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Posted by Romy the Cat on
02-03-2018
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Last year Amy’s
parents began considering to move closer to us. They are at their high 70s,
with own health problems and with a desire to spend more time with grandkids…
nothing different then with many other families... They were looking for various
houses and most of these that were good for them they passed because they have
too much stuff in their home and they do not know how to part with it. Again, nothing
different then with many other families, it will be addressed as it is typically
addressed…
We have in
our house a library that Amy adopted for her office, where she does her work
notes. In the library we have a low table where kids play Legos, and this is
the only room where Legos are allowed. So, naturally we have a lot of Legos
boxes in the library, which require a lot of room to store them. My proposal to
get rid of some books that we do not care Amy did not like. She want to have a
lot of books in there that gives to her a feeling that we’re some kind of intellectuals,
the woman know how deceive herself… and I do let her to have her little feminine
fun…
There is one shelf
in the library that has ton of the Audio magazines from 80s and 90. All of these
hand selected copies of Fi, Ultimate Audio, European, Russian and Japanese journals
were sitting in there. One day I was putting the behavior of my parents-in-law
and my attachments to those magazines in perspective. I realized that I NEVER
IN MY LIFE AGAIN will be reading these magazines. So, I took all of them and
trashed them. Now it is a large shelf with Legos…
The moral of
the story is not my Hercules actions to clean up my Augeas' audio stables. The
story about the worthless to me publications opened up to me an avenue to think
about our general audio hoarding habits.
I am sure
that any single person who read this post how has somewhere in storages, basements
or closet many duplicate drivers, cartridges, cables, etc… all imaginable tweaks,
not to mention many duplicates of the main components. I am sure that all of it
has own rational but let ask ourselves reciting the famous colloquialism: How
Much Land Does a Man Need? It is not that the hoarded audio possessions constitute
a waste of space and money but rather I feel that our hoarded audio possessions
own us instead we own them. I have a LOT of my hoarded audio belongings that I
can rationalize and convince myself that I need. At the same time, I can
advocate that I have a lot of hoarded audio possessions that I absolutely do
not need and that I trash with no regrets or damage to my life. The question:
why don’t I do it typically?
Years back, I
proposed a rule that I feel should navigate a sensible person in audio hobby
and the rule to a great degree is a basic of my approach in audio. It was silently posted and even if I refer frequently
to that rule the people at this site I know that it is very far from become a common
awareness of the people in audio:
http://www.goodsoundclub.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=432
I wonder if I
should recommend (just for fulfilling of my desire for audio immortality) something
similar as the audio anti-hoarding preventive measures? How about that: IF YOU
MADE ANY SENSIBLE CHANGE IN YOUR PLAYBACK THEN GET RID THE REPLACED ITEM. The
definition is “sensible” read in my linked post above.
What I am
proposing does not sound very practical for anybody who realistically practice
audio but truthfully, if we adopt what I proposed then all that we have to
loose be just money to re-acquire the replaced item, and boy we have plenty of
that to waste in High-End audio! There is even a self-educational effect in
what I am proposing. If we know that a replacement of an amplifier, driver or
tonearn would mean an automatic elimination all a former amplifier, driver or tonearn
then would it make our REASONING FOR CHANGE TO BE MORE SCRUPULOUS?
Do not feel
that I am going with all of it anywhere. I perfectly understand that in many instances
the anti-hoarding prevention in audio is very hard to implement. Still, I would
like to share with your my feelings of joy, pleasure and FREEDOM that I experienced
when I trashed my precious audio publications. Anyhow, I do feel that the idiots
who run the audio industry would make a great contribution to audio humanity if
they declare some kind of weekend in a year as the official “Audio Positions
Liberation Weekend”… that would for sure be followed with a opportunistic audio sale….
Rgs,
Romy The Cat
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Posted by anthony on
02-03-2018
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Audio-hoarding is something that I am very thoughtful about. Admittedly I have quite a bit of stuff in storage but it ALL has to do with the current Macondo/DSET build and will soon all be in its place. I don't even own the speakers that I am listening to: they were kindly lent to me a good while back out of the excess that a friend holds. Likewise with the SS amplifier from another friend after I fixed his computer. My stuff was sold to finance this project which has taken quite a bit longer to complete than originally anticipated, so maybe I could be considered to have a negative-hoard, in that I don't own much of what I currently listen to.
