When I moved to Rochester I wanted a stereo to play cd's, tapes, and the radio. I wanted something with GREAT sound. I used some of those electronic buyers guide websites like CNET and read reviews and finally decided on the Sony XPLOD CD/CASSETTE BOOMBOX with AM/FM Radio in BLACK with all these great features:
"Take this boombox to the beach with you and lay out on the sand with some of your favorite songs.
Product Features
Built-in CD player and cassette deck let you enjoy all of your favorite tunes
CD functions include track programming, shuffle, repeat, high-speed dubbing and CD synchro record
Digital AM/FM radio tuner with 30 presets (10 AM, 20 FM)
Xplod power drive design for improved bass quality
2 built-in high-power 10W speakers with a built-in 100mm power-drive subwoofer
4-preset graphic equalizer
Digital display for easy menu navigation
Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz
Remote included"
I read the product reviews from average guys. I read a review from a guy who had the box in an auto body workshop garage and really liked the quality of the sound over the noises at work in the shop. I thought, wow, that is great. I'll take one!
And I loved it until one day when a friend pointed out that at our mature age, in the stage of our lives where we are downsizing, kids leaving home, minimizing our footprint, you know, mature urban sophistication, condo living, all that; we want something sleek and powerful and cool with great sound and neat features. Yes, cool things in small packages that fit our minimalist, live it light lifestyle. Ok well he didn't say it quite like that. What he said was "What the hell IS that? Its so big, you don't have room for it anyplace!" And all his stuff by the way, IS all really cool and black.
Next I went to my mom's place and I looked at her boom box ..She lives in a neat and tidy two bedroom condominium. Her boom box is small and sleek and silver and sits on a shelf in her dining room. It must be true. Everybody does have small sleek and cool.
And then I felt bad. My boom box is big and chunky and yes it was hard to find a spot in the kitchen to set it. (I finally got an old table in the corner.) And, it is kind of awkward looking with the big red disk in the center that lights up when you hit the BIG RED XPLOD POWER DRIVE BASS SUBWOOFER BUTTON or whatever the heck that is that pulsates red light with the bass beat.
In reality what I had done was bought something that would appeal to an adolescent boy or so my friend pointed it out. What he said though was, "that's something
a kid in high school would like." Apparently, a lot of my personal style choices go this way. Yes, maybe it looks like a teenage boy version of the big fluffy animal purse...a chunky black boom box on steroids.
I see now that the fact that I did pick this style MAKES PERFECT SENSE.
I only ever had a son. All the toys that I bought, the family movies that we watched (I did sneak in a few interesting films BUT), the games we played, and very often the music I listened to are influenced by the fact that I spent a great deal of time hanging out with my son and his friends. OK... maybe if I had waited till my son was off in college for a few years it would have worn off.
Still... I am not going to replace the one i've got and it glares at me YES ITS ON STEROIDS every morning and is still a joke with some of my friends. Well, one in particular.
This is my "sound center" at home...yes, next to the refridgerater. It is a multi-use station that also houses my recycling center and office supplies.
I was at a local neighborhood bar (outside, on a corner and very local er I said that) in Buscerias, Mexico and here was MY BOX... a slightly different model but still banging out the tunes with the heavy bass throbbing!
And my friend saw the same model in the health office at a local Middle School and sent me this pic:
So now I am thinking, if I am lucky, and I hope to be.. I may start collecting pictures of xplod's all over the world!
