Audio Gear 'Hoarding'

[BDH55]

I'm busy trying to clear out some old gear, and thought I had a lot gear hanging around!!! Check out this short video I received from Acoustic Sounds - The Texas Collection. This guy has multiple rooms full of old gear! Lots of it is vintage gear, but some is new in the box... like a pair of Martin Logan Vista's. He basically has everything you would need to build multiple systems from input thru the speakers. Brands include Audio Research, Bryston, Heathkit, Krell, Marantz, OPPO, Parasound, Rogue, SME, VPI and many, many others.



To clarify, I've got nothing to do with any of this. Just thought it was worth passing on...

 

[twich54]

Holly Molly !!!!

 

[Brad225]

Wow, it's great all of that equipment is, hopefully, going back out into the world to make others happy.
I love the fact that there was enough hope that a bed and other furniture still existed in the room.

I sold a pair of CLS II speakers to someone locally and his only request is I deliver them at 7AM on a Sunday morning. That was so odd it peaked my interest so I agreed.

When I arrived he was waiting in the driveway of a rather basic home that would have probably 4 bedrooms.
He said we needed to be quiet because his wife was asleep and couldn't know he bought another set of speakers.

When we entered the house it had obviously been remodeled and the layout was unusual. When we got to the room the speakers were go to it stopped me dead. The room was probably 50' x 40'. There were no less than 3 sets of large Genesis Technology speakers to include a pair of Genesis 1s. Down the 50' wall there was floor to 8' high shelves and there must have been 40 sets of mono block not to mention preamps and amps all over the floor. The opposite 50 Ft wall was solid vinyl.
It was obvious why I was there at 7AM and I wondered how many other early morning deliveries he had received.

He was uncomfortable and really didn't want me hanging around and looking at everything so I still have so many questions that shall go unanswered.

 

[Robert D]

Wow, it's great all of that equipment is, hopefully, going back out into the world to make others happy.
I love the fact that there was enough hope that a bed and other furniture still existed in the room.

I sold a pair of CLS II speakers to someone locally and his only request is I deliver them at 7AM on a Sunday morning. That was so odd it peaked my interest so I agreed.

When I arrived he was waiting in the driveway of a rather basic home that would have probably 4 bedrooms.
He said we needed to be quiet because his wife was asleep and couldn't know he bought another set of speakers.

When we entered the house it had obviously been remodeled and the layout was unusual. When we got to the room the speakers were go to it stopped me dead. The room was probably 50' x 40'. There were no less than 3 sets of large Genesis Technology speakers to include a pair of Genesis 1s. Down the 50' wall there was floor to 8' high shelves and there must have been 40 sets of mono block not to mention preamps and amps all over the floor. The opposite 50 Ft wall was solid vinyl.
It was obvious why I was there at 7AM and I wondered how many other early morning deliveries he had received.

He was uncomfortable and really didn't want me hanging around and looking at everything so I still have so many questions that shall go unanswered.

LOL. Cool story. Thats pretty funny. The audio store I shop at has told me similar stories about some of their customers. Deliveries done when the wife is out of the house are common.

 

[amey01]

I've got a bit of a collection. But nothing like that

 

[Tmort]

I sold a CD player, nothing fancy to a guy I had to meet at a gas station at a certain time…so his wife wouldn’t know he’d left…the CD player apparently looked “similar enough” to his existing one that his wife wouldn’t recognize he’d replaced it….DAMN! I guess I’m pretty lucky my wife doesn’t complain about my obsession!

 

[amey01]

I sold a CD player, nothing fancy to a guy I had to meet at a gas station at a certain time…so his wife wouldn’t know he’d left…the CD player apparently looked “similar enough” to his existing one that his wife wouldn’t recognize he’d replaced it….DAMN! I guess I’m pretty lucky my wife doesn’t complain about my obsession!

Haha. This reminds me - my wife used to work for a large media company, and she was in the HR division (she's not HR, but her boss was the Chief Human Resource Officer).

Her boss was telling me that every year at the Christmas party (without fail), he would be approached by at least one angry wife, saying that "why hasn't my husband had a payrise in 20 years??"

Apparently, every payrise they had was paid into a separate bank account for "other" purposes

 

[Leporello]

Holey Moley! If you're selling gear to someone surreptitiously you really have to ask yourself whether you want to contribute to a dysfunctional relationship!

My SO and I both have stuff taking up a fair amount of space in the house and attic. I often take flack for all the unused gear I have. In my case, I have no desire to be a hoarder. It's just a matter of the hassle of selling it and trying to get a reasonable return on it. I need the proper tool for the job, which is a "round tuit". Maybe I can get help on this forum, though, moving my biggest item: a pair of ML Ascents, in Albany, NY. I have the original boxes (in the attic) but shipping them anywhere would cost a significant portion of what they're deemed worth.

 

[JonFo]

Humm, this thread made me think about what unused gear I have, and hopefully, I'll put it up for sale or donate it. I know I'll likely never use some of it.
It's not much, a couple of amps, some analog EQ/crossover boxes, old CD/SACD players (that work), and some display pieces (like my Sony S7000 DVD player, the one with the powered fold-down front panel).

