My wife Terri just got a new stereo system installed in our home. It's the system she's always wanted, vinyl based and personal. I am writing about it today just because I was so in love with her utter joy.
She played album after album last night, well past the point where I had fallen asleep. Moody Blues, Ricky Lee Jones, Miles Davis, Sergio Mendez and Brazil 66.
She wanted to go through the whole process herself, conspiring with our friends at Music Direct who steered her in the direction of a Clear Audio Concept turntable, a pair of KEF LS 50s and, of course, she already knew her amplifier, a Sprout II.
She could hardly finish dinner last night. As soon as my fork shoveled the last bite into my mouth she was all over me to help set it up. What absolute fun we had.
As the needle slowly lowered onto the spinning disc for the first time I watched her grin spread from ear to ear.
There's little better than the first sounds from a new system. Vinyl or CD, it doesn't matter.
It's the thrill of new that brings a special joy you just don't get anywhere else.
