little big win


I know it’s all about bass nodes and vibration control but on the side, it can also be about giving back and spreading the love (like @tomic601 does)

My neighbor has a mug-sized JBL bluetooth speaker. She listens to it everywhere and several times it occurred to me to throw it over the fence down the canyon outside the bluetooth range. It is so bad even "noise" would be offended to be associated with it. She does love music, especially jazz and live music like the Symphony and has been married to a musician for decades.

I can’t stand that speaker. So I have been looking for a pair of decent active speakers for months. I finally found one for a little over a $100, used but in decent condition. They arrived yesterday. I also bought a bluetooth speaker adapter and went over to surprise her. Of course half the connections didn’t work on the speaker so I spent an hour trying to fix it until finally I was able to squeeze some sound out. She immediately objected to where I placed them, on a cabinet, 4 feet high 5 feet apart. (She used to having those spots for books and flowers and what not) She insisted to put it on a lower shelf 2 feet high, 2 feet apart. I told her it was not an option, only after my funeral.

I told her to listen to it for a bit and accept them where they are and see if she likes the sound. It seemed fine to me, I could even sense a soundstage.

Two hours later she texted me that she meant to text me sooner but had been lost in pure joy of listening. She loves them and never heard anything like it, so captivating, in a home. (I told her that she would "notice" that she doesn’t know where the speakers are, they should disappear.)

I couldn’t be happier. I texted her back that just to be safe: "take the JBL to Goodwill tomorrow!"
The End

grislybutter

@thecarpathian nah.... I owe her, she took care of our dog for 6 years every time we travelled (although she doesn't see it as a favor), it was the least I could do.

You and I don't see eye to eye sometimes, but that was a nice gesture. Well done!

What an awesome combination of The Good Samaritan and Johnny Appleseed! You're doing the audio lord's work my friend.

All the best,
Nonoise

@tomic601 Yes, learning from you!

 

@nonoise as I said I am lucky to have neighbors like her.... but I am taking full credit :)

 

@grislybutter ....*L*  I'm suspicious that the 'wet towels' went over like the greeting for placement issues....

...but if neighbor gal gets back with "...love the sound, but the floors are starting to warp..."....

"...yeah, The Grizz was a great and generous guy, but made just one suggestion that proved his unravelling...."

...well....I'd miss you...😟

Got similar "neighbor" issues, but with a big, burly, self indulgent individual.  I haven't tried offering to rearrange his flowers to place speakers in the optimum location. Good suggestion.

@asvjerry she knows I am "eccentric" and has a hard time figuring out when I serious. Honestly in this hobby, I often wonder myself what suggestions are serious or not (I am fairly certain speaker placement is no joke though)

@asvjerry  , I've been meaning to ask for a while, when you enclose an alphabetical character in asterisks, such as this

*L*

what are you intending to convey?  

@immatthewj ....You're not the first to comment & query about that habit; just showing my 'digital age' I guess...

Ones' upon a thyme, when 'forums' like this one was shiny and new, 'participants' in what was known as 'webchats' used to convey emotions, reactions, and general 'knee-jerks' by enclosing such between asterisks (*) to  illuminate same.  On occasion and  by depth or shallow-ness of that, the enclosed could be very brief or 'ramble' rather lengthy. Some could contain jpg, mpeg, or 'other' that could cause a 'seizure' in the computer of the targeted individuals' computer by its' download size.

 ...and emoji didn't exist at the time.  So, one got 'creative' (some say 'cretinish', but they've  faded into the 'old F-ers' that Still 'exist' on the 'net confusing and confounding the 'newbies' with the arcane expressions of a bygone 'micro-era' of the 'dig it' age...)...

I dunno....you tell me what's harder to cope with.... ;) *LOL* = Laugh Our Loud

(It was to save keystrokes....) ;)

@grislybutter ...*LOL* (Laugh Out Loud, for @immatthewj )....

I think all devoted (some will say 'deviant'...) audiotypes have encountered that 'stone-wall' response by the normal and nominal 'spouse-sort' (trying to be inclusive 'bout this....)....

A couple we (spouse + self) we've known for lengthy time used to tease each other by responding to a request/comment/aside by saying:

"Are there any sexual 'favors' involved with that?"

Hard to ignore.....harder NOT to begin to utilize.... ;)

@asvjerry Now it's getting exciting! I didn't know my bland little post would invoke associations for sexual favors 🤣

@grislybutter ....