I do keep my gear for extended periods, such as power amps, most of which are from the 90's and early 2000's.
Even the pre-amp is getting long in the tooth at 8 years old. The oldest piece of gear still active in the system are the ML Sequel II running as my rear speakers, which I bought new in 1993, so nearly 30 years.

 

[SomeGeoffGuy]

I would agree that shopping for that "Next" audiopiece is almost as fun as owning and listening to it.

-Geoff

 

[Robert D]

I've given some of mine to The Vietnam Vets. I hope everything gets to them safely. I'm paranoid and sometimes wonder if the driver might take a few things for themselves. Probably not.

 

[Lurch490]

I definitely have this affliction though not to the same degree as mentioned above. As a bachelor, I had a stereo setup in my living room and small HT setup in my basement, but I had spare gear/projects stashed all over the house.

Then, I added a 10x10 storage locker. I got married and moved into a bigger house but kept the storage locker for a while. The storage locker rental stated at $57/month. Then $64...$72...$99. The last monthly hike was the straw that broke the camel's back...$172.

So, I consolidated the gear and sold off a bunch of stuff. I still have plenty of gear that needs to go. Just for power amps, I have a pair of Classe 15s, a Belles 350A, Classe DR-8, a Threshold Stasis 2, 2 x McIntosh MC250s, a Rogue Eighty-Eight Magnum, Sonic Frontiers Power 2, and a Rowland Model 1 all sitting unused.

Yet, I keep looking at local sales on Facebook Marketplace and CL...

 

[BDH55]

Then, I added a 10x10 storage locker. I got married and moved into a bigger house but kept the storage locker for a while. The storage locker rental stated at $57/month. Then $64...$72...$99. The last monthly hike was the straw that broke the camel's back...$172.

I'm 100% with you on the storage locker approach. I did basically the same thing and got a 10' x 10' locker. Like you, I think the 'move in special' price was around $45-50/mo. Of course, it didn't take long until it started climbing and a little more than a year later, I am at $107/mo.

What really bothers me is I am not storing any equipment... all I am storing are the equipment boxes. So at nearly $1300/yr, I am storing a bunch of cardboard so I can hopefully make better money on equipment resale when it comes time to sell. However, I'm starting to wonder if I wouldn't come out ahead by just killing the locker... recycling the boxes... and taking the hit on resale...

Of course, I suppose I could actually dig out my basement and find a 10' x 10' space, at no monthly cost down there...

 

[twodogs112]

Lurch490, any of those goodies for sale. Always looking, sometimes buying!!! Why wife would kill me, but the dogs won’t tell!

 

[amey01]

t... all I am storing are the equipment boxes. So at nearly $1300/yr, I am storing a bunch of cardboard so I can hopefully make better money on equipment resale when it comes time to sell. However, I'm starting to wonder if I wouldn't come out ahead by just killing the locker... recycling the boxes... and taking the hit on resale...

For that sort of money, you can buy new boxes when it comes time to sell if you really want to!

 

[Lurch490]

Lurch490, any of those goodies for sale. Always looking, sometimes buying!!! Why wife would kill me, but the dogs won’t tell!

Well, I've been contemplating when to engage in another wave of selling. The problem with beefy amps is that the price of shipping keeps going up, so I'm considering whether to just try to sell off the amps locally. Anyway, let me know if you're interested in any particular amp and I can tell you more about it.

 

[Leporello]

I sold a pair of CLS II speakers to someone locally and his only request is I deliver them at 7AM on a Sunday morning. That was so odd it peaked my interest so I agreed.

I would venture a guess the Missus was at church while he was indulging in his sin, in one of the many ironies of this story.

My CLS II story is kind of the opposite. I went to pick mine up in a neighboring state with my SO, who owned a truck at the time (I started in the relationship with a pair of 7' tall Acoustat 1+1's, and everything since has been an improvement in her eyes). The newly married guy was selling the CLS's because of WAF issues. He was in Africa at the time I picked them up, so his wife greeted us and did the transaction. But no deception on either end.

 

[Brad225]

I would venture a guess the Missus was at church while he was indulging in his sin, in one of the many ironies of this story.

My CLS II story is kind of the opposite. I went to pick mine up in a neighboring state with my SO, who owned a truck at the time (I started in the relationship with a pair of 7' tall Acoustat 1+1's, and everything since has been an improvement in her eyes). The newly married guy was selling the CLS's because of WAF issues. He was in Africa at the time I picked them up, so his wife greeted us and did the transaction. But no deception on either end.

He told me she was sleeping and we need to be quiet.

At least he never showed up at your door wanting his CLS back because she sold them without him knowing.

 

[Brad225]

Well, I've been contemplating when to engage in another wave of selling. The problem with beefy amps is that the price of shipping keeps going up, so I'm considering whether to just try to sell off the amps locally. Anyway, let me know if you're interested in any particular amp and I can tell you more about it.

What beefy amps and where is locally?

 

[amey01]

Well, I've been contemplating when to engage in another wave of selling.

Well, this thread inspired me to sell a pair of KRIX Equinox speakers I had lying around.

One down, about 173 pieces of audio equipment remaining (I made that number up, but you get the gist), haha.