Can an audiophile be a minimalist? A core tenet of minimalism is simply living with less. Ideally, you should focus on needs instead of wants. From that standpoint, this leaves audiophilia in a precarious position. One could say they need music in their life, but no one needs to hear music played on a $50,000 stereo. There is nothing needed with a turntable that has a 30lb platter, or monoblock amplifiers that weigh more than a supermodel. This is not a condemnation of the dedicated audiophile contingent, since I am also one of those guys. However, there’s an inner struggle I have with myself, because I am also a minimalist. I’m a pretty bare bones guy. I went several years without even owning a toaster. I probably wouldn’t own a toaster today if my ex-girlfriend didn’t buy me one. I still don’t own a coffee table. Before I bought my furniture, all I had in my living room for close to 2 months was a Nelson bench and a Barcelona chair. Oh, and a stereo of course. And records. A lot of records. I stopped counting when it passed 4000. I can already hear the laughter from some audiophiles with much larger collections, and I know it’s small compared to many, but for me that is a lot! I bought speakers before I bought furniture. Most people build a room around, or with furniture in mind. I built my living room with hifi in mind. I had a VPI Scout turntable before I had a microwave, so music is a big part of who I am.
However, I have friends and acquaintances who have passed the threshold of sanity. By that I mean, I’m not so sure it’s about the music anymore, but rather they are just in love with hoarding stuff. These guys have more music than can be consumed by the most voracious music lover in the world. What exactly do you do with 15,000 LPs? You couldn’t possibly listen to them all, even if you tried. If you’re 40 years old and listened to a record everyday, for the rest of your life and you live to about 80, you still wouldn’t be able listen to them all. And this is assuming that you don’t travel, go out, do things etc. I was at a friends loft, and he’s one of these guys with a massive collection. However, almost all his records are in shrink-wrap. He’s an attorney, so he’s busy. He’s rarely home, so his hifi gets minimal use. Yet, he continues to get packages from Acoustic Sounds, Elusive Disc and Music Direct. Packages of records come in almost daily. It’s downright perverse. I know for a fact that he won’t listen to it, but if you ask him he’ll say “I’ll get around to it.”, but he never does. He now has another place where he stores extra records, because shelving is a problem for a collection his size.
While I don’t have the amount of records my friend does, I understand the problem of too many records. I took a look at my collection, and realized that there were things that I just did not need. It wasn’t like I was listening to them. I had far too many records that I listened to once, that I knew for certain I would never listen to again. I also had records that I didn’t care if they were chucked off a roof, and I never got to hear them again. I will be alright if I never heard Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits again. I’ve heard it enough, and since I attend audio shows fairly frequently, I will continue to hear it. So, I applied that logic to a lot more records. The end result was nearly 2,500 LPs pruned, and there will be more on the chopping block. Most were sold on Audiogon, The Hoffman Forum, E-bay, and personal collectors I know through contacts. Some were picked off by friends, to you know, “add to their collections”. They assured me that they’ll get around to listening to it.
It truly is liberating to divorce yourself from excess stuff. Just less stuff to worry about, less stuff to store, less stuff laying around, just less. Less is more. I am also CD free. All my discs have been ripped losslessly, and is being fed to a DAC from Bel Canto Design. I am now more focused on quality, and in the long run, that is always better, not to mention mentally healthier. I’d like to think so at least. I’m still not sure an audiophile can be a minimalist, but I’m trying my best. My speakers, amps and beefy turntable are staying though. Sorry. There won’t be any Bose Lifestyle speakers, or Beats by Dre headphones here. 
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Filed under: Analog, Audiophile, Vinyl, Minimalism, Minimalist
Thoughtful.
I don’t see as clear a distinction perhaps between “want” and “need”. I need air, water and shelter, and that’s about it. I want a lot more than that.
May be its a personal thing but I like clutter. I like my things around me. When I used to work in an office the new woman in charge told me my desk was untidy, cluttered. Her “clear desk policy” meant most people just hid everything out of sight in drawers and cupboards. The clutter was still there, only you couldn’t see it. I figure a lot of “minimalism” isn’t really minimal.
Any way, I have only 500 LPs so I figure I have a long way to go before I have “too many”. But as for the shrinkwrap collectors – I think they would do better spending more of their their money on a shrink!
Valid point with your analysis that a lot of minimalism is just an “everything out of sight” type of thing. However, I don’t think there is a one size, fits all approach to minimalism. People are coming from different places, and are in different stages of their life. For a young man like myself without children, I can live comfortably without a lot of things. A family of 5? Not so much. More people, more footprint, more stuff. Especially when children are involved. So for a family with small children, a step towards minimalism might indeed be keeping things tidy, organized and not having clutter around I suppose. The beauty of having less stuff is that you don’t even have to worry about clutter. I couldn’t clutter anything up at my place even if I tried, because I don’t have stuff laying around. I like that feeling. Things will change no doubt if I get married and start a family, so I’m savoring these moments like you wouldn’t believe.
I truly do try to live my life with some cognizance of how my purchasing habits impact my life, and the world at large. I tend to favor things that highlight experiences, rather than just tangible objects and ownership. For instance, I would rather go to a concert and watch a jazz show, or go on a nice trip, than buy some designer clothes, jewelry etc. I will always remember the experience of the music or trip. I’ll probably be around wonderful people, and I’ll most likely take pictures to immortalize the great moments. That to me is life. Now, on the flipside what will I do with designer duds other than wear them occasionally, and have them take up space in a closet? This isn’t a point against nice clothes, I like them too, but I’d rather focus on the experience, rather than just the tangible, or just having a lot of stuff for the sake of it.
