Why We Collect

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I've seen some real collections. And the surround collections I know a few of you heavyweights around here have blow my mind! I just have a few things I like compared to that.

I like more avant garde stuff in general and I kind of had to collect that myself because nobody else I hang around has it.

An unusual sensitivity to generation loss kind of artifacts led me to mastering work and then collecting for the most intact or what sounded like the least generational and/or best mastering presentation releases. Something that should have matter of fact ended in the digital age but if fact is more of a hobby than it was back in the analog days with some of the novelty releases nowadays.

That's of course purely subjective when one doesn't have the source mix audio to compare to directly. There will surely be a couple items where you're actually praising someone's restoration mastering work over the genuine raw source. But you can still hear generational artifacts and damage often enough. Often really gross stuff in the digital arena. Volume war slammed and shrill eq hyped stuff, for example.

It can be kind of a fun exercise to line up a few different digital releases of an album in a DAW to compare. The butchered copies are often jaw dropping when you volume match and A/B with a clean copy.

Finding an upgrade is like getting to go to a concert again but this time with better seats!
 
Lots of cool posts, we are all so similar to each other.
Everyone in my family calls me "go big or go home" . When I built my media room last year, I was over consumed with gear, wanted the best hot rod I could afford, was obsessed over the smallest wire and the biggest gear, I couldn't stop. Then one day, when I got my 2021 Challenger, I was able to let go of my audio room obsession and turn it to my car obsession.
I just need a hobby, and the best hobby's are ones that are parts and pieces and gathering info that I don't understand, to come out ahead of something I knew nothing of before and become quite adequate at the hobby.
Buying hard discs and streaming has really fucked me up.
From a basic point, it is senseless to purchase anything anymore when there is so much streaming in lossless, Dolby Atmos, etc.
I just can't be satisfied listening to the relatively good streaming Atmos Abbey Road, I have to buy the box set, not sure it really makes sense.
As I am home now with Covid, I am trying to focus on streaming, you can't get somewhere unless you try.
Read THIS QQ THREAD for a glimpse into my obsession or THIS ONE. Too much.
When it comes to gear, I love the chase more than the end result, that's where I try to tell myself it is all OK.
That's enough, I'm tired and you get the point.
 
I certainly can see the point of folks eschewing plastic discs in favor of network attached servers and even streaming.
I have a NAS (sort of) and am about to get fiber optic from AT&T if they ever can manage to accomplish what they have started. (insert big eye roll)
But I do like collecting discs of all kinds of varieties. That way I am not SOL if the interscreen gets crashed by the russkies or the chinese in some future cyber conflict.
This is an excellent time to be buying up discs especially CDs. The higher rez discs cost much more naturally.
 
As I am home now with Covid, I am trying to focus on streaming, you can't get somewhere unless you try.
Read THIS QQ THREAD for a glimpse into my obsession or THIS ONE. Too much.
When it comes to gear, I love the chase more than the end result, that's where I try to tell myself it is all OK.
That's enough, I'm tired and you get the point.
First, I hope your bout with COVID is short and not memorable in any way.
Second, I share your obsessions. Although I’m not going quad in my 1979 VW (way noo much engine noise), I’ve already spent two years building up my room.
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/barfles-bonus-room-bijou.32232/Neither project will ever be finished.
 
Boondocks, it appears you have a bigger surround collection. I need to get to work! LOL!!
You have me beat in every category, except perhaps SACD. Approx 1500, though 400 of those are multi (3+) channel. 100-ish Dolby Surround CD's, too.

But, then there are nearly 300 Q8's, and another 400 Quad LP's & encoded CD's.

For the most part, my priority is listening to the music I like best, regardless of # of channels. Yet, I've rebought many albums in surround and/or lossless, direct to disc, 1/2 speed, etc. But only when those were issued after the initial release. Quad has always taken priority, except phony surround mixes. In those rare cases, I prefer to listen as 2ch and synthesize.

It's all driven by my passion for music and boundless curiosity.

"Subscribing" to artists, like most of you, makes it several collections of works by particular artists, composers, formats, series... Not singular at all. Obsessive completist!

Collecting won't be done for me until the end. If I'm gone, a few recent purchases are guaranteed to show up after the fact. That's one of the best reasons to stay healthy and stick around. Righteous Bros. said it best, "they have a hell of a band (in heaven.)"
 
Neither project will ever be finished.
Well, that says it right there. I think my mind set, at least I am trying, is to put it in reverse.
This example proves it is not working for me.
Beach Boys:
I own all SACD Beach Boys by Analogue Productions, they are stellar. Including Blu Ray Pet Sounds.
Brand new 2022 Beach Boys release, Sounds Of Summer.
I saw the release date coming so I purchased the 3 CD pack from Amazon, thinking this will be cool to have I can rip and play in car. Done simple.
Oop's now it has been released via Apple Music with many tracks in Atmos. OK, I have the ripped CD for the car and at home I can listen to the new release with some of the tracks in stereo and some in Atmos for free.
But no, HDTracks releases the 80 track set in 24/88.2 stereo. I think, well that will sound better in car then the 3 CD pack at 16/44.1, so I purchase the HDTracks with discount code.
I have so much fucking Beach Boys now it only (I Hope) makes sense to at least some of you, it certainly does not make sense to any non audiophile.
As I write this I am listening to the HDTracks stereo on the home rig because I like the simplicity of stereo, not the brain engaging of Atmos and stereo back and forth that streaming will offer me today.
Please tell me you understand.
 
