Buying expensive things for a "collection".

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Come on o1s1n, we all know that a live performance can't match one produced in a sound studio.

You don't know what an mp3 is, do you?

We're not talking about collecting something only so you can sell it off again, it's collecting something for its own sake.

So I shouldn't hang things on my walls that I like? Seriously? Like, wtf dude?

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Come on o1s1n, we all know that a live performance can't match one produced in a sound studio.

An MP3 is a compressed audio track which removes parts of the song to make the filesize a lot smaller. Comparing it to a life performance is laughable.

Go and listen to an orchestra playing in the National Concert hall. Then come back and tell me your crappy compressed audio MP3 track is better.

SuperInfinity wrote: »

We're not talking about collecting something only so you can sell it off again, it's collecting something for its own sake.

You do realize there is another tier, collecting something for collecting with the knowledge that it will increase in value?

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Okay. Now tell me this o1s1n, as a mod how can you honestly defend thanking the obvious and blatant troll above yours?

1. Way to divert the discussion with something which is completely irrelevant.

2. I am not a mod of After Hours, therefore what I do in this forum does not need to adhere to any 'standard' you may think it does.

o1s1n wrote: »

An MP3 is a compressed audio track which removes parts of the song to make the filesize a lot smaller. Comparing it to a life performance is laughable.

Go and listen to an orchestra playing in the National Concert hall. Then come back and tell me your crappy compressed audio MP3 track is better.

I'd attribute a lot of this to crappy speakers.

BTW, I collect FLAC?

o1s1n wrote: »

I also collect FLAC and have a lovely pair of mint Celestion Ditton 33s which I have hooked up to classic Pioneer and Sansui parts.

Sounds beautiful - still doesn't compare to a live performance though! Although obviously a live performance isn't just about sound, it's the whole atmosphere of being there with performers too.

Oooh, I envy you. I have a celestion V30 in my guitar amp but I can't afford a decent stereo set up at the minute.

Ah yeah, the atmosphere and the feeling of the bass compressing your chest just can't be matched for experience or of course raw acoustic stuff played with high quality instruments is a thing to behold!
A good lossless file with a system like yours is hard to beat for clarity though.

SuperInfinity wrote: »

It's not laughable at all, it's well known an mp3 with a rate of about 320kbps is indistinguishable to almost anyone to CD quality audio - most people struggle to tell the difference between 128k and 192k on the fly (without ability to compare straightaway). CD quality audio is generally regarded as being extremely close to the real thing, of course the speakers can form a bottleneck in the sound quality.

lol. Did you know that some of the compression it does is done to parts that you literally couldn't hear anyway?

Ah I see, so you assume we all just have crappy hifis and really don't care about music quality. I get it. I guess when you settle for such a low standard, a live music performance would probably be lost on you.

SuperInfinity wrote: »

I count that in the same boat as mercenary collecting. You don't "collect" money or gold, you just buy them or invest in them. Investing in art for that sake seems more like a kind of pyramid scheme than anything else.

Who said I invest in art for the sake of it? You're putting words in my mouth now.

I'll give you an example as I bought some art over the weekend.

I saw some art which I've wanted for years. It was going for an insanely cheap price. I bought it because -

A. - I've wanted it for years and absolutely love it.
B. - I could more than justify the cheap price knowing I could resell it for a lot more if I ever needed to.

SuperInfinity wrote: »

I didn't assume anything like that and don't see where you go that from.

Oh do you mean when I said you literally couldn't hear some parts? You can't hear those parts with any speakers. They're parts that are completely drowned out by other parts of the song, or so low that they don't get heard, sounds at the extreme high or low end of the CD frequency spectrum also can't be heard by most people.
.

I know how MP3s are compressed - I still don't buy it that they are like for like on a high end system.

Sure, there are frequencies which are drowned out by other sounds and might as well not be there at far as your hearing is concerned - but there definitely can be other elements lost. I've played both FLAC and MP3 through my own hifi and there is definitely a difference.

MP3 does do me grand when I'm on the go listening to music on my phone or whatever. But if I ever purposely sit down to listen to music at home at a high volume, then I'll try to listen to FLAC.

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Okay, in the OP I was talking about A and not B. Let's exclude that purpose of it, after all we all collect money.

So, putting music aside as it's diverting the original intent of your thread somewhat, what we are discussing is 'why do people wish to own original works of art/rare items etc' when they can just look at a reproduction instead?

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Exactly. And why some people openly state that the rarity is part of the reason they want it... why does it make a difference whether there is one or a million of something out there?

Okay, I'll tell you why I do exactly that.

When you look at at original piece of art over a reproduction, there is a lot more going on. A reproduction is a print, it's flat. All you can see is the image itself. Originals can have textures, repainted parts, hidden parts etc.

One of the artists I collect for for example, is a pen and ink illustrator - his printed works are black and white. But when you see them in person there's infinitely more going on - paint being used, tip ex, things being pasted on. Loads of pieces which are masked by the black and white reproduction process.

As someone who is involved in art myself, I can then get a good idea as to how he works, in ways you just couldn't just by looking at a reproduction.

Secondly, there's absolutely nothing like owning a piece of art created by an artist you really love. There's a magic to it which I really can't explain - that's just the way it is. Knowing they worked on that exact page. It's amazing.

On a completely different level, I collect rare videogames for being rare. Which is probably more along the lines of what you're looking for. Why do I collect rare games? I dunno, I just enjoy it. There's a good buzz of hunting a game down for a while and finally getting your hands on it.

As I said previously though, I'd never pay the going rate. Part of the fun for me is picking them up cheap.

Does anyone here collect stamps ?

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Sounds like the punchline to the thread. :rolleyes: (only messing with you ).

That's how interesting my life is : P