the was a record store name Sane and Insane(at least that what I remember) run by a prettiest woman that sold really great records. It was on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. I was surprised that I can still see that shop and her in my mind just when you mentioned touching your records.
Hi Steve, very interesting topic. I would never downgrade my system. My system is around $120,000 and I would only upgrade. As far as my music collection I haven’t gotten rid of any of that but I don’t buy anything anymore. I have an excellent streamer/dac and stream about 90% of the time. Very happy with that decision.
Great video as usual Steve, I rather enjoy your content when it’s about the hobby, you have a knack for picking the simple things and bringing light to them. Viewers systems were and are, A Okay!✌️
About 15 years ago I culled my CDs because I was running out of storage space. I got $150 for them at the local Newbury Comics and never missed them. When CDs were replaced by remasters I gave the old CDs to relatives. Recently I decided I didn't like some of the remasters and swapped the CDs with my bemused relatives! My old trusty DVDA player (and all my other players) could not play a newly acquired used scratched CD but an unused Sony Blu-ray played it fine, so I changed players. Sometimes there's a good reason to change!!
Very good topic. I have the same situation. The point is: These things are part of your own biography and cannot be brought back in identical form for the rest of your life. If you give them away, it starts to hurt for years. Be careful before doing so and think about the personal meaning that cannot be replaced.
I donated my whole CD and DVD collection and gave away parts of it to my family for free, because I wanted to use only downloads and streaming. Now I regret it and got around 25 discs back from the family. The rest of roughly 200 discs is lost. I also sold a Sony MDS-JA30ES Mini Disc deck with a Mini Disc collection and still am insecure if this was right. Some music albums even are not available as a download or stream at all. Please learn from the mistakes others have made. Not everything that was wrong has to be repeated on and on. It hurts less if you think about it for a long time before you act.
Well Steve, you certainly hit a nerve amongst your viewers with this subject! I’m not one for comments but on this topic I felt I had to have my say. I have been streamlining my system for a few years, getting the box count reduced. I still play records, CDs and occasionally cassettes along with streaming. To my ears I don’t think the overall sound quality has suffered too much from my streamlining project. I’m a very contented listener. Here’s wishing you all Happy Listening 🎶👍
You are great Steve, down sized from all McIntosh components after 40 years. Went with all schitt and jbl speakers, never looking back😊
Down grade, yikes
Just to clarify it is actually known as the law of diminishing returns (rather than the point). It is an accepted Economic principle which refers to the change in relationship between price and intrinsic value of manufactured items often (but not solely) caused by the reduced cost of mass producing items compared to lower volume production. It is a continuous law which applies all the way up the price scale and does not have specific kick-in point. That is a simplified description and the law applies to many different things. For example a $50k amplifier will not sound 100 times better than than a $500 amplifier!
I got back to hi fi audio recently. Started with streaming, then SACD/CDs, finally I got the McIntosh MT10 turntable, I couldn’t be happier.
My lasted upgrade is the FYNE F1-12. So good !
I've been downsizing my system lately, getting into gear I can lift myself, I'm 65. I've been very careful with what I've purchased, the sound quality hasn't suffered much.
When I was younger I went from moving magnet cartridge to moving coil. It seemed the next step up and the right thing to do. About four years ago I went back to moving iron. I don’t call it down sizing but coming home again. Some people would call it downsizing though but my ears tell me different.
Downsize started to become a trend with so many 5" speakers being pushed, causing the idea of large speakers to fall out of fashion due to things like "WAF" and other interior deco trends. Mainstream audio started to be taken over by what amounts to a bunch of henpecked men who weren't 'allowed' to have big speakers in hunny bunny's bless'd (albeit unlived in) living room. Now because they aren't allowed to have big speakers, nobody should.
I never gave into that, and have known since the '80s that my sweet spot woofer size is 15" for life-sized audio, with 8" being the minimum for near field. My desktop system is built around 12" monitors and 12" subs. I can downsize, but it would be a robust portable system that can comfortably reach 90db while still maintaining low distortion, even if I have to keep it stashed in a closet and brought out to save space, instead of it having to be installed permanently.
You never get rid of physical media. That's a bad bad mistake