What You Pay For

OK, first a bit of explanation. Sound is very important to me. My vision is horrible. Even with glasses, I now struggle to read. My Kindle with text I can enlarge is essential. And things I used to do easily, such as cross-stitch, can now only be accomplished if I use additional magnification. But my hearing is excellent. I was in my 30s before I realized it wasn't a good idea to answer Yes to the question, "I often hear voices others don't," on certain information forms because it was a way of identifying people with mental illness, not people like me with exceptional hearing. I love listening to music as I work. My Amazon cloud is chock full of all sorts of music, from Chris Isaak singing "Ring of Fire" to Rachmaninoff, from Manilow to Chopin (actually, not such a stretch there, but I'll save that for another post on modern composers ripping off the old farts), and from Abba to Stile Antico.

Now when I bought my previous computer--good Lord, that was 12 years ago!--I got a really nifty five-speaker set as a freebie to go with some upgrades I had purchased. I loved that set of speakers! And so over the past few weeks, I've grown concerned that the volume kept decreasing and the sound would waver in and out. I checked every line. Even took every plug out and replugged it back in several times. I checked every cord to make sure a cat hadn't been snacking on it. Nothing helped. So I wasn't terribly shocked when the whole thing just quit earlier today. Bummer!

And there are some things that can be done on a computer with no sound, but lots of things such as my World of Warcraft and, of course, my music, absolutely must have the speakers. So off to Best Buy I went. Having checked out the options on-line, I pretty much knew what I wanted. Another five-piece set that was going to cost me about $100. Well, you know, $99.99 before taxes. A very nice young man met me just inside the door and directed me to the speakers area when I informed him of the purpose of my visit. I was just reaching for the set I had reviewed when he pointed out a smaller set just next to it. Only 3 speakers--two small tower units and the subwoofer thingy on the floor--by a company called Insignia. And only $70. "This," he said, "is the set I have and it's really great. The sound is fantastic." Hey, I thought, why not? Fewer cords to have to mess with. Just plug in a couple of things and away I go. And if the store geek says they're good, why not save $30?

So I brought my little box home and in about 3 minutes I had everything set up. I waited not so patiently as my computer took its good old time booting back up. And then I brought up my Cloud and started up a song. It randomly selected Queen's "Princes of the Universe." YE GADS!! WHAT HAVE I DONE???

That store gremlin must have blown out his eardrums playing his iPod too loudly. No amount of tweaking the treble or stifling the bass makes it sound any better. Even the dogs came over to look at the offending sounds emanating out of the new speakers! Seriously, how bad does something have to sound before the DOGS start complaining about it??

I've sat her for the last 45 minutes trying to decide what to do. I hate taking things back. I hate the hassle that comes with having to pack something up, driving all the way back to the store, filling out the paperwork, explaining why I don't want it because I'm such a sound snob, and getting what I really wanted all along. My own fault, I have to admit. You do get what you pay for, and I tried to get by on the cheap. When it comes to sound, money may not talk but it sure sings a lot better!