Marvinbrown's dilemma: What do I do now guys?? What the hell do I do now!

[George]

  LOL I have always been for debate, the more we debate the better off we will be. 

I disagree.

[springrite]

I disagree.

I think this post belongs in the Monty Python thread.



Yes, I did
No, you didn't.
Yes, I did
No, you didn't.
Yes, I did
No, you didn't.

Yes, it is
No, it isn't.
Yes, it is
No, it isn't.
Yes, it is
No, it isn't.

[George]

I think this post belongs in the Monty Python thread.

No it doesn't.

[Bulldog]

No it doesn't.

Right - put it in the Richter thread.  He recorded some Mozart.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Right - put it in the Richter thread.  He recorded some Mozart.

He recorded some Stravinsky, too.

[Que]

Sorry, but I say don't get it marvin. You've already given some good reasons not to get it. Plus, there will be plenty more good deals in the future, given the way things have been going in the industry. To me a good deal is only a good deal when the CDs are of great (or better) performances. If they aren't, you'll just end up replacing them at a later date.

My new rule is that if I wouldn't buy the CDs at full price, then I don't buy them at a very good price. I have saved a lot of money already this way.

I have 20 CD's at home that I could sell for $1.99 That's .10 a CD. Trust me, it wouldn't be a good deal.

Try and compute the cost on a per listening basis.  If you will listen to a cd once and never again, then it becomes a very expensive cd.  If you will listen to the cd many, many times, then even if the initial cost is high, it pays for itself.  With box sets like this, there is an awful lot of filler which you may not even listen to once.  So, first sort out the cds that you will listen to once or not at all.  Subtract them from the mix and then compute the cost of the remainder cds by dividing that number into the price.  Then look at these cds and think: how many times will I really listen to these cds?  Will I listen to them 3 or 4 times and then forget them while I look for a performance that is more satisfying?  If there are at least 10 cds in the set that you will listen to regularly, then imo the set is worth buying, even if you never listen to any of the other cds in the set.  That brings the cost of the cds you like to £4 each, which is reasonable.  The others are just "bonus" cds that you can keep, sell or trash.

Btw, also make sure that you have ample room for the set.  Nothing is worse than buying something that takes up space without giving satisfaction.

Second these considerations. Every penny spent on a cheap CD that you'll never listen to or won't enjoy, is a penny waisted. And with the large numbers of mega sets that's a lot of pennies...

Bunny's approach is perfectly rational. But I'm afraid I generally do not follow it, unless I can decently "split up" a set due to separate packaging. I hate having "trash" CD's on my shelf that much, that I'd rather spend more money on buying things separately than having "the bad" because of "the good" that came with it.....

So, considering the contents of this set: do not buy unless you just want an opportunity to hear some of the music and than sell it.

Q

[Grazioso]

I look at it this way:

a) A lot of the contents range from good to excellent (especially--but not only--the piano sonatas and a great deal of the chamber music), and most are at least solid performances. Only a few clunkers so far.
b) The set is dirt cheap
c) I'll probably never listen to every single disc in it, but I've already listened with pleasure to most of them, some quite a few times, meaning I've already more than gotten my money's worth.

Now, the downsides:

* no printed libretti and translations
* the box takes up a fair amount of shelf space (but at least it's totally full, unlike the contemptible packaging of that 60-CD Beethoven Masterworks set from BMG/Sony that apes the Brilliant Mozart packaging but leaves most of the box empty, taking up valuable shelf space)
* not every disc is outstanding, but what do you expect from such a huge set?

[Bunny]

  LOL I have always been for debate, the more we debate the better off we will be.  I like reading the different points of view  .

  marvin

Finally!  Someone who procrastinates as much as I do.   You know you can always "procrastinate" yourself out of the set, which is also a solution to the dilemma. 

Second these considerations. Every penny spent on a cheap CD that you'll never listen to or won't enjoy, is a penny waisted. And with the large numbers of mega sets that's a lot of pennies...

Bunny's approach is perfectly rational. But I'm afraid I generally do not follow it, unless I can decently "split up" a set due to separate packaging. I hate having "trash" CD's on my shelf that much, that I'd rather spend more money on buying things separately than having "the bad" because of "the good" that came with it.....

So, considering the contents of this set: do not buy unless you just want an opportunity to hear some of the music and than sell it.

Q

I only buy sets like this when the price of obtaining the desired cds is as high or higher than buying the box.  Usually by the time these boxes come out the great cds included are OOP and the cost of obtaining them is ridiculously high.  Sometimes it's just easier to get too many cds for the same cost as a few.

[Sorin Eushayson]

Just wanted to chime in and say that I consider the Brilliant Classics Complete Editions to be some of the best musical investments I've ever made, the Mozart Edition notwithstanding.  Did that help?