I've been having problems with the hi-fi system - started off as all B&O in the 70s - but as time and humidity took their toll, it changed bits here and there, the only original parts today being the two speakers. I recently had to add a CD player because the old one had apparently blown parts within; the dealer looked at it and quoted a repair price higher than I was having to pay for a simple replacement, so I replaced. However, I realised that I was getting no sound from the right speaker, so I had to unload tons of heavy stuff (books and discs) and drag the damned unit out and investigate the bloody wires festooning the back. Easier said than done, trust me.
Anyway, I tested everything I was likely to use, and it eventually worked. Today I decided to try the turntable, and hit a new problem: the bar that moves the arm upwards and downwards from the records lifts at the end of play, but won't retract to allow the head to touch the surface of the disc when I want to start the music again, so feeling a bit pissed at it, I forced the bar downwards. It popped into the base of the deck, and now I can play records too. They do end at the right place, the arm lifts and returns to the holder post and switches off, but the next time, I have manually to press the bar down again to engage needle with disc.
However, I did play some discs I haven't heard in years. Quite an emotional experience, really. Anyway,
Abbey Road sounded out of this world, and now I understand why the Beatles
may be better than the Stones... love ya, Keef, but!
Guess I proved to myself again that music g
enerally beats the hell out of photographs for emotional punch.
At least it broke my barren period, and I made a snap of something other than a heap of garden refuse.
Rob C
