Cost of hi def / res tracks

This will turn you broke in no time Harry (and others)...

Ah well, if it sends me from broke to more broke I hopefully won't notice a big difference

That's exactly the point - we're in a new world now - where the bits have been freed from the shackles of the medium. 

You can't be serious about considering your music collection an investment ... 

Almost remind me of comic book collectors... 

Parts of my music collection are investments. It could be that a few years hence all interest may have died in the more collectible stuff but I would think it unlikely. I will continue to buy selected, limited run stuff, mostly on CD. It hasn't bitten my backside yet.

Well, I've been collecting music for some 36 or 37 years. Lately I've been putting my CD/LP/45 collection into Discogs.

So far I've added 1,938 items (about 15% or 20% of the way there, I think). Discogs tells me the minimum value of this stuff is £16,000, the median £24,600 and the maximum £39,888.60.

Now these are not scientific figures (they're based on the last 10 sales of each item - so something that's never been sold on the site has "no value" as far as the site's concerned), but that's a hell of a lot more than I paid for that stuff. And I suppose the figures might come in handy in the event of an insurance claim.

But I didn't buy them as an investment, I bought them because I like the music, and I love the objects (well, vinyl, not so much CDs, some interestingly packaged ones excepted) themselves.

Ha Ha! Try actually selling it, and we'll know.

Ok - maybe it'll have some value as long as '"collector's" are around. To me, personally, it's worthless - specially CDs. Once you'e ripped the cd, it's really just a piece of plastic ...

I see the term "investment" thrown around on this forum every time somebody purchases something hifi-related. As if "investment" and "expenditure" are synonymous. It's all only ever going to depreciate. Does anybody ever say they "invested" in a Honda Civic or a Miele dishwasher?

We're not talking about bits of kit, we're talking about music, in the form of records (and occasionally CDs). Very different.

Most people with big record collections regard them as investments - of time and effort much more than of  money. I have a lot of records that I'll never sell (unless truly desperate) because an awful lot of memories, or emotional baggage, is invested in those objects and/or the music within the grooves.

Better this, I think, than Mango's dreary and philistine utilitarianism, as expressed above.

What if you buy a CD and play it in a CD player, rather than rip it? What happens then?

I delete it and sell it. Sure I've got plenty of CDs what are worth buttons. And I have some which are worth considerably more. Anything that depreciates (and will only depreciate) is not an investment and is at best a disposable asset. There are plenty of CDs that appreciate in value.As HiRes versions of some of my favourites become available - and assuming the HiRes is good enough to become the "go to" version, I have CDs which I can sell, some already sold, that will pay for the HiRes acquisition, get me back their original purchase price and put a few quid in the bank. To refute this is to take an overly narrow view. So far in 2014 I've sold two not particularly rare but now out of print Yes CDs, one Japanese, one MFSL for a total of £105. Original cost to me was £32. 

Dont' have one. Doesn't make sense to get one.

Changing of the guards, guys, get on with it. 

Sure, you can cling on to your 'precious posessions', or free yourself. It's just data stored on plastic, vs. data stored on a HD. 

Now, Now, no need to be judgemental....

Philistine:

a :  a person who is guided by materialism and is usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values

b :  one uninformed in a special area of knowledge

Neither apply. ;-) I'm just separating the artistic values of music from the materialism of holding on to a piece of plastic. 

Now, to be clear, collecting vinyl I understand - it's not really possible to transfer it to disk yet, and - just as we grow older - so does vinyl. Its not perfect forever, and as life goes on, it changes. And I would argue that every record is different once you've had it for a few years that is..

but people ascribe sentimental values to all sorts of things - far be it for me to argue with that..

Nope, it's music. But I don't think you listen to music, do you? I've never actually seen you mention music at all on these forums - all you seem to do is arse about with hi-fi kit.

Your conflation of music with data is (again) rather philistine.

I didn't actually call you a philistine - I said your utilitarian approach was philistine, which is completely different. Try reading my posts before answering them.

I've only ever bought music (vinyl or CD) intending to listen to it. Never to resell it or expect a monetary return. I'm pretty certain I like it before I buy it and usually listen repeatedly to any single LP or CD.

According to definition, the utilitarian approach isn't philistine. And I never said you called me a philistine.  

I guess you're reading my posts as much as I'm reading yours..

Ah, being judgemental again - I'm happy ever since I got rid of the NaitXS. :-)

The DacV1 hooked up to a PC is all I need. ;-)

Of course it isn't - and I'm surprised no one has caught on that I'm only half serious... 

I sent an email to HDTracks about resale. It'll be interesting to see what their official stand is. 

I bet that I won't get a reply back, indicating they don't care either way - or that it's a gray area.

Given that there are no watermarks buried in the music you buy from HDTracks, I don't think sales would be traceable anyway ...

I think you'll find HD Tracks won't reply because it really depends on the country you are living in and their own copyright laws.

As in, selling an iPod in the UK with downloaded tracks would infringe copyright. Doing the same in Pakistan would not.

Similarly, selling your CDs is not illegal - but selling a device with ripped copies of them on it is.

It's just an example of how the law is struggling to keep up with changes in consumption of music.

Also why the music companies would love to move us all to on-line streaming with no physical ownership. That way they control revenue.

@Jon: I would have to agree with you.

The moment record companies stop selling CDs, I bet all the music that is sold on iTunes and other places will have DRM - so it is indeed in our best interests to buy CDs rather than flac downloads; if only to rip the cds and resell the CD (with a donation made to artist's funds every year). 

I have not bought one single CD in the last one and half year, and i will never again pay for music-destroyed, only slow jazz, and other obscure music which i not listen to have decent masters on CD's, 99% of every CD have pure-junk-masters, owners of CD555 must cry every night

No, hi-res or uber-quality vinyl rips are the only way forward, if i can spend 20 000£ on the equipment i would be a fool if not spending atleast 10% of that on the stuff that really maters, the music ofcourse, and in the best possibly quality to ensure me getting as much out of the RIDICULOS expensive stereo equipment, don't you think?

But yes we are getting kind of cheated as it is now, price-wise. i belive it will change but i do not really care, i need the music now

I've heard mixed reviews. One day I'll get my ears on some but in the mean time the experiences of those who have actually heard it are most welcome as far as I am concerned. I don't think it will fly commercially, but who knows? If the history of the recording industry is anything to go by, the better it sounds, the less likely.

Let's say I own a vinyl copy of an album. Does that entitle me to posses an MP3 on my ipod or computer, assuming the vinyl predates the digital age? And no, the MP3 is not a copy made from the vinyl.

There is nothing particularly different about rights when it comes to digital material in the UK, although there does seem to be a lot of static generated on the subject. If you buy an album, on vinyl, digital disc, tape, download, whatever, you can make a copy of it in any format you like. In fact I believe you can make more than one copy of it. These are for personal use with whatever equipment you chose to play it on. What you cannot do is give away or sell the original and keep copies. Neither can you sell, give away or lend a copy. I don't think that downloads are non transferrable. Some may be knobbled of embedded into devices to prevent this or make it difficult, but if I want to sell on an album that I have downloaded there is no law in the UK to say I can't, provided I do not keep a copy or sell it multiple times. This is one reason why I couldn't for example sell files on Amazon - too open to abuse. As ever, we are punished or at least inconvenienced for the sins of others and the labels continue to berate and blame the regular, honest punters because we are visible and easy to aim at. Everything that is wrong with music sales is all our fault, despite the fact that we are the ones who continue to reach into our pockets.