I bought some Avlar speakers at the end of last year. I installed them, and really enjoyed them. However, I felt that they weren't great, that they weren't really awesome. They didn't sound funny or anything, and they were really good, but something was missing. I felt bad about this and, as they were a gift from my wonderful, dedicated, beautiful wife, I kept this feeling to myself. I chalked it up to bad hearing and let it rest.
Except I couldn't let it rest, and many months later, while visiting the store, Systems Design Group, I mentioned it to Dave, the guy who sold 'em to me (and who sold me the Rotel RX-1052). He said he'd swing by.
Sure enough, the next day he dropped by. After chatting for a bit, we started listening to a CD. He walked over to them, listened for a bit, then gently removed the fabric grill that covers the speaker horns. He then looked up at me, looked down for the briefest of second, and proceeded to lift up the speaker. It's a pretty heavy piece of equipment, so I leaned in and helped him, asking "What are you doing?". Without hesitation, he respectfully whispered, "They're upside down."
Yeah. Ok. And I wonder why I never finished college.
The Gift
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[Christmas, 1965 or thereabout]
The boy was very young; perhaps 7 or 8 years old. He loved everything about
Christmas - the lights, the music, Santa ...
4 months ago
12 Comments:
hahaha, wow, I never actually realized upside-down speakers would make noticeably different sound. It always seems, though, that the solution to a problem, however simple, is the one thing that always manages to slip past me. I can see a problem, tackle it from a million different angles, maybe even solve it in some overly complicated way, but then somebody else can always walk by and give me an answer like "they're upside down."
:-)
In some way I am reminded of Peter Griffin standing with a group of people, staring blankly at a Picasso. Then Peter goes over to it, erases an eye, then redraws the same eye next to an existing one. He steps back, and the crowd of people all murmer in amazement, and someone says, "Ooooh, it's a person."
Fortunately, I limit my ego to one day of feeling stupid about something. I now see it as completely reasonable that I missed it. For a guy who loses his glasses twice a day, I'm doin' fine.
*snort*
That was funny. Yeah, y'know, it's hard to stay on top of everything, and it takes a brave man to admit to himself that he should double-check his work. That's why I had upside down speakers for six months.
Here's a tip for The Wrench: tell him to find the sweet spot (best place to hear the speakers, the center point) and sit there, listening to music with vocals. If the speakers are well placed, he should be able to close his eyes (while sitting) and put his finger inside the mouth of the singer. When he opens his eyes, his finger should be directly in front of his forehead, centered between his eyes. If not, time to adjust the speaker position.
I can go over and over something - being sure I've covered every angle - but until I get a second set of eyes (or ears) to look at it (or listen to it), I'm never really positive. So often, just having someone else in the same space makes me see or listen differently than before.
Hey, Sully, thanks for that. I appreciate your spin on things, even though it's pretty clear that I don't have the brains G-d gave a llama. (insert appropriate Napoleon Dynamite reference here)
Speaking of missing things - Stu, that check we talked about is in the mail as of yesterday, so expect it later this week. Sorry for the delay.
Delay Shmelay! It's awesome that you're contributing!! The ASPCA is lucky to have you as a supporter. (and as you play softball, there's a joke in there, but I'm going to let both my faithful readers suss it out for themselves)...
Holy cow! I entirely forgot to submit my donation to you. I had friends and family members agreeing to toss a little something into the pot and I never went around to collect.
Say... if I hand you a check can I have a plum?
Absolutely, a donation would merit a bag of plums! In fact, I'll even throw in lemons from my next-door neighbor's tree.
Ooh, let's see, is there a good time for you on Friday for me to swing by? I get out of work uber-early so I'm good anytime from noon on.
Friday's good. And I just this hour picked more plums. So I've got plenty to give!
I say briefly: Best! Useful information. Good job guys.
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