What do you tell your spouse when she walks into the darkened room and catches you smiling and gazing intently at the warm glow of your tube amp? Yeah, the music was on but she's not easily fooled. Well?
I would tell her I was thinking how much I loved her, and saw her beautifull face in the glowing tubes. Having said that, I would show her the brochure of a new, better (and more expensive) piece of kit, and say 'Imagine how much I would love you if I had this ........ in my system'.
Share your happiness with her. She'll be glad. The problem with happiness is that it seems to escape many people much of the time; the good thing about it is that it is freely available to all people all of the time.
I thought that perhaps you got caught in an audio price fib...
"What is this receipt for?"(her) "What receipt?" (you) "This one" She hands you the McIntosh amp receipt. You start to sweat and think fast. "You told me that it cost $75 and this receipt says $1950" She starts to do that stare that only women can do. Man, why did I not hide that better!! "Oh, that! That was just done so that when I sell the preamp, I can state that I have a receipt for $1950 and thus be able to get a greater price for it!" Jeez, am I good, you think. "How did you pay for it" (her) Oh, think fast, think fast. What method is the best method to hide it from her? Damn, why did I put it on my credit card! Now she's gonna look it up and I'm toast. She's waiting, waiting...
"I picked this stuff up at the Salvation Army...sound's pretty good, eh? And with the money we saved we'll be able to build that deck out back that you've been asking for!" Then make sure to get up, give her a big hug, take out the garbage, and go and pick up some nice flowers, some chocalate, and some good wine to make up with her after she discovers you're lying like a sack, as usual. Don't even think she won't my friend. Women are hard-wired to detect such things. Little red lights go off somewher inside their heads, along with a nagging alarm, much like the 'dive' signal in those old submarine movies. The alarm causes headaches that can last for months. No, I sh*t you not...I've heard the alarm myself coming out'ta my wife's ears that time I told her I just wanted to store the LaScala's in the living room for a few days while I cleared a space for them at work. They got some gel knee pads over at Home Depot that'll really save your knees for all that time you spend on them begging for forgiveness. Don't forget the wine. You may want to rent a Johnny Depp film too.
"Did you see that? When you walked in,the moving air fanned the fern fronds;note the changing reflection patterns on the ceiling and walls."
Make room on the couch, "How was your day?"
((I had a cat once with an emotional attachment to the refrigerator's compressor. Some time ago,Jolida's web site had a photo of a mother and child bonding. Let your wife know you've had your back in the womb moment and you'd rather be with her than with your mother.(smile).
Hey! Are some of you guys under the impression that I would try to sneak a major purchase into our home without discussion and consent? Er...ah..all I was saying is that I know I had a sh** eating grin on my face and when she entered and asked me what I was doing in the dark I wish I had had something more snappy (read intelligent) to say other than "listnin". She is the one who helped me get the amp. She just doesn't get that warm feeling from basking in the amp's glow. Shoot, she probably knows what I was doing anyway. I guess I kind of had a funny feeling when I considered what I must have looked like to her sitting and smiling in the dark and basking in the glow of those KT88s and all those other other pretty colored lights and the faint reflection on the wall of the spinning vinyl bringing forth such sweet sounds. Well anyway, how about them Eagles?
well...better to come in and see you staring at the tubes and smiling blissfully than looking discontented...cause that could mean another upgrade around the corner...;o)
Both my wife and I love it when we get company and the guy notices my McIntosh 2102 ('The Blue') and my Audio Aero Capitole amp ('The French') in the corner of our living room, both glowing in their peaceful serenity.
They just drift on over and...stare. Then they all get "that smile".
'She just doesn't get that warm feeling from basking in the amp's glow.'
I think this is mostly a genetic male thing, like sitting around the campfire in the old west.
My wife can't stand the look of tubes. She claims they look 'tacky'. I have a tube phono preamp, preamp and cd player, but no tube glow can be seen, as they are all hidden from view inside a chassis'. Sigh.... Oh well, at least she doesn't complain about the $$$ I spend.
Hopefully, someday soon, one of my 3 boys will move out, and I can finally set up a dedicated audio room.
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