No. I can't top it. Amazing story. I owned the Sony TC 558, and I miss mine too. Great deck.
The dumbest stereo experience ever!
Hello all. I went through a divorce 20 years ago. I really needed to convert some equipment into cash. I sold amongst other things my prized Sony TC 880-2 open reel recorder. I had a lengthy conversation with the buyer typical of us lovers of gear. I told him my situation and he said he would sell it back to me when I got back on my feet down the road. OK, fair enough. I lost track of him as this was pre Audiogon. I managed to locate him five years later. Someone informed me that he had 125 open reel decks and his wife wouldn't let him buy any more. (terrible woman!) I got him on the phone and after another lengthy chat I asked him if I could buy it back. He didn't want to sell it back as he said he didn't even have time to play with it yet. OK, I thought; I'm a horse trader. SURELY I have some bargaining power. I have many studio open reel tapes. I could trade him some of them plus cash in exchange for the Sony back. I asked him what kind of music he listened to. Here is what he said "Oh, I don't listen to music. I just like to watch the reels go around". I was dumbfounded. I told him to have a nice day and I hung up the phone. Can anyone top this one? Joe
49 responses Add your response
Hi jnovak, Not even close to your experience, but long ago before the re-issue craze in vinyl, I used to look up and visit used LP shops wherever I traveled. A family vacation took me to Sarasota, FL. I found a shop with thousands of pristine looking LPs and bought about a dozen RCA Shaded Dogs. They were on the pricey side but looked fantastic. Thankfully, I checked Craigslist and found an inexpensive Thorens TT to give them a listen through my Dad's modest system to try to eliminate the possibility of inner groove damage, etc while I was still in town. . They sounded like crap. I mean surface noise so loud that I could barely hear any musical content. Next day I took them back. The owner was very friendly and agreeable to the return, but I noticed a bottle of Armor All sitting prominently on the counter. He proceeded to tell me that he carefully applied Armor All to every LP before placing it in the racks. I was beyond shocked and told him that he was permanently ruining all of these beautiful irreplaceable LPs (silicone). His response: "Yeah, but they sure look pretty." Best to you jnovak, Dave |
Once I answered a WTB ad to sell a component. After preliminary communication, I quoted a price. He made a counter offer. Then I gave a total price to include PayPal fees and shipping. Obviously he got confused as he then offered my total price plus an additional amount for fees and shipping. I was baffled, however, I did say, we have a deal. |
What kind of doctor? Meaning, his specialty? Some of the oddest people I've met are therapists and shrinks.... I like polk432's suggestion, BTW. "Revenge is best served cold." However, I'd use the number of a cheapie cell instead of your 'real number'. That way you could enjoy the incoming hysteria... Send the occasional text to keep it coming....*L* |
POLK432, you're an evil genius! I'm not really upset with the guy. We all harbor our own obsessions. I hope the doctor has a large room for his. To answer tooblue's question; I think the man sympathized with me in my situation. Our "agreement" was only verbal. I don't know if he didn't remember our whole first conversation or not. Yes, it does sound like a pawn shop deal. I never thought about it like that. This is the benefit of this forum, getting input from other people. He is an anesthesiologist. Maybe he uses the reels to put people under! |
I must be missing it. This guy likes to watch reels go round and round. A lot. Reputedly, his wife put a nix on his obsession to watch hundreds of reels go round and round at once (an intervention). Why does this invite thoughts and writings about harsh & unwarranted action against the two of them and hurtful jabs at the medical profession? I am reminded here that most of the world-at-large thinks our obsession with audio gear to be paramount to the good doctor’s peculiar fetish in its contrariness to "normal" behavior. Best to you all, Dave |
Sounds to me like he is simply a collector of these things, just as some people are collectors of coins or stamps or vintage watches or various kinds of antiques. And I suspect that his comment about watching the reels go around was simply a half-kidding (or mostly kidding) reference to the fact that he doesn't put the decks to use. Perhaps said in part as a way to try to end the conversation, which in fact it did. Regards, -- Al |
Better than Armour All - For me, I had just picked up the new release of Iron Butterfly's Inagadadavida. Hey, I was 15 years old! My mom used to follow me around with a vacuum cleaner, so one of those moms. I had left the album on my turntable and ate some lunch. When I got back to my room the album was missing, and I found it put back in its cover. I put it back on and played it, and all of a sudden, pop, tick-pop, tick-pop...What the f**k? WHO SCRATCHED MY RECORD? Mom, said nothing, and I stormed out of my apartment. Okay, I compose myself and come back home. I walk in and there's my mom with a big smile on her face! Kenny...Kenny, it was my fault about your record getting scratched, but you have to learn to put your things away, mom said. Don't be upset, because I fixed your record. I said, what do you mean, and took out the album. There was this stuff all over it, and I shouted, you can't fix a record scratch. Mom said, yes you can because I sprayed it with Pledge and that removes scratches! From that day forward, I have always put my records back when I'm done with them. Another lesson learned from Mom. Kenny |
