Comments on: Sanity and Insanity, Redux

By: Upstate Bill

Upstate Bill — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:56:55 +0000

Yes, that was article. It’s in the March edition of ‘Stereophile.’I am a huge vinyl collector, so I sure hope the value of vinyl doesn’t diminish in the future. However, one has to wonder what will happen to these prices once baby boomers stop collecting. The generations after do not have the same amount of disposable income. Nor do they have the same original connection with vinyl, not having grown up with LP’s. I’m sure there will be plenty of vinyl collectors in 25 years. I just don’t think the records themselves will have the same relative value as they do now.

By: jwr

jwr — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 23:57:49 +0000

That should have been ‘I suspect’. Sheesh.

By: jwr

jwr — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 23:56:27 +0000

Vinylzone,

I’m suspect that Upstate Bill was referring to an article in the new Stereophile (March 2014). The article is titled “Audio Engineering: The Next 40 Years.”

It’s thought provoking. But I must say I think the author oversells his case a bit. I sure hope he’s wrong about where music reproduction and listening is headed. But even if he’s right, I’m not sure it follows that rare records like the ones discussed on this site will no longer be valued (financially as well as aesthetically). What probably does follow is that it will be a lot harder to get cartridges and turntable parts (e.g., belts)!

By: JOK

JOK — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 22:34:57 +0000

Vinyl has been dead about 3 times in my lifetime, yet, here it is again, “vinyl makes a comeback”.

It never went away.

I have two lovely older turntables and one from 1984. I don’t care what the aesthetic is, these tables will always be popular and a marvel in sound reproduction.

By: vinylzone

vinylzone — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 17:42:45 +0000

Upstate Bill-
Those writing this kind of stuff are the same people who predicted the paperless office, flying cars and moon colonies by the year 2000!
Original vinyl is not only music, it is much more than that! It is a physical piece of history, a timeless witness to its era, a cultural artifact that represents a snapshot of the artistic evolution of human kind!
Its value will not diminish just because it’s an old music recording format!

People like us who buy and enjoy vinyl are but a small minority, but they are on the increase, and the sales statistics are a proof of this. Many people are also discovering and rediscovering the joy of vinyl after being in the digital wilderness, and they are even willing to pay big money to own a first pressing of an album.

Well-mastered original Vinyl is as close as you can get to the studio sound heard by the musicians, the sound engineers and the producers when they first recorded the music. Any later reissues are generally inferior, including the different digital formats that are just a mere representation of the analogue sound-waves, they are like admiring a photo of a bottle of fine wine instead of drinking it!

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 15:17:20 +0000

Upstate bill- do you have a link to the article?

By: Upstate Bill

Upstate Bill — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 13:25:28 +0000

I recently read an article about the future of music reproduction. Let’s just say that there won’t be many people listening to vinyl or playing music through “systems” in about 20-25 years. Now would be as good as any time to sell if you are looking at your collection as an investment.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 05:09:18 +0000

Daryl, nicely said!

By: Earl

Earl — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 03:59:35 +0000

First edition books (long a solid collecting area, & continuously increasing in value)seem to me to be a more apt comparison that bitcoins or beanie babies. However I remain puzzled by the willingness to pay high prices for non-original pressings, which cannot possibly be of lasting value. If you love the music (as I do) and can’t afford the Firsts, I say go with OJC, etc (as long as they remain cheap) or buy the CD. But collect the Firsts when you can get them within your means.

By: Daryl

Daryl — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 02:46:01 +0000

A neighbor some decades back explained her investment in Beanie Babies. Through a combination of savvy marketing, limited (or over) production, along with price guides and speculation, a frenzy of investors, short-term profits, and long-term bust, was created. Shall we talk bitcoins, an investment in something that does not exist apart from an algorithm? Investment is the stuff of numbers, which I respect. But I find it difficult to reconcile this term among those who love the actual objects: the divine fidelity that emerges from the air pushed by the speakers; the tactile cardboard &lengthy liner notes. Only collect what you love, I’ve heard say, and I agree. Neither the plush cuddle of the B.baby nor the meteoric rise/fall of e-currency can make me feel alive… or overjoyed to be human the way that a clean, rich reproduction of Trane’s sax, Miles’s horn, or Ron Carter’s bass can. Should the number associated with these number rise, that is good… but damn the numbers, let the music rise above the economic din of Jazzcollector.com!