I think records offer a nice blend of both the experience and the tangible. You hear the music, and you own the record. But ultimately, many audiophiles have gone to the point where it seems like their records own them. Everything they do revolves around buying more records. I’m not sure that is healthy, but I’m no doctor. Like you suggested, they may indeed need a shrink!
“Out of sight, out of mind” minimalism isn’t minimalism, and “clear desk” policies are asinine. It’s like letting your kid clean their room by shoving all their crap under the bed – you’re confusing the *result* of the desired system with the system itself. Unless the whole space is organized and pared down (so that desks don’t need to be cluttered), those policies actually hurt productivity.
I’m not an audiophile, so I can’t speak to the sanity of the whole “record collection” thing. That being said, records are pretty thin. I’d bet you can fit half a dozen records + jackets in an inch of shelf space. So five hundred is….what….maybe a hundred linear inches or so? That’s a five-shelf-high shelving unit that’s two feet wide, and that unit wouldn’t be full. I think that’s reasonable for a collection of something you’re seriously passionate about (and something that, from what I hear, just isn’t the same in digital format).
With the attorney buying LPs on the other hand, I think you hit the nail on the head. It’s insane. When you’re accumulating stuff for the sole purpose of accumulating stuff, not even taking the time to unwrap it, you’re not collecting in any meaningful sense – you’re just accumulating for the sake of accumulating.
I always remind myself that the best collections are defined more by what they don’t include than what they do.
Great post!
If out of sight and out of mind only meant shoving things haphazardly under a bed or in a closet, then yes that is indeed asinine. But why is it assumed that out of sight and out of mind means just that? Storage and shelving is integral to minimalism also. Can’t the essentials be pared down, and then whatever else is necessary be properly stored away? Isn’t that also “out of sight”?
With regards to how thin records may be, that all depends on what the person has. If you have a lot of LPs with thick gatefold covers, then that will accrue real estate quickly. Especially the 45rpm x 2 audiophile pressings that have gatefolds that feel like thick cardboard.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I appreciate it.
Cheers,
Atane
I suppose “out of sight, out of mind” *could* mean that you have a carefully-designed storage system to minimize visual clutter. I would suggest that most of the time that’s not the case though.
Storage and shelving are a double-edged sword. The fact that the shelving exist means that things can be organized, but the fact that the shelving exists also seems to provide implicit permission to fill it. The first is good, the second not so much.
Now that you’re mentioning the thick covers, I’m having flashbacks of some of my dad’s record albums from when I was a kid.
I remember some of those were just super-thin almost papery covers, and others were a bit on the heavier side.
Either way though, I don’t think 500 albums would be too much of a storage nightmare – they have the advantage of being similarly-sized (other than the smaller 45s, obviously), and they lend themselves to organization more readily than a lot of other collections. Shelves would be easy to come by (or build
)
The only thing I wouldn’t like is moving them from apartment to apartment.
I agree sometimes we collect, to collect. I try to stay away from any LP I wouldn’t want to put on for friends to hear, it must have re-playbility. (Is that a word?)
I use the records as art similar to this….
http://lifehacker.com/5043706/how-to-build-an-album-art-wall-on-the-cheap
There is just something calming about putting on an LP, can’t get away from it…..
Indeed, it is a great feeling to put on an LP. Obviously, I’m not a collector for the sake of it, but if people find joy in that, then more power to them.
Buying records based on whether I would put it on for friends isn’t even a consideration. I buy music that I enjoy, if my friends like it, great. If not, then so be it. I have some friends that like Country music. It will be a cold day in hell before I buy some Alan Jackson records.
Hi Atane, great entry. I always enjoy reading your site and your posts on the SH forum. I think you and I are alike in our thinking with regard to record collecting. I prefer to have a smaller collection focused on good music, quiet vinyl and great sound quality. I’d rather spend $50-100 on an album I truly love and I know I’ll listen to a lot than 50 $2 records. My jaw always hits the floor when I see people accumulating 20-30 records in a single day after hitting a thrift. Then see pictures of their entire collection and understand why their wives are not too happy.
Still I am guilty of owning multiple copies of the same album on vinyl. I tell myself I’ll get around to doing a shoot out and selling off the losers. Easier said than done, since I’m lazy when it comes to listing/packing/shipping vinyl, fortunately I have my spending well under control now!
Hi Deepak,
I’ve seen those thrift store collectors too, and that’s an entire different beast altogether. At least, audiophile LP collectors can make the claim that they are buying definitive pressings of albums, but these thrift guys are often buying junk. That’s not to say you can’t get great records in excellent condition for cheap, you certainly can. But these guys who always come back with hauls are often buying records in horrible condition. I don’t get the point of that. Who gets satisfaction from playing records in poor condition? If it’s just to have a large impressive collection, then I don’t get that either. Is a large collection of that supposed to be impressive? That’s like having a bookshelf full of gossip magazines, then having the temerity to think you are a bibliophile because the shelves are full.
A nice, meticulously culled record collection is a thing of beauty. It’s about the quality. A 2,000 LP collection with choice pressings (Original, Music Matters, AP, Speakers Corner etc) from Blue Note, Impulse, Riverside, Prestige, Contemporary etc is much more impressive than a 10,000 LP collection full of $1 flea market finds. Whatever makes the buyer happy, I suppose – but it just seems like a giant waste of time that so many people are heavily invested in literally buying unlistenable junk. That defeats the purpose of buying records in the first place.
Thanks for stopping by.
Cheers,
Atane