It ought not to have....*ROTFL* ('Rolling on the floor laughing' for friend @immatthewj ...;)...), but ....*Grin*....

I have No Clue if that comment worked for our friends....or how, for that matter...

Hasn't to any major degree for self or spouse, but it's funny and infectious to toss into any group conversations of the sort.... ;)

You'll be surprised at how it's 'catchy'.....

'Successful'?  Jury is still mulling over it, or trying to make it work....🤞 *L*

(...so far 'off topic' that the Voyagers' 1 and 2 haven't reported it....)

No big surprise, there....

...hope that helps, or at min., excuses....

Cheers, J

I was just curious, was all, @asvjerry  , and I just finally got around to asking.  That was all.  Some times I note it's a *G* and other times an *L* and maybe even some other alphabetical characters(?) and I was just wondering what it meant.  Thanks for explaining it though.

At least you didn’t "upgrade" her to Bose... ;-) BTW, I have one of those "larger than mug sized" JBL Bluetooth speakers. No, it isn’t "audiophile" but hey, for playing near a pool or at a family outdoor gathering it ain’t that bad. It is waterproof.  Maybe it sounds better underwater...

@moonwatcher OK. For Public announcements :) For music, it's just painful, and I am not even that sophisticated, like everyone here.

@grislybutter yeah, I mean there's use cases for cheap Bluetooth speakers, but for home use, active powered speakers elevate the quality much better.  And hey, like you mentioned, she now can hear a soundstage and "space"...something maybe she never heard before. Cool. 

@grislybutter ....re 'GBoGH', if it floated, obvious h2o proof, and survive submerging and still Perform ....weighted to various depths....optional 'SubOpDrive'....

The SOD becomes your 'own personal submersible'.....

...and I see No End to the options-capable column.....

...and Yes, I am going to PrtScn shortly....;)

(...momma rais'd up crazy people but no fools....)

When my wife and I were dating in the early 2000s her speakers were two Bose Cubes that she had mounted on bookshelves 1 inch from the top of her ceiling and facing outwards.  Her priority was getting them out of the way so as not to ruin the room decor. Her receiver hailed from her University days a few decades earlier and one channel flipped out intermittently.  She had a VCR that she was afraid to use because it ate tapes.

  She was totally happy with this.  As our relationship progressed I was spending more time at her condo than at my place and the system drove me crazy, with my own rig gathering dust at my place.  I finally on my own bought an entry level Onyko AVR, a DVD player, and Paradigm Atom speakers.  I thought let me at least get this into the low midfi level and 21st Century video capabilities.

  My wife is a very even tempered person but my being presumptuous about this equipment was a major faux pas.  It took her a week to forgive me and months before she would admit that everything had vastly improved.  It is probably the most serious disagreement we have had in 25 years.

  About 15 years ago my daughter moved out of our basement (my wife never gave me any grief about having her planted there in the early years of our marriage, when her emergency weekend stay turned into a 5 year visit).  When she finally got her own studio apartment I bought her a AVR and gave her a CDP and speakers from my collection of unused gear and spent an afternoon setting it up.

  The next time I was in her apartment all the stuff had been unhooked and was in a corner of the room, having been replaced by a $20 Bluetooth speaker.

  @grislybutter everyone is heaping praise on you, and you were being altruistic, but based on my experiences, I will never go there again 

@mahler123 the first one is a great story! Sorry about the daughter and the bluetooth speaker, must hurt. 

My daughter is a design nerd and not an audiophile. She used to listen to music on her iphone, on speaker, volume turned up.

I also set her up with a system, but discussed every step. I knew the key was the aesthetics. My neighbor gave me a pair of bose speaker stands. She loved them so I knew it was a good start. I put my old Celestion 5s on the stands horizontally. Added my beloved Marantz 1060 and bought her a Dual turntable. I also made a case for the Marantz last Christmas from recycled wood that turned out to be 1/10 of an inch too small!!! It never ends!
As far as I can tell she is using it. But at least likes to look at it.... 

