Reply With QuoteEither stash them in the attic in the forlorn hope that they will eventually become a collectors item or bung them in the dustbin.
It's akin to holding on to your old 8 tracks. Nobody wants them anymore and that's why you are asking the question.
Any suggestions of what to do with a couple of hundred CDs and DVDs?
I spent ages ripping a lot of them a while back to stream from my NAS, but never do now as typically we use Spotify for music and never get round to watching old films when there are new ones on Netflix/Now etc.
Could take them to CEX or Music Magpie, but with values being low pence, it doesn't seem really worth the hassle (it might cost more to park that the value of what I'm transporting).
Any charities keen on them?
I'm having flashbacks to taking a boot full of VHS to the tip...
Either stash them in the attic in the forlorn hope that they will eventually become a collectors item or bung them in the dustbin.
It's akin to holding on to your old 8 tracks. Nobody wants them anymore and that's why you are asking the question.
Some of the DVDs may be floggable on here? Though again, the faff of posting may not be worth the hassle given the prices they are likely to command.
I'd personally do a charity shop run. That way they can CEX/whatever them if they don't think they're sellable, thus removing the faff of dealing with CEX direct for the tiny sums they're likely to offer.
I'm rapidly coming to that conclusion.Originally Posted by Mick P
It's possible that my couple of Karen McDougal DVDs might be worth something while the Trump scandals continue, and there are several that are unlikely to appear on streaming services any time soon (Mr Hulot etc) but I reckon the rest can be trashed.
Pity
I think a charity shop run; but depending on your tastes some stuff may not be readily available digitally and people might want it. I was looking for Visconti’s The Leopard only a couple of years back, and eBay dvd was the only route at that point....
Spotify is a meaningless word to me, I prefer good sound quality so I stick with CDs and good quality traditional hi-fi throughout the house. I still buy CDs and will continue to do so. Downloading etc is second-rate in my view, a habit that’s best avoided.
Everyone values convenience over quality thesedays, sad but true. Try discussing sound quality with most under 30s and their faces glaze over, they don’t get it. However, as most modern music sounds rubbish in any format maybe they can be forgiven.
I don’t watch many films, but when I do it’s usually old stuff.....on DVD.
I would keep them all, they’re permanant copies and that’s got to mean something. Copied CDs aren’t permanant, they deteriorate with age, keep the originals.
If you must get rid of them, make a list and put them on SC.
Also: a neighbour of my mother’s ties old CDs and DVDs to trees on bits of string in an effort to dissuade cats from her garden. Do not do this.
As stated it depends on the DVD, some cult/foreign language films are difficult to get hold of so attract a premium
If yours are Bourne,Die Hard etc.To the charity shop.
If it helps, I'm planning on keeping the CDs that I want to "listen to" rather than "have on it in the background" and they still go through the Marantz CD10- Rotel Michi pre/power - Kef Reference 105/3 route. Even streamed stuff in the main room goes into the Michi via a Rega DAC. And the shellac spins round on a Rega Planar 78, so it's not all doom and gloom.
The vast majority of it never moves from the shelf and I see no point in being an unpaid archivist of stuff for my lad to have to bin when I'm no more
I have around 800 CDs and 700 LPs and they do take up a fair amount of space. I am used to them so will continue to play them and you can buy them surprisingly cheap nowadays. I have a good Hifi system so I may as well carry on using it.
However if I was a young man starting from scratch, there is no way on earth that I would buy another CD player or turntable. I would buy something like a Naim Mu so which is just one lump of metal and you can play any music be it streamed or from a local radio anywhere in the world.
This is one of the benefits of the internet, so we may as well use it.
That is a proper jaded old man post...
Yes indeed, these new watches ain't the same as yer good old pocket watch.That is a proper jaded old man post...
Maybe, but there's a strong element of truth in it!That is a proper jaded old man post...
This is true.
But there's also a strong element of truth in my house being full of stuff I simply store and never use.
Presumably that depends on the quality you choose to download. Is there any reason why a CD quality download is inferior to a CD?
I throw them straight in a skip (unless there is something not available on newer better formats) - the hassle of selling them one by one not worth it for the effort.
Don’t bung them in the bin man. SC listing for fundraiser or take to a charity shop if postage is a hassle.
Except there isn't! Copied CDs don't deteriorate with age! That would mean your non-copied CDs that you say you keep would also deteriorate...unless you think the process of copying them suddenly causes them to start to decompose...
Also, some downloads are far higher quality than CDs, so you're missing out if you really think you can tell the difference between an original CD and a copy anyway, let alone a far superior quality download.
I took the halfway measure of recycling the cases for my DVDs & CDs, but keeping the discs themselves in a couple of those large soft-cover cases that hold 300+ discs each. Reduced the space taken-up by them from a large chest of drawers down to a couple of easily-stored cases.
