There was a time in my life nearly 38 years ago when I was such a Sharpener that I literally burned myself out on my sound system. I was at a point where I did not play music for joy, I played music as a research tool. There was no digital in those days, it was all vinyl and reel to reel tape. My mission was to dig for inner groove distortion, tonearm resonance, tracking error, cartridge alignment error, EQ impact, standing waves, wow and flutter, and on and on. Music did not relax me, it wound me up like a spring in my constant search for audio gremlins I knew must be there, and I was going to locate and solve every one of them. The experience drove me nuts.
One day I decided to stop listening to my sound system, not just for a day or two, but indefinitely. The experience of turning on my sound system just pissed me off. It wasn't fun anymore. I went nearly two months without music in my home, not even the radio. The experience gave me peace and time to reflect on what I had been doing to myself. I realized the problem was not the sound system, it was me. I was an out of control Sharpener, although that term had not been created yet. It was so important to never stop tweaking the system, constantly searching for phantom anomalies, that I no longer found music pleasurable. Albums and tapes were only tools that served as a means to an end.
In the nearly two month period without music in my home I was going out at night several times a week and enjoying live music, mostly jazz in bars and small clubs settings around the city of Portland, Oregon. Portland had a fine live jazz music scene in clubs and bars all over the city in the late 70's. Enjoying live jazz gradually rekindled my excitement for music and how the experience of hearing music lifted my spirits and soothed my soul. Music is good.
One afternoon I came home, turned the sound system on, placed an album on the turntable, lowered the stylus, and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening spinning LP's and enjoying the music. I mentally chastised myself each time my mind would slip from the music to the equipment. I did not want to return to the Sharpener, I wanted to be a Leveler. My sound system was sounding great, the music had me engaged, and I wanted to remain in that state of mind. From that day on I have been able to recognize both aspects of listening and have taught myself how to engage and disengage the Sharpener at will. It was a bit of a struggle in the beginning but as time passed I gained control. I have never again experienced the same situation I faced when I walked away from that sound system almost four decades ago. I will never forget how happy I was to reconnect with music reproduction in my home.