All that I own that is not currently in use or related to my project is a pair of BNC interconnects that I no longer use and a redundant USB cable that I will probably end up using again. Saying that, the amount of test equipment recently acquired probably makes up somewhat for the dearth of audio hoard: audio analyser; oscilloscope; more DMM's than the one I really need; measurement microphone; electronics bench.
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Posted by tuga on
03-06-2018
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Let's make it more challenging: how many recordings of Beethoven's/Brahm's/Bruckner's/.../Schumann's/etc. 3rd, how many interpretations of that piano/violin/cello concerto does one really need?
Or do you draw the line at audio gear?
For the past 3 decades I have been actively fighting all forms of collecting or hoarding of any kind in my home, and once a year I go around the house to find out what's not being used or played with and give it away or bin it. Interestingly it's not the kids that complain but my wife.
After I've read a book I ask my wife if it'll interest her and if not I lend-offer it to a friend; if he returns it then I lend it to another with hopes of more success. My oldest son is already into streaming music and by the timehe's old enough to read my books he'll probably want digital copies.
R
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Posted by Romy the Cat on
03-07-2018
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I completely valid point, tuga.
It is interesting that with age the recordings hoarding has a different
perspective, at least how I feel it. Initially you are entertained and find useful
to have multiple interpretation of a given work. Then with years you build your
own interpolation of how the work needs to be played and you end up with a very
limited number of interpolations, and you listen only them. The question is
what to do with the interpolations that you do not like? I wish I have an answer
or have balls to throw them away… I always was very friendly to different
pressings (would it be CDs or LPs) of the selected cherished interpolation. But
is also have an ugly forms. You collect a few “better pressings” and then you
go to the stupid eremites… This copy to be played for “every day”, this one for
“special occasions”, this one is a backup for “special occasions”, this one is
back up #2, 3…5, this one never were opened, this is ultra-low noise but softer
bass, this one were coved with some oily crap, this one  ound the best” but
has a few cracks, this is “in plastic back #6”, this one was given to me by a friend
who is no longer with us, this one in the envelope with unique box staffing,
this one I played when I first time “got” the work, this one to play with bad cartridge….
The list might go on and one and the result you siting with identical 15 LPs of
your favorite for and your favorite interpretation and make a mental note that
last 3 years you were listening the work only on CD…
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Posted by steverino on
03-09-2018
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 Romy the Cat wrote: | | You collect a few “better pressings” and then you
go to the stupid eremites… This copy to be played for “every day”, this one for
“special occasions”, this one is a backup for “special occasions”, this one is
back up #2, 3…5, this one never were opened, this is ultra-low noise but softer
bass, this one were coved with some oily crap, this one ound the best” but
has a few cracks, this is “in plastic back #6”, this one was given to me by a friend
who is no longer with us, this one in the envelope with unique box staffing,
this one I played when I first time “got” the work, this one to play with bad cartridge….
The list might go on and one and the result you siting with identical 15 LPs of
your favorite for and your favorite interpretation and make a mental note that
last 3 years you were listening the work only on CD… |
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Just think of it as preparation to become grandparents who want to move closer to the grandkids but don't know what to do about their prized possessions in the big house.
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Posted by noviygera on
03-15-2018
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Maybe it's time to re-read Robinson Crusoe. It sets the context for seeing life more soberly. I too, need to clear up space so that the possessions don't possess me! And I get upset at my kids for not cleaning up...
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Posted by rowuk on
04-11-2019
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My Dad died a couple of years ago and of course, he had tools and a bunch of other things. His wife, a lutheran pastor asked the question - when will this no longer be „his“ stuff“. Sure, she legally owns everything but when is she free to sell or give away the tools. How much of tht stuff is attached to his „legacy“.
Will this not be a question that Amy may ask one day - or will it always be „Romys playback“?
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