If you read my recent post about selling my Technics SP-10 MK II, then you know that someone offered $1300 for it, despite my $800 asking price. I sold it instead to the first caller for $1,000 (stupid me!). The irony is that shortly after that I sold my beloved Luxman PD444. The buyer was, you guessed it, the guy who had offered to pay $1300 for the Technics. During the transaction, he told me that he has 30 turntables at home in pristine condition, seven of which are Technics SP-10s. So, if you are wondering where all the high-end turntables have gone, now you know. You really can’t make this stuff up. |
...and the narrative begins to drift off into the surreal....magic pebbles, indeed. Sounds likes rocks gleaned from the craniums of the cadavers of believers in ultrasonic insect repellers and copper woven into underwear. But hey...if you've got a good remote that'll control everything and a catwalk to the 'sweet spot' Barcalounger, more amps to ya'. ;) Hey, maps...*thumbs up* My sword is at your disposal, and I will have your back. *offered 'fist bump'* |
mapman 13,900 posts 11-04-2016 2:09pm Really, geoffkait, what is your problem that you abuse others here the way you do? Marketing? It gets attention that may be lacking otherwise. Our next president has that approach mastered. Cross thread stalker Alert! Hey Mapman, you're almost to 14,000 posts. Are you going to celebrate? Do you promise to say something pithy? |
mapman 13,902 posts 11-04-2016 2:26pm " Cross thread stalker Alert! " Your paranoia is showing again. These threads are not all about you. Well, this one maybe. Not you but machina Dynamica. I'll write off all of your silliness as just another slow day at Subway. Only 98 posts till that magic number 14,000. |
| Post removed |
mapman 13,903 posts 11-04-2016 2:32pm Well since you deserve a response I suppose I’ll post again and get one closer and just say OK. Maybe this thread will set the new benchmark for dumb stereo experiences. At least its on topic for that. You’re quick on the draw, Moopman. Unfortunately your gun is filled with dummy loads. |
| Post removed |
I'm not sure this story qualifies. It's more about simple observation than stupidity. I have this friend, Joe--a wonderful man in every way, a former drummer. Loves music, really knows it. But he's crazy busy in his work and has neither the time nor inclination to really figure out audio. So he bought some relatively low-fi stuff to put around his big flat screen (a sub + 4 satellites) and was happy w/that. I was over there at a party last Easter, and Joe (who knows I'm an audio wonk from hell) was complaining that his living room system "doesn't sound right." He was cranking it up a lot louder than usual and "something was missing." He asked my advice. I walk over to where the sub sits right below the receiver to which the 4 satellites are connected. The receiver is typical flash & sizzle--dozens of different color lights. This thing is very obviously on. But the sub is dark, front & back panels. I say, "Joe, your sub isn't turned on." He gets this very funny "How stupid am I?" look, so I just press the sub's "ON" button, and all of a sudden this somewhat mediocre system sounds 1,000X louder & better. We burst into hysterical laughter. I mean, he had no idea how to turn his sub on. It might have been off for a year. My friend, Joe... |
Not sure I can 'top' your story, but here's mine. A friend and I got into a conversation about my new acquisition (Martin Logan reQuests) and commented that my Dalhquist DQ10s were "ugly as sin". I found that statement amusing coming from a guy that doesn't have a single matching piece of furniture in his house. In fact, he doesn't even have a decorating THEME (you know, like... Early American, Contemporary, French Countryside...), all his stuff is 'hand-me-down'. His whole house looks as though he just drove a truck to the nearest Salvation Army and picked up whatever they had just to fill his rooms. And the kicker is that he has a Porsche in the garage and can afford to buy pretty much anything he wants. So, I guess I'll just file this experience under: "different strokes..." |
OK this really is true. When I was a small kid I was given an AM/FM clock radio. I actually thought that I was supposed to switch it to AM in the morning and FM at night because I thought FM was really PM, only that mine said FM due to a problem with the printing and a bit of the "P" didn't print. Well, I was only about 7. |
About 40-some years ago, I was a service tech at a TV/Stereo repair shop, and they took a contract as factory service for several very cheap brands of console stereos. I went out on a service call at an older lady's house (she was probably younger than I am now, it just occurred to me!). Her complaint was that the little red "Stereo" light would light on and off out when she was tuning through different FM stations. Had a hard time convincing her that the light wasn't broken. Another -- Not a stereo story, but we were also service reps for a brand of built-in burglar alarm systems. They weren't designed with any consideration for RFI, and there was one installed in a house near to an FM radio station tower. Every morning when the station came on-air, it would set off the alarm. The manufacturer had us try this and that (capacitors across varying things) but of course we couldn't tell if we had fixed it till the next morning. Trial fixes went on for a few days. But one night, problem solved -- burglars broke in and stole, among other things, the main unit of the burglar alarm system. |
My best friend owned a Sony TC 880; when I see that reel, I think of the times we had at the parties he gave with music from the reel. Sometime we just listened to music; he's no longer with us and I miss him. I've got a Technichs RS 1500 2 Track, and there's a thread on reels that will put you back into the game; I'll dial it up; in the meantime, check this out; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBSWlt8Ua4I |
