Walkman future

What will be the future of walkman in general ? Please share your toughts.
I have TPS-L2 with MDR-5a headphones I hope some day i can buy a new car after selling them, but am I ? I'm not sure, i love collecting and repeiring them, its a passion you know.

 

I think that is a bit optimistic. The reason they are so expensive at the moment is that all the people who couldn't afford them in the 1980s, and probably ended up with a low end Sanyo instead (like I did), or who had them back then but lost, broke, or sold them are now in their mid fifties with much more disposable income. To give an idea £100 in 1980 (which I think was the price of a TPS-L2 back then) is the equivalent of £400 in today's money according to the Bank of England

A colleague had the theory of a "nostalgia wave". If he is right the most in demand items in a decade or two will be original ipods / mp3 players, and maybe "cool" phones.
Back when the Walkman was released I was collecting Valve (Tube) radios. The funny thing is most were only about 25 years old yet seemed like antiques.

To show how different ages have different opinions last year we were selling some decorative tins at a vintage fair. A bloke who looked to be in his thirties picked one up and was going on to his girlfriend. "Look at this. It's copyright 1996. That's really old isn't it". I suppose to someone in their thirties it is. Whether that makes it more desirable I don't know.

 

Nope no car I think, but I could be wrong. Too many made and still too many around.

 

I think vinyl will be around for a lot longer than 10 years.

 

While I agree I wonder if most enthusiasts will be in their 60s. I was just reading an article about stamp collectors and an observation that it has gone from being a schoolboy hobby to something people do in retirement.

Being the wrong side of 55 I actually bought two LPs today in the local charity shop, despite them being twice the price of the CDs I also bought, and only having a Panasonic SG-J500 to play them on here.

p.s A quick update . One LP was Rose Royce II

On Amazon the cheapest CD is about £12 while the reissued Vinyl is £23 some so I think my £1 for an original in what looks to be in good condition was money well spent. I'm sure someone will tell me I could stream it but I'm not into that.

It is always interesting to look through what looked to be someones record collection. someone was into Rose Royce, Wings, Huey Lewis and Donny and the Osmonds.

 

Longman for me I have only ever seen old people collecting stamps, I have never seen young people doing it.

I buy records all the time and the last record I bought was Chic’s new album that came out about 3 – 4 weeks ago.
Yes you are correct we are over charged for our records, they don’t need to be that expensive but they do it because they came.

You like looking into peoples record collection? Don’t laugh here are mine.

 

yes, it's a generation-thing.
longman was talking about valve-radios, those things were pricey, some deluxe, but the generation who collected them is almost gone, mean most tube-radio-collectors have returned their clogs allready, and afterwards who the f*** wants an AM-radio when there's no AM-radiostation anymore ?

i still have some pre-war superheads - a few (10-15) years ago they were quite pricey - in our days you can't even give them away, that's a fact. well, i like them and i keep them, at least as nice dust-collectors.

untill 10 years ago you could score mega-prices trading victorian furnitures in teak- cherry- or whatevver wood, today they have more value when you break them down, throw'em in your oven and warm your bud in winter.

there was a time when men collected pocket-watches, and they were pricey. today it's better to throw away the movement and melt the housing.

ah, what about vintage cars ? those pre-war-thingies (...good to convert into a rat-rod) get cheaper and cheaper, the pricey cars are the late 60'es sportscars up to 80'es all-day-family-coaches, soon the break-even there will be reached, let's see what's next (maybe/hopefully vintage electric cars )

it's allways the generation-thing, you wanted something when you were young but couldn't afford ? well, now your settled, the family is founded, kids have grown and you have some bucks to spend ? buy that crap from those days (...yeah, it's cool, i'm doing it myselfe )

right now i see that thing going not only with Walkmen and boomboxes, check out prices for 90'es pinball-machines, they go mad !

b.t.w. i sold all my TPS-L2 just after "Guardians of the Galaxy" came out - i had 6 of them, the max i ever paid was far below 100 bucks - the cheapest i sold was almost 4 times as much (...well, i could afford a 1970 John Bonham Ludwig black diamond drum-set with the funds)
...and do i miss it ? nope, for the technical issue i have some WM-3's, they're almost the same (besides beeing blue) and still show up for little budget...

isn't it allways a collector's thing, not only to own an item, also to use it in some way (even if for display only) and every now and then even dream about all those things you can afford if you sell it ? i think yes...

