Do people know what they are missing?

I just wanna put top flight musical artists in front of me or, even better, put me into the recording studio, club or concert hall.  It's an addiction.  An obsession.  "Virtual" is okay, too.  I don't have to see them.  I just have to hear them.  I don't care about the mode of conveyance. 

Only a minority has ever cared about sound quality! Most people have always thought that spending, say, $200 on a stereo system as extravagant! So table radios and department store consoles were common in most homes. Only the hi-fi geeks and the wealthy had separates! Today its home computers and big-screen TVs - and the ubiquitous phone with earbuds.

I guess I never thought a lot of the world was so much different than I. 

Whenever I am invited to someone’s home for an event, I always like to at least see, or even better to hear, what kind of sound system they have. I think I have seen it all over the years. From all in one book shelf systems bought at J C Penny or Sears, to stellar setups that fill a room like I would imagine most folks who are reading this would own. As a musician myself for over 50 years and a retired semiconductor engineer, most of my friends own what I would consider a fairly state of the art sound system. 

On one occasion, my wife and I were invited to a Christmas party at the home of my then supervisor. It was a pleasant evening and during a quiet moment, I asked my boss and his wife if they enjoyed listening to music. They said yes and I took the opportunity to ask to see, and if possible hear, his system. His wife was engaged in attending to guests, but he took me in to his office. There on his desk was an AM/FM Zenith table radio and nothing else. He noted that he also had one just like it in the family room and the bedroom so he and his wife could listen wherever in the house they may be. I gave it a listen, told him it sounded quite nice and we returned to the main event. 

Sometime later, my wife and I had the opportunity to invite he and his wife to a dinner party at our house. At an appropriate time, I asked if he and his wife would like to move in to my sound room for some drinks and music. They agreed and we went in. His wife asked what all the equipment was and I said it was my music system. It’s where I come when I want to do some serious music listening. She said it looked like “a laboratory at NASA” and took up a lot of space. I asked what she and her husband liked to listen to and found something I thought was appropriate. Afterward, I asked him how he thought it sounded compared to his system. His response was, “about the same”. For a moment, I was a little taken back, (my wife said I had a look on my face akin to watching your best friend stepping on a land mine and being blown to bits) but I thanked him for his honest opinion and the evening moved on. 

Later that night, as I lay in my bed, I thought to myself that maybe he was better off. After all, his three AM/FM Zenith table radios made him and his wife happy. They did take up a lot less space than my system and if I had the same, I would have room for a pool table or maybe a game room. In addition, I would also have saved a lot of money as I am positive that those table radios cost considerably less than my system, but then I thought to myself, no way! 

I turned off the light and fell asleep comforted in knowing that my supervisor and I each got the music system that made them happy and I guess that’s what it is really all about.

Hello vintage_health,

     Nice post with a good moral to the tale!  I generally agree with the philosophy of 'whatever floats your boat' and that we all have our own priorities which are typically reflected in our music systems as well as other personal luxuries.  But I can tell your boss likely isn't in charge of quality assurance at your facility.
     If he's an engineer, it's surprising how oblivious to, and non-discerning of, such wide variances in quality levels he apparently is.  You can lead a horse to water, …..


Tim

No and they don't care .