It's your steak. Eat it whichever way you prefer.

Well, that says it right there. I think my mind set, at least I am trying, is to put it in reverse.
This example proves it is not working for me.
Beach Boys:
I own all SACD Beach Boys by Analogue Productions, they are stellar. Including Blu Ray Pet Sounds.
Brand new 2022 Beach Boys release, Sounds Of Summer.
I saw the release date coming so I purchased the 3 CD pack from Amazon, thinking this will be cool to have I can rip and play in car. Done simple.
Oop's now it has been released via Apple Music with many tracks in Atmos. OK, I have the ripped CD for the car and at home I can listen to the new release with some of the tracks in stereo and some in Atmos for free.
But no, HDTracks releases the 80 track set in 24/88.2 stereo. I think, well that will sound better in car then the 3 CD pack at 16/44.1, so I purchase the HDTracks with discount code.
I have so much fucking Beach Boys now it only (I Hope) makes sense to at least some of you, it certainly does not make sense to any non audiophile.
As I write this I am listening to the HDTracks stereo on the home rig because I like the simplicity of stereo, not the brain engaging of Atmos and stereo back and forth that streaming will offer me today.
Please tell me you understand.
 
Boondocks, it appears you have a bigger surround collection. I need to get to work! LOL!!
You have me beat in every category, except perhaps SACD. Approx 1500, though 400 of those are multi (3+) channel. 100-ish Dolby Surround CD's, too.

But, then there are nearly 300 Q8's, and another 400 Quad LP's & encoded CD's.

For the most part, my priority is listening to the music I like best, regardless of # of channels. Yet, I've rebought many albums in surround and/or lossless, direct to disc, 1/2 speed, etc. But only when those were issued after the initial release. Quad has always taken priority, except phony surround mixes. In those rare cases, I prefer to listen as 2ch and synthesize.

It's all driven by my passion for music and boundless curiosity.

"Subscribing" to artists, like most of you, makes it several collections of works by particular artists, composers, formats, series... Not singular at all. Obsessive completist!

Collecting won't be done for me until the end. If I'm gone, a few recent purchases are guaranteed to show up after the fact. That's one of the best reasons to stay healthy and stick around. Righteous Bros. said it best, "they have a hell of a band (in heaven.)"
Well, I omitted the quad. But these are from the courtesy of those who rip the old stuff, not acquired otherwise by me personally, although a bunch came through the torrent channels.
Not all are individual quad titles, as where some were releases as Q4 & Q8 and maybe SQ LP, or maybe even QS CD's....
but right now somewhere around 400 listings on a quick count. Of course I burned a lot of these but I don't count those separate from the collection.
I actually had a bigger collection at one time, and was kept on two different pc's. I had hard drive failures on both machines within a week that almost totally wiped out my quad collection, roughly about 6-10 years ago. Doubt seriously it would have matched yours, though.

I was very fortunate a year or so ago to have acquired from a person that must have access to some great equipment, and skills, a collection of CD-4 rips that were almost absolutely pristine. I treasure those!

My personal quad collection was mostly lost when I divorced in the 70's and she hid all but a few LP's I managed to filch, including hiding my Panasonic Q8 deck & all the carts. I never bought a single Quad title afterwards that I can recall.
Right now I have two CD-4's that survived, 461 Ocean BLVD & One Man Dog, an SQ LP, Mahavishnu Orchestra-Between Nothingness and Eternity. I think that's about it. But they will be here until I die.

Any way you look at it, you got me beat hands-down on the Quad! What a wonderfully huge Quad collection, Linda!
 
well, I just keep the stuff I like which is a bit of a problem sometimes cause I remember my boss at the time, a Mexican in Madrid, LOVED PTree and he lent me The Sky moves sideways and I did NOT like it...it wasn't until I came to the QQ club (hmmm, we should have a MEMBERSHIP CARD!!!..and maybe a Credit Card with discounts in places like Burning Shed...please stop me, it's a dangerous train of thought!!!) when I listened to Lightbulb Sun and I went.. WAIT..THAT is COOL!!!

Anyways...WHY WE COLLECT...hmmm...funny this thread should pop up a few weeks before my planned trip to Madrid to RESCUE my collection which I think is close to 1,000 LPs and who knows how many DVDAs, SACDs, movies on DVD, LDs..gonna have to get all my LPs and discs I want to send over here and leave a rest of shit I am sure I have.. a rusty Yamaha BX-5 bass guitar, a non functioning Roland D-10 (the buttons don't work.. you know, those PCBoards that die after a while...), a couple of rack units... oh , man I don't even want to THINK about it...books, magazines, photos...

so, WHY DO WE COLLECT??? INDEED!!!!
 
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