My only worry of keeping multiple amps is they will rot with time especially the capacitors as we all know. The electronics may go bad if not used for a long time. Repair bills may be high depending on the component. Hence I usually try to at least power up the component once in two years.
Speakers I don’t worry too much, and I only have one additional pair.
And another key point is whether your system is static. I have 3 systems and frequently move stuff around depending on something new / old coming in / out.
You’d think so and many would agree with you but I like them (amplifiers) for their differences. None of them do everything well but they all have some lovely traits. As to speakers, I only just recently acquired two more sets of bookshelf speakers due to my room having severe issues with bass with my floor standers. Long story but the stand mounts solve this to a far greater degree. Still, I do use my floor standers (modified and with DSP) in rotation as they give a scale/power the smaller ones do not. However, because of DSP they do not sound as good as they can and did in my previous place. So, I kind of hoard too but I do use them regularly and waiting for the new place to make full use again. The smaller speakers will likely go then.
Whenever we’ve moved house we’ve always disposed of lots of accumulated stuff that we don’t use. We always say that we won’t accumulate this stuff again and we always have. We’ve been in our current property, which is our final one (all being well) for 10 years now and again we’ve accumulated storage units full of stuff that one day might be useful. I need to have a good sort out of this and the garage before the winter sets in. We also hate clutter but luckily this stuff is all in the garage or the spare room so doesn’t actually impact on day to day living.
I sort of get it more when talking about large and small speakers. Small speakers can do things well that large speakers struggle to achieve to the same degree. The reverse is also true and IMO even more so. No small speaker, no matter how accomplished, can achieve the dynamic freedom, headroom, bass depth/weight, scale and sheer realism of a really good large speaker. Still, really good small speakers can have a certain ‘something’ that can really appeal and which I do sometimes pine for even though I love our large horn speakers.
There’s also the firm belief that everything will one day find it’s natural next home. Whether that be in another room or a family member.
Most rooms in my home have a proper hifi. And rather than sell things, anything I felt I had to get rid of, considering pathetic trade in values, I’ve chosen to gift to people.
I certainly have sold hifi before. But it’s not my default option.
Circumstances vary of course. When I was in my early twenties, I needed to build a new life and sold everything I owned in the world. Absolutely everything. The Linn stuff all went. No regrets. Possessions really do sort of own you rather than the other way around and I scales down to literally the shoes ony feet and shirt on my back for a few years. My A60 was given away and by miracle found it’s way back decades later. So not wanting to hang on to something and par life down to essentials is something I completely empathize with.
The second law of thermodynamics dictates the Universe is inherently moving towards entropy/disorder.
Don’t be part of this and sell your unused stuff. Let others be in chaos 
Over the decades I have sold most stuff within weeks, as part funding of upgrades, however I do currently have a few amps that I haven’t used for several years.
A Tag McLaren PA10 preamp that was a stand-in for a while when my MF pre had a fault some years ago, then kept as potential gift for one of my sons, but not wanted so has been waiting a year or so for time to advertise.
A pair of Musical Fidelity P170 power amps from some triamping experiments a few years ago, kept and now fate same as the Tag McL.
A Bryston 4Bsst and Bryston 9B from before my MF A370 acquisition, retained for triamp duties should I get around to continuing my DIY speaker design project.
You can tell from this that I don’t subscribe to a policy like disposing of things if not used for x months, my policy being keep if I have a reason for believing I may want to use again. Clutter is good for the soul - well, not so much clutter as having things that are needed or likely to be wanted: no minimalism for me!
I have 2 sets of speakers wrapped up in their boxes. These stored away in a potential state to have some interest in value.
Otherwise loads of cables, headphones and other empirical ephemeral artifacts that to my mind is just stuff that couldn’t be any interest to others. That I can’t find the will to just bin them.
That’s a good point which aligns with my thoughts as well. I don’t keep things which I feel won’t be used anytime in the future, specifically amps which I think do not sound good. Over the years I have sold amps which did not sound good to me. One is the Rega Elicit mk2, bought new and sold after 8 months, others I can’t really recall. The Rega just lacks detail with an overly warm and lush sound, this was in direct comparison with the LFD Zero mk3 which was the benchmark during that time. Although the LFD sounds great bordering exceptional when matched with Harbeth speakers, I didn’t buy it as the poor build quality and lack of a remote were unacceptable to me. It’s not all about sound quality in my book.