All my CDs DVDs bluerays went in the bin. Take up too much space.
I transferred all of mine - there were a lot
I had complete collections of everything ever released by David Bowie and Captain Beefheart and sold these as such on eBay and got a good price I think
With the exception of a handful of CD's signed by Phil Manzenera, everything else went the charity shops who were more than happy to have them!
My massive array of CD’s and Blue Rays stay exactly where they are, all nicely racked and available at my whim and to hell with Monkeyfy or whatever it is dadblasted called! Old bastard am I and very happy old bastard who grew up with proper music, not synthesised puerile drivel performed by those with IQ’s of a carrot and musical abilities of a fermenting barrel of dead grasshoppers! 40 years ago I could reel off all of the top 20, now if you shovelled a large pile of banknotes on the table, all mine if I could name one song in the top 20, I would fail miserably. Hey Ho!
Did this but put them on spindles so they take up virtually no room. I keep the 100 or so I listen to in the car or on the CD player out and the rest were catalogued and stored. No CD cases, and all the booklets in a box alphabetically. Never had need to go back to them but couldn't quite put them in the skip...
Spindles / man I couldn’t live with that lol. Sod’s law dictates I would always want the one right at the base.....
Yep, that pretty much sums-up my situation also!
The technology behind copied CDs is different, it relies upon a dye and we all know that dyestuffs deteriorate with age. Some of mine are fine, some of mine sound terrible, most are around 15 years old. I`ve yet to experience deterioration with a 'genuine' CD.
I`m not stupid enough to think that copying causes them to decompose, don`t try hanging that hat on my head. I also know that a copied CD, at the time it's copied, should be a perfect match to the original, it's what happens over the next few years that's a problem.
I`m keen to learn about download formats that are 'far superior' to CD quality, if this is something you know about please enlighten me.....don`t worry about baffling me with science, my old brain may be 61 tomorrow but it does still function and I remember most of what I was taught.
Maybe I ought to look into downloads etc, but the driver for me HAS to be quality, I`m not interested in convenience etc. Having recently rediscovered the joys of the big black 12" vinyl things, I still find it ironic that they're able to sound better than digital equivalents.
Like I said, I`m willing to learn.....but it's all about quality for me. I do use an MP3 player but I never fool myself into thinking it sounds good.
A kindred spirit
Hear hear!
F.T.F.A.
Nonsense.
My son, aged 25, records using a 30yr old mixing console to great effect, he's also slowly building a fine vinyl collection, Frank Zappa for his Christmas box. His pals have similar tastes.
It appears we were both wrong - 'disc rot' is thing for CDs! Occurring in both original and burnt CDs through oxidisation.
Regarding high quality downloads, have a search for 'high resolution audio'. Or have a read here: https://www.whathifi.com/advice/high...u-need-to-know
Me too, because I don't think it exists. An often overlooked area of audio is the mastering of the music which when done right, can bring bigger gains than expensive system upgrades. I spend a lot of time researching finding and buying good masterings of music that matters to me because having a lot of money invested into audio is a bit silly if the software is not the best it can be.
HDtracks was set up on the premise of selling superior quality HD masterings but from what I have read over recent years it is very hit and miss. So what else is there?
Cheers
as above, its a good sounding original master that makes all the difference - not so much the format its pushed out on.
i did the vinyl thing when younger but now just think its more of a lifestyle choice (or people not wanting to chuck or give old albums away ) , ive digitised my cd's and store them in .flac format and it sound just as good as any other system ive listened to with the convienence of being able to select tracks quicker and not have them lying around.
* imo format doesnt matter so much as long as it sounds good to the owner - people often forget your hearing goes down the shitter after about age 21 , so after a while 'better sounding' is subjective.
magirus
Your son is a rare beast as the millennials are just not buying CDs anymore and hence sales are plummeting down through the floor.
I have a very good friend in the Police force and he has told me many times that even a burglar would not touch my Hifi system and CDs. They are unwanted and valueless but I have the space to store them, so I will continue to use them.
I have just recently bought a villa in Spain and the new music system will be internet based, almost certainly a Naim Mu-so that will give me all the good quality streamed music I want plus access to any radio station in the world as well as being used as a sound bar for the TV.
I’m 61 tomorrow and my ears are still fairly good, I can definitely tell the difference in sound quality between different sources/systems. Having rediscovered vinyl last year I was a amazed to find how good it sounded on some (but not all ) recordings. I spent a few bob on a decent pre-amp and cartridge, not silly money but enough to get quality, and the results have surprised me.
CD format should've been better quality, but for several; reasons I don`t fully understand it didn`t happen that way. We all got fooled into buying them in the 90s, ironically their best feature was convenience and that's the basis on which they're now dying!
As previously stated, mastering has a big influence. Some of the stuff that's been remastered for CD sounds brilliant, better than the original recordings on vinyl.
