As a child it wasn’t uncommon to find me asleep on the floor in front of my parent’s stereo happily trading hearing loss for the magical harmonies of bands like Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, and Bad Company. I had no problem drifting off to dreamland directly in front of two eight foot tall, eighty pound wooden rectangles filled with magnetized 12” paper cone subwoofers and aluminum-magnesium horn tweeters.
Those twin columns of eardrum destruction bracketed a towering case of compressed wood and glass that fed them what they needed to keep the party going. One push of a magnetic latch allowed access to the NASA-inspired control center that managed the quality and volume level of the classic rock being force-fed into my ear-holes.
The big black volume knob that never found its way below 50%. The brilliantly lit EQ sliders that always formed the double “V” formation. On top and usually under its own glass lid, could be found the etched 12” polyvinyl chloride disk spinning at 33 RPM. A tiny metal stylus converted grooves to tunes – Sometimes with a quarter on top for added insurance, sometimes without.
It was a thing of beauty that felt as though it was the goal of every young man – To own an 800 pound musical entertainment center along with a full library of vinyl albums that had their plastic wrappers still on as many of their covers as possible.
The memory of 9yr old me laying there on the floor listening to Lou Gramm sing about being “Cold As Ice” or Paul Rogers telling us he was “Bad Company” walked me down memory lane after I experienced the Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra Noise Canceling headphones I just bought.
When I opened Pandora and selected the 70’s station I have saved, a love affair was quickly reborn. I realized I have allowed myself to abandon the one thing that’s kept me company throughout my entire life. Not just music, but quality music delivered as it’s supposed to be. It’s hard to feel the music if you can’t actually feel the music.
Put simply, it’s impossible to hear the soft, warm tones in Chris Issak’s “WIcked Game” if you’re listening to it through a tin can. After owning these headphones, I’ll never go back. I can’t.
The over-ear comfort. The noise cancellation. The immersive sound effects. I had them on most of the day and at no point felt as though I had to get them off before my ears were either on fire or killing me from discomfort. I can’t believe I waited this long to invest in something that would have such a payoff. I’ve been a fan of Bose since I learned about them 30 years ago. I just hesitated because of the price. Looking back, I could’ve owned a house full of Bose equipment with the money I wasted on inferior products.
Today’s experience has been yet another reminder of how I’ve allowed my circumstances to distract me from who I am and what I love… It has to change.
Off The Rails 