 

That was a comprehensive reply Autoreverser

I have mentioned before that my late Fathers hobby was collecting, although once into his thirties he didn't seem to have any interest in music,
his interests being coins, stamps and toys.

The reason for researching stamps is that we are now left with his stamp collection which is mainly Royal Mail limited editions, like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROYAL-MAIL-MILLENNIUM-COLLECTION-STAMP-SET-COMPLETE-IN-BOX-MINT-/163380043662?hash=item260a359f8e:g:70MAAOSwZFxb3dho&nma=true&si=LqtQzdgxcbPCXvcYdIk7V7c7CAE%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Unfortunately, as it implies in the listing, the best thing to do with many of them is to stick them on letters.

Too Cool that is an impressive collection. I hope you have a strong floor. There is still more to buy as I couldn't see one of Nile Rodgers greatest tracks in there. Amazing that this came out the same year as the TPS-L2.

 

Thanks. My floor is holding up so far

All the Nile Rodgers greatest tracks are there

I remember that track well

 

You just reminded me of the mid-60's Motorola cabinet stereo I have in storage. All-original and still working, I found it at someone's curb just before it rained. The cabinet is near perfect, but the loudness leaves something to be desired... guess it might need something, recalling how a friend's Admiral was much the same way.

Guess I'll either restore it one day, or resto-mod it with some modern speaker elements... I dunno. Still, if I ever get fed-up with the performance of the Sanyo Soundbase I got new for a song ($49) last-year, it'll sure look nice set below my wall-mounted flat-screen television.

That sounds like me in the day... before used CDs got cheap, and resale shops with cheap, used vinyl got hard to find.

BTW: Have I mentioned owning a SG-J500 myself? The story of it is here:
http://stereo2go.com/forums/threads/triple-take-it-on-the-run-baby.1564/

That's what led me to stop buying recordings, and just stream & copy stuff wherever I can find it for free & of good quality.

Oh, man... so many points here to speak of.

First, I get the feeling I should keep my previously mentioned Motorola original... perhaps the value of that old valve-type will reward me better than any repairs or mods I could effect ever would!


Now, most of what I have is stuff in-line with what I wanted while younger but couldn't afford, but much of it is also curiosities... stuff that I learned of and wondered "Wow... what is using that like?" I may use it only briefly--if at all--if it works... orI can make it work, if need be... but in the end I'm still glad to have gotten it. And yes, it's hard to let go of something that you may not have used much--if at all--just because you haven't made use of it for a while... I have a storage locker that's proof of that--two, even! But, like any collector, I dream of the day I can show-off what all I've acquired, and enjoy what having it can permit me to do... like: playback of something unusual or hard to find, found in a now-abandoned format that's seen little-to-zero support when new.

Wow, 90's pinball... there's a memory from my youth! Before all the arcades either shut-down, or got half-converted into kiddie play-places with laser-tag arenas and indoor carousels, that was my preferred form of arcade amusement. Thank-goodness there's a place in Joliet that's mostly made-up of them... old and new!

Will I sell my collection someday? Yes, perhaps... or at least give it away, but only to someone who'll appreciate it as much--if not more--than I did. Otherwise, I'm fine with paying rental fees... just so I can say "I have one of those...."

 

Well it was only Friday I bought the LPs there from here

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.428...4!1sPOiCmeHW7WnELwZpxGsnBA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Their standard price was £1 each. That is twice the price of their CDs which are £0.50 each whether they are singles, doubles. or in the case of one I bought a 5 CD compilation still shrink wrapped (although I know that one is currently for sale at the supermarket tills for £3).
I have had a better look at the LPs and am very pleased with the condition with no visible scratches or finger prints. Back in the 1980s I had worst ones new from record shops. The sleeves are a bit worn from rubbing against others.

I would guess the Wings albums (which I was half tempted by) are still there but I am now 100 miles away back at home.

Regarding Vinyl decomposing, in my experience I have had far more problems with CDs (perfect sound forever ?) doing that.
There are Vinyl floor tiles at work that probably date back to when the building was built in the 1950s, and people walk on those.