Edit: At the end of the day it's all about the music....just listened to the 70s Who album 'Who Are You' (on a copied Cd!) and noo matter what it's played on it'll never be a good record. Speaking as a Who fan, I love most of their stuff, especially Who's Next......this one was definitely 'Who's Worst' IMO!
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 3rd January 2019 at 20:50.
anyone have suggestions for well mastered/recorded albums?
i'll get the ball rolling with >
nils lofgren - acoustic live
probably the best sounding album ive heard , pretty much a must have for audiophiles .
Pugster there are plenty but if you are interested in learning more about mastering and hunting down the best versions of whatever you like, then the www.stevehoffman.tv forum is the place to go. This forum is the music equivalent of obsessing over the minutiae of Rolex dial variations, where SID / deadwax / mould codes / DR ratings etc are the order of the day. Its a great music forum with some incredibly knowledgable and passionate members.
Quadrophenia on vinyl is pretty good, so is Who’s Next.
Bob Seeger’s ‘Stranger in Town’ is good to my ears, so is Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ album.
with vinyl, pressing and mastering makes a difference. the reason a lot of classic vinyl is shooting up in value is poor pressing and mastering on reissues, both on cd and lp. ln a lot of cases even the original master tapes are now suffering such degradation that they won't be as good as back when they were issued. there are many exceptions, but in a lot of cases this holds true. most cd's are now worthless BUT certain genres, pressings and issues can still be worth very good money so make sure you check things out, as an example i sold an early cd press of led zep 2 (pre 1990's remaster) for a fair few quid not long ago, and i also sold a Tangerine Dream cd for three figures. check your disc numbers!
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
I'm still buying CD's from boot sales and charity shops, the same source as my books.
Just been listening to Rupert's People in the bath.
Cheers,
Neil.
The Steve Hoffman forum is run by obsessive people .No criticism allowed with very heavy moderation. The people there expect perfection ,more interest in technical details rather than the actual music .
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I’ve just bought a new car and it has no CD player! What is the world coming to?
I'll be getting two hearing aids shortly but still love to listen to all sorts!
Still buy CD's and vinyl too from various sources, Last one I bought was a boxed set of 'The Boss', Not got around to trying them yet!!
John
No intention of ditching my CDs (or vinyl) Some years ago I spent an embarrassingly large sum of money on a high end CD player. It sounded fabulous then and still does, even though it is only worth pennies now. Plus, I wouldn’t want to spend a long time ripping them to a PC or whatever. Maybe I’m a Luddite, but hey-ho there you go
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Fantastic recording, one of my favourites! (biased as have seen him loads over the years, right back to flippin' his flip on stage) Neil Young's recording quality is top notch, and if you have an HDCD player Roxy Music are in that format. Just plugged my earphones into my iPhone and listening to Keith Don't Go from Acoustic Live with my early cuppa! My son's calling in later to borrow a Frank Zappa vinyl from me.
Which version, Paul?
I have the 33.3rpm, (2009 reprise) and it’s truly atrocious. Like it was recorded in a tunnel.
I understand the US 45rpm, mastered my Steve Hoffman is the reference, but last time I saw it for sale, it was around £70.
I have a six cd auto changer in the car and what I do is I donate six cds I don’t like or have no real affection for to the charity shop and while I’m there buy a random selection of what I fancy.
Then play these for several months in the car and then do it again, generally they are £1 each and occasionally I’ll keep one to add to my collection.
If my car had a better aux input interface I’d be looking at flac files but it doesn’t.
I’ve no idea what version mine is, but I do have two copies! One has always belonged to me and that must’ve been bought in the 80s, the other belonged to my wife’s ex-husband. I get along OK with him, I’ve no reason not to, and if he ever asked for his old vinyl back I’d feel obliged to give them.......he has similar taste to me in music so I ended up with some decent stuff!
I’ve bever been a massive fan of Rumours, I prefer the double album ‘Tusk’ that followed it. I’m in a minority on this, but that’s my opinion.
When I played the vinyl copy of Rumours I was impressed by the dynamics and the sound quality, I’ll dig both copies out and see how old they are etc.
original copies have a textured sleeve, gatefold insert and the tree lined "burbank" warner bros labels. later copies a cream label.
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
that could well be a fake, iirc it wasn't reissued on vinyl between 1989 and 2011. there are a LOT of fake pressings of classic vinyl out there, especially on coloured vinyl.
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Ha ha, I can’t imagine HMV sell many fakes.
It’s the current EU pressing, released in 2014 IIRC, but the packaging states 2009 Reprise Records. It is the current version, I saw it again today for sale in Tesco.
I might look out an old Warner Brothers version for comparison. Possibly my favourite album but a vinyl will always struggle to beat my SACD for sound quality, so perhaps an unfair side by side comparison to make.
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