I became an  audiophile a potential unconscious one at 20  because i was under the supervision  of my two friends for buying my gear ( Tannoy +Sugden), one married  15 years older than me who designed his own speakers box and his own friend and " mentor" who became mine too , "a 60 years old virgin" really, who lived in an apartment alone where no woman will ever dare to enter because his speakers were suspended over the floor from the ceilings , all floor in all pieces covered with audio gear parts and he kept his vinyl in a fridge wrapped which flabbergasted  me  and appeared to me as completely "nuts" ...😋

 

i could not know at the times i would became like these two after my retirement ...And with my 100 resonators as "nuts" as this "mentor" ... But i  am not "virgin" ...😎

I became an  audiophile a potential unconscious one at 20  because i was under the supervision  of my two friends for buying my gear ( Tannoy +Sugden), one married  15 years older than me who designed his own speakers box and his own friend and " mentor" who became mine too , "a 60 years old virgin" really, who lived in an apartment alone where no woman will ever dare to enter because his speakers were suspended over the floor from the ceilings , all floor in all pieces covered with audio gear parts and he kept his vinyl in a fridge wrapped which flabbergasted  me  and appeared to me as completely "nuts" ...😋

 

i could not know at the times i would became like these two after my retirement ...And with my 100 resonators as "nuts" as this "mentor" ... But i  am not "virgin" ...😎

 

By the way my two children received something audiophile from me , but even if it is better compared to what they had it never ignite an audiophile fever  in them ...

 

You cannot make a bear from a mice nor make a mice from a bear....

....and nothing like a ground short in the pool to ’liven up’ a party.....😬

But using it ’on shore’ to drive the wp subs....

"Create your own waveforms! Soon to be released: Sono-Tsunami....!👍😈"

 

Wanted: Audiophile Angel with a developed sense of humour....

Between a toe-grabbing music playing lightshow 'Sub-Ber' chasing you about in a pool of ripple patterns from the Sub-Rayz Array that made you feel like you were getting a 'whole-body' vibe slowly turning it to a gel....

Things like this 'n that....and those....

Must Happen

@immatthewj ....only if exposure to B.O.S.E. makes your skin crawl and your 'audio esthetic' makes you hunt for hammers.... ;)

@mahler123 ...."...once again, and for all epochs....

You can lead to the Fountain of Youth, but surprise when it's used to rinse the dishes..." 🙄...

Re: Virgin, virginal, et al.....Took "The Dip" long ago, far away, and continuing to recede from that local focal locus.....took a few more forays into that valley to finally get it right and a good time for any/all concerned....

...meanwhile, back @ the blanch....and backed into the weeds....

Setting up a 'non-' with 'phile-ish' appertani IS fraught with fail.....only if the receipt shows 'unusual interest' (...not "Well, that might be nice....will it be complicated?").

Stop.

Do Not Pass 'GO"

Suspicious of BT 'audio trinkets'....Believe they emit ultrasonic patterns that render the unaware a condition sim to RFK Jr. 'brain worms' (...at least, 'Mine' are Friendly and Very Pro-Audio,,,,,*VeryBig'SmilelyKindaFace'....with the LoBot bandage that has cute pink bunnies....*)

"Time for a SurReality Broken Brake!" watch out forthat Curvevvv....!"

immatthewj = I'm Matthew J.....

Hi.....Jer here....*S*

Pard my effusion, but it's been a Very Un-normal 3 preceding daze in this bookmark...and I'm just running off on and at the keyz.....

TypTypeTherapy....cheap....at least, to me....

"Your charges for therapeutic 'entanglement(s)' will vary....."  A lot.... ;)

To get back to your altruistic gesture ----- GOOD on You !!  A little bit of proselytizing on your part will not only bring someone from outside of the hobby "in from the cold" but will provide a lifelong gift that will not be forgotten !   GOOD on You !

thank you @terraplane8bob ! I am new to this practicing random act of kindness thing but better late than never :)

a pair of decent active speakers for months. I finally found one for a little over a $100,

Is it time for the big reveal?

Like to see where this ends up in a few months.

@grislybutter

Will she keep them, upgrade, end up a pile in the corner. become a life member of "the asylum"?

So what speakers did you get her?

 

Jamming to Chai ウォーキング・スター

AudioEngine A5, nothing fancy. I don't think she will upgrade soon nor does she need to, for now. She will just enjoy the giant upgrade. Maybe in a few years I will surprise her with a another set of speakers.

Oh no, I hope she doesn’t get hooked on good sound and have to spend a fortune feeding the habit.  Does’t she know that the dealer starts by giving away free fixes.

Interesting story. It illustrates the mental power of preconceptions; also the power of sustained good will & persuasion to break through preconceptions.

(using a speaker that doesn't sound like garbage)