Listen To This

As I continue to spring clean and streamline the apartment, I was reminiscing about the greatest piece of audio equipment I ever owned, my Sharp RT3388 cassette deck, which I bought for $250 around 1978. Despite the fact that I did my research before purchasing (Consumer Reports was all we had in those days), I had no idea how advanced this machine was.

Not only did it offer computerized circuitry and a lighted LCD screen—revolutionary—this miracle worker allowed me to record and pause to the split second. I was able to splice recordings with the kind of precision that is difficult even in today's digital age.

I had that poor baby repaired three times before it wore itself out and not only lost its advanced functions, but sounded like a blurry foghorn. Sigh, off to the audio graveyard.

(ADDENDUM: My sentimentality has overtaken me. I just make a Best Price Offer on this very unit on eBay. Believe me, it costs a lot less than $250 now... Wish me luck.)

We've certainly come a long way in the past 60 or so years.