I have a large music collection, and today I wondered how physically large it might be in various obsolete formats (not including the playback equipment).
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In its current form, it is stored on a hard disk as 59GB of MP3 and other digital compressed formats. It has a total playing time of 718 hours – just a touch under a month.
| Format | Weight | Size |
|---|---|---|
| MP3s on 64GB SD memory card | 0.002 kg | 1.613 cm³ |
| 582 MiniDiscs | 14 kg | 21,338 cm³ |
| 538 audio CDs | 59 kg | 95,495 cm³ |
| 718 cassettes | 57 kg | 81,001 cm³ |
| 897 reel-to-reel tapes | 449 kg | 151,593 cm³ |
| 862 12″ LPs | 172 kg | 400,938 cm³ |
| 1724 12″ EPs | 345 kg | 801,876 cm³ |
OK, so EP was a slightly facetious choice of format for storing an entire music library, but if we compare the SD card to a stack of LPs, the LPs weighs 86,000 times more, and is 248,566 times larger. In fact, the LPs would be about the same size as a wheelie bin, and weigh as much as two people.
While the reel-to-reel tapes are a bit smaller, they also weigh almost half a ton!
If you’re curious about the definitions I’ve used in these back-of-the-envelope calculations, see the following section.
Definitions
- Audio CD – Playing time 80 minutes, in hard jewel case with paper inlay
- MiniDisc – Playing time 74 minutes, in hard case
- Cassette – C60 cassette, playing time 60 minutes, in standard hard plastic case
- Reel-to-reel – ¼” 1800′ tape on 7″ reel, 7½ips playback speed, playing time 48 minutes, in card box
- LP – 331/3rpm 12″ vinyl, playing time 50 minutes, in thin card sleeve
- EP – 45rpm 12″ vinyl, playing time 25 minutes, in thin card sleeve
Jonathan Gazeley 
Love it!
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Good fun 🙂
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