Yes. I posted the original Currys advert into that thread.

 

Thanks Mister X, I never swap my records since I am not a collector of anything all the records I have I listen to. I do give away some if I have duplicates, usually to my next door neighbours son as he is just starting a record collection and sometimes to the charity shop. When i give them to the charity shop, i give it to Oxfam as they grade them accordingly and get a good price for them. None of that singles for 50 pence or £1 for LP's, i would rather the charity get good money.

 

First of all I like to own my own copy and secondly I like to support the artists, as I like what they do. If we don’t support the artists, they will not be able to keep making the great music we love. Also I would not want to be held at the mercy of the streaming company or the internet connection.

 

I suppose it is easy money for the Hospice shop. Take the donation, put it on the shelf and hopefully get money for it.
Unlike some charity shops that one doesn't sell electricals. A few months ago they had a Yamaha Keyboard sat in the incoming donations area and they wouldn't even give me a price for it, saying it had to go to their main warehouse to be tested.

I did take loads of my parents books (four car loads and counting) and some of their classical records to Oxfam in Bristol where they have a specialist shop.

I completely agree with the comment about supporting the artist. However, Cliff Richard made an interesting point in an interview on Jonathan Ross last week, saying that in the past artists used to do a tour (and often lose money doing so) in order to promote their latest album, which was where they made all their money, while nowadays they release an album to promote their tour (something he has just done himself).

One of the things that I think will be a shame about streaming is that in the future nobody will know what music people liked.
It reminded of this article about the Queen Mothers record collection (which was nowhere the size of TooCool's).

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/mar/14/queen-mothers-record-collection

In seventy years time will anyone be able to do a retrospective on Prince Williams playlist (assuming he streams his music)? Will anyone even know where it is ?

 

Yes I know what you mean, but it’s the law. They need to get them PAT tested as they don’t want to be sued if someone should electrocute themselves.

With regards to your comment from Cliff Richard, the problem really started when they allowed their records to go onto streaming sites. Streaming is not good for artists, it’s only good for the Streaming and record companies. The artists get’s peanuts out of streaming.
With regards to them making money on live concerts, there are very few artists I would pay hundreds of pounds to see actually if any. I like small venues where I can get close to the artists, big venues don’t do it for me. If I have to pay hundreds of pounds for a concert, I would rather buy some records instead.
The last concert venue I went to was Brixton Academy, I can get up close to artists.

Streaming in my opinion is only good for one thing, discovering new music. If the artists were to pull their music off the streaming sites and only have snippets to streams so people could sample and discover, they will find that people will buy again as that would be the only way for them to hear in full the music they love.

 

The problem is that companies like Youtube/Google don't play by the established rules (as has been debated for hours in Parliament).

As a trivial example take this track which gets played regularly at Ceroc dance events.



Note that it has been there over 7 years and has almost 185000 "views".
Of course it might disappear tomorrow.

For some copyright reason it isn't/wasn't available on iTunes, or other download services, unless you are in Norway (which is where the artist comes from) .
Having decided I wanted I legitimate copy and to hear the rest of the Album, I ended up buying a second hand copy of the CD from Germany for £25,
which was much cheaper than any offers on Amazon.

At least there was a CD although from the price now it seems to have had a very limited release.
I wonder how much new music is produced which isn't available to purchase on any physical medium ?

 

fascinating comments here guys - really enjoyed your thoughts

The thing that really resonates with me is the loss of musical heritage - not knowing in 20 years time what you or anyone else was listening to for those who favour streaming

Also on the subject of physically owning music in any format (esp vinyl!) Noboady is likely to look back in 20 years time and say "I can remember where I was when I downloaded this" - far less likely for streaming/??


Hand me any one of over a 1000 records from my lounge and I will be able to tell you at least something about the when/where/how/why. More likely I could bore you for some time with the *exact* details...the story. I expect you're the same? The story of course always results in pulling more LPs off the shelf.

Mix tapes are very precious as they are even more tangible and personal the vinyl for me: you actually built that with your own hands (well, tape deck!!)

 

also on how long tapes will last: Spotted these in Tesco last week - not really a DC2 killer...christmas novelty?