one of the things i do which really exasperates poor ephelba to no end is when i buy old stereo equipment. especially the old stereo equipment. old, very heavy, stereo equipment. you see, to be good, it has to be heavy, because the transformers that get used in really good equipment are fairly large. even with todays stuff, if you can pick it up with one hand, i say, walk away! it just won't sound good.

so i'm at one of my usual haunts to find cheap used goods, when i spy an especially attractive set of speakers. they are a brand name that i've never heard of before, 'frazier,' but they intrigue me still. usually the speakers i find at this place are ragged out pieces of trash or plastic pieces of shit, but these are different. firstly, they have a very nice wood veneer covering them. exciting, because this is a strong indicator of good electronics inside them. good electronics don't come with crappy exteriors. (though it is true that some crappy electronics have nice exteriors, its not a guarantee) secondly, upon looking at the back, the speakers are individually serial numbered. this is cool, since companies don't take the time and expense to individually number crappy product. third, they are an early sixties design, and last, they pass the lift test: these puppies are heavy. speakers need to be massive. speakers have magnets, and voice coils, and crossover networks, and these things weigh. and the more of it the better. i decide to go for it.

later, i get them home. ephelba narrows her eyes. "why are these here?" she asks in a restrained voice. she has all reason on her side. we have no room for such frivolity. i already have a stereo, two even. (well, one and a half really, since the second one is only a receiver and speakers) but how could i have turned my back on these beauties? ephelba tries to talk some sense into me, but then thinks better of it.

that evening i open up the backs of the speakers and am blown away by what is inside. a 12 inch woofer, huge magnets, hand-wound toroidal inductors...and all of it looking brand new. i get this nifty little receiver that i picked up at the same place. an old klh model 50. i'd been playing it through a pair of (again) older realistic minimus speakers, which were great for being small and able to fit in the little shelf in the kitchen. i like to listen to npr and jazz while i do dishes or cook. but anyway, i hook this receiver up to these huge (by comparison) speakers with the sleek wood veneer, and i am amazed!

i can't believe how good they sound, and how loud they get. these are efficient speakers, and with just the thirty watts from the klh, they are just stuning. i have them down in the basement, and with the volume cranked pretty good, i go upstairs. the radio station is playing some blues, bb king and what not. boy is in the living room and does not know what is going on. the music sounds great upstairs. i tell boy if he stands up, he will be able to feel the floor vibrate under his feet. boy loves this. ephelba says that we will never be able to play music this loud, that our upstairs neighbors will complain. well, there is nobody living up there just now. so we can enjoy it for a time.

[now in a strictly personal aside, i should like it noted that ephelba herself has come home with used stereo product purchased at the very self same place where i got my speakers! and while her purchase was neither old nor heavy, it did have unique design features to recommend it. i take it as a personal victory, having converted her to the dark side.]