I was watching an interview of Fred Thompson by Sean Hannity in some radio studio in South Carolina. My eye immediately zeroed in on the earphones Hannity was wearing. When the camera panned to Fred Thompson, I was struck by the pristine perfection of the borrowed earphones he had on. I presume that talk stations of today have many sets of house phones. At any station I worked, each DJ had their own. One's earphones were like one's toothbrush. For me, a good pair of phones were like a sweater you love and don't want to toss. It didn't take long for them to start looking like Jeb Clampet's car. Toward the end I used an old style of Koss that wasn't made anymore. Gary DeMaroney found a source and bought 2 or 3 pair. They languished in a box labeled "104" for 10 years or so.

Until 1968, I used the industry standard...Clevite's. Am I spelling it correctly? The technology of Clevites was the same as the early telephone. A magnet causing a disc of metal to vibrate...voila! The sound. There was virtually no bass-respone and the damage to my ear drums must have been devastating. What? At WDUZ I used a single ear Clevite. That was bizarre now that I think about it. It all boils down to comfort...like that seater I mentioned. WDGY was the first station I worked at that used a standard over-the-ear, buy-it-at-Radio Shack, earphone. For the first time in my career I actually heard how things actually sounded and it was magical. The sheer volume I ran those phones was ridiculous and after every four hour show, my ear would have a high-pitched squeal for 2-3 hours. What? Huh?

When I began the progression from Walkman to Discman to MP3 to IPod I used the little button things they come with, but at some point I chucked those for on-the-ear models and used those until, rummaging in a box labeled 104, I dug out my Koss. Old and held together with yards of electrician's tape, they sound great. It's kind of fun to connect the technology of the 70's with the technology of the new millenium. Now I have to figure out how to get a Beta machine to work in the car.

Opera tomorrow afternoon....I am soooooo keyed!

Rob