The decision of keeping or selling is more difficult with costly amps than cheap amps. I own a Sonneteer Orton integrated bought used at a low price. Although it is rarely used, I think I’ll keep it for life as it does not only sound great but is exceptional value. I even got a remote control programmed for the amp as it did not come with one when I bought it.
Sometimes the decision to keep stuff is rather irrational, and I’m guilty as charged. I’m hanging on to the Luxman DA-06 DAC although it doesn’t sound too good to me as I love the build quality and looks of it. It functions more as a display ornament than a component.
I typically sell stuff I stop using as quickly as possible, unless it’s too old and it’s not worth it. In the past year I have a sold a bunch of Naim electronics and Fraim I no longer need or use. On the other hand I have an ancient Arcam DVD player and a Rega tuner I will probably just throw out into the next electronics recycling campaign.
I don’t like old crap sitting in my closet.
I like to use my older equipment to help fund the newer.
I usually sell items I’m no longer using. There is one exception, which is my original Naim Nait, which I bought new in 1986. It has been serviced a few times, but currently sits dormant on the bottom shelf of a Quadraspire unit in the bedroom. I shall be getting my NAP500DR serviced sometime soon and will be shuffling amplifiers around so the baby Nait will be brought into service somewhere.
I would like to read @Richard.Dane’s reply to this thread.
Never keep hifi if I’ve replaced it.
Generally don’t subscribe to the ‘I may need it theory’ my wife does.
That’s really the opposite of what I think now, though I haven’t always been like this to the same extent. Especially since retiring I’ve had a strong desire to simplify every aspect of life as much as possible. Only retaining the possessions, routines, habits etc. etc. that are really important to us and focussing in these. I now have a very strong dislike of doing anything at all that doesn’t particularly interest me or benefit me. I’m not entirely sure what’s prompted all this but I suspect it’s to do with getting older and facing up to one’s mortality. I’ve now become accutely aware that time is running out, so wasting it on things that don’t really matter so much to me is something I’m very keen to avoid. This was all a deciding factor in discarding streaming and returning to CD.
My focus since retiring nearly 5 years ago has been on enjoying life, and simplification doesn’t feature. I did spend most of the first four years, apart from when having lots of enjoyable holidays, working unpaid doing up first one then the other sons’ houses, and, following a move unexpected a year ago, I have a fair bit to do in new home to get it as near ideal for us as possible, but enjoying time, especially with my wife and also sone parts of extended family, and making the best of an unknown period of life left is important: I hope for at least another 28 years, but for all I know it could be 28 months or 28 days… My hobbies have been for enjoyment, so no change other than more time (hopefully) to enjoy them. Things in the house or campervan will always need doing, so all tools and DIY bits (boxes of plumbing and electrical stuff etc) of course .remain. Moving home forced a sort out while packing, but garage seems as full as ever, just tidier! Hifi room yet to be extended so no optimisation of that for a little while.
Clutter in the true sense drives me utterly mad. I can’t stand it.
But there are contradictions in life. One is that things are only things. They aren’t people and it is silly to form attachments to them. And yet…
Some items you interacted with a great deal form sort of anchors in your mind to that period and allow you to recall all sorts of memories. While I have no sentimental attachment to old hifi I do value the flood of memories that it (or any object of frequent use) brings back.
If I boxed swapped like many here, I would probably sell the old stuff too. But when you stick with bits of hifi for over a decade between upgrades it doesn’t really add that much clutter; isn’t always worth much second hand; and has been around long enough to anchor memories that an amp you only had for 2 years can never do.
It’s one thing to look at a photograph from 20 years ago and recall a few things. It’s another to physically touch your past.
We’ll all have our own little ways and preferences on how to achieve this, but for sure enjoying life and spending time with my wife is absolutely the most important thing now. As far as things around the house and garden needing doing, as you point out this will always be the case so really not worth losing any sleep over. As my wife has always said to me, nothing is really that important except our health. Whatever happens there’s always a solution but sadly with health that isn’t the case.
I get that feeling when I see pictures here of LP12’s and early CB Naim amps. It brings back all sorts of vivid memories and feelings of the times when I owned